Not Spam, Spam and More Spam: Pasta Viking

It is a little known fact that the first Europeans to reach Japan were not as commonly thought Portuguese, but rather Italo-Scandinavians whose longboat was blown off course during a freak surfing incident near Hawaii. Upon their fortuitous landfall at Kanagawa they courteously refrained from looting, pillaging and ravaging, instead engaging in a gourmet competition with the local samurai.

(Seen in Takeshita-dōri, Harajuku, Tokyo; April 2004)

Unfortunately details of the winning dish have been lost in the mists of time but some sources say the decisive ingredient was scraped off the longboat's keel. The recipe has been adapted over the ages and is now a popular choice of meal in modern-day Japan.