For most of us, cockroaches can be rather disgusting pests and we go out of our way to avoid them. However, for this man in Japan, he loves insects so much that he actually fell in love with a cockroach and dated it for a year. No, we’re not even joking.
Source: Sora News 24
According to Sora News 24, the 23-year-old young man known as Yuta Shinohara has been an insect enthusiast since he was young. He is also an entomophagist, which is defined as a person who eats and makes dishes using insects.
Yuta is a well-known creator of dishes based on insects, in particular, cricket ramen. This ramen has been served to over 7,000 diners so far and he uses 100 crickets in every bowl. At first, he was afraid to share his love for insects to the world but when he was 19 years old, the United Nations’ (UN) Food and Agriculture Organisation actually encouraged people to eat insects.
Source: Sora News 24
Source: Sora News 24
The UN organisation said that there were many benefits to eating insects as they were good sources of protein in an increasingly populated world. Hearing this, Yuta was delighted that he could finally share his love for all insects and his passion for entomophagy about five years ago.
Due to this passion for insects, he fell in love with a cockroach he named Lisa. It’s no ordinary cockroach, as he had specially bought it from Africa. Yuta claims that he had a “platonic love” for it and their “relationship” lasted a year but due to the roach’s short life span, the couple was separated. Till death do us part, eh?
Source: Sora News 24
Source: Sora News 24
He said that he was so attached to the cockroach that he sometimes felt like they were communicating and when it died, it was a painful moment for him. Yuta added that Lisa was his first love and he had often imagined having sex with the cockroach. When it died, he decided to eat it so that Lisa would live in his heart and continue living also as a part of his body.
Meanwhile, he plans to focus on doing what he does best and find the best ways to make insects attractive to the public for now.
You can watch his video in full here or skip ahead to 11:11 where he talks about his dearly departed.
Source: YouTube
We’re guessing that he would really like to visit this cave in Sabah!
Also read: This Cave in Sabah Might Have the Most Cockroaches in the World!
