Japan, one of the biggest importers of gold, does not stop at using gold in jewellery or dentures. They eat it.
There is a trend for dusting noodles and other food with very fine gold. Restaurant owner Seiichi Ohmura invented gold sushi and does a roaring trade every day.
Given the Japanese propensity for the weird and the wacky – the only people in the world who dice with death eating poisonous puffer fish are the Japanese – symbolism takes a back seat to over-the-top affluence.
