Oishi

From the pictures, you might think that I spent the whole week eating. Well, eating was a big part of the trip. When Noriko had asked me what I want to do while I was in Japan, I more or less said shop, go to the Kabuki theater, and eat. Noriko is great, especially since she is always hungry. One of her favorite saying is "how about a snack?" From rice crackers to sushi, noodles or cake, a snack could be found anywhere and everywhere in Japan.

Presentation is a huge thing in Japan. Everything must look just perfect. We went to a fast food sushi restaurant where the sushi comes around on a conveyor belt next to the booths and you just pick up what you want. One hundred yen per plate (about a dollar). Each little plate had two pieces of sushi placed just so on the center of the plate. And the dishes! I loved looking at all the different little plates, bowls, and platters everything was served on.

I learned that slurping is something that you are SUPPOSED to do in Japan, especially when eating soup. That took some getting used to. I would slurp hestitantly and then look around, thinking my mom would somehow appear and give me that look, that what-the-hell-do-you-think-you're-doing scowl. It was explained to me that you more fully taste the soup when you slurp it. Men, don't try that at home or on your next date at a fancy restaurant (unless you want to get smacked upside the head). I also attempted to eat noodle soup with chopsticks. More slurping. Lots of it.

The first picture in this entry is of sake, Japanese rice wine. When a glass of sake is poured, the common practice is to fill the glass until the cup runneth over, literally. So a little lacquered box is placed under the glass to catch the overflow. Now that's my kind of pour (I wish they would do that with the wine in Thailand).