Sushi & Indian

SUSHI!!!

Various definitions from the web dictionary: rice (with raw fish) wrapped in seaweed * rice rolled with vegetables, fish, or pickles, wrapped in seaweed, and sliced in rounds * raw fish usually served with cold rice * toppings or fillings include raw, cooked, or marinated seafood, meat, vegetables, and egg * anything made with vinegared rice --- take your pick!

Well, after all the fuss and fear about sushi, we all ended up liking it! Amazing and miraculous! Especially considering that the very reason I had never before had any desire to visit Japan was specifically because of that sushi I'd always heard about. Good thing I had not said "never!"

Part of the neat experience was the restaurant itself - the serving style. Hundreds of small plates carrying a wide assortment of sushi come out of the kitchen on a conveyor belt and then travel on down the line, passing by each table before looping back and heading back into the kitchen. Simply pick the plate you want to try, pick it off as it moves by, and enjoy! The cost? Usually a dollar a plate. At the end of the meal, the waitress came by to count up the plates for the bill. I believe it was the only time the waiter visited our table. You're pretty much left to enjoy the meal uninterrupted.


There are signs (with pictures, thank goodness!) that travel the belt before each different sushi so you can see in advance when something coming that you want. Of course we couldn't read yet, but we had great translators with us, so we could at least knew what we were eating! Then, there is a menu with all the sushi offered so in case that one fish you love has disappeared by the time it gets to you, you can just order it and then it comes out "reserved" for your table. If you double click on the picture below, I think you should be able to get a good view of some of the types of sushi.

I believe this is salmon sushi. My favorites were the salmon and the tuna. I don't think the kids had any favorites --- they liked them all! John liked the sushi fish salad - which included fish eggs and squid (among other chopped up things!)

Here's Joy with one of her dishes. I thought it was eel, but John thinks it could be mackeral or tuna. Carrie, can you help us out? The first thing Joy ate was the eel, the kids all liked it. I tried it but didn't care too much for it's taste. We've been told that if you're sick, it's a good fish to eat because it's high in calories.

Here's me about to eat a bite. Gracious! I didn't realize I looked so tired! This was just two nights after our arrival. I do remember that I had a pretty queasy stomach that day, but that the sushi actually seemed to sit well with it, which I thought was quite something. I got to be one of the lucky ones to sit right next to the coveted position by the belt. It's so fun snatching the plates off of it!

And here are the boys - they are eating fish eggs at the moment. You can see them scattered all over their plates, too. They are not bad. The larger eggs resemble large tapioca, but are filled with liquid so that they pop when you bite into them.

Here I am again - looks like the sushi perked me right up! :) I think this one is the seafood salad. I liked it, too, and the fish eggs in it are small and yellow.

Carrie took us as a family - you can see the plates starting to pile up...! Green tea also comes with the meal. It's very good and you make it yourself with a hot water spout right at the table.

Another plate for Joy! Yum, yum. Sorry, I can't make out what she's eating there.

And here's John! I think he's got the seafood salad, too.

And here we are coming toward the end of our meal. Just look at those plates! All in all, though, the price is very good considering there were 7 of us eating...there were 48 plates - you can do the math. Akihiro and Carrie said that it is not unusual for college guys to come in, sit down, and polish off 15 plates. I doubt you can get such food in the U.S. for near that price, so I guess that's one thing that is inexpensive in Japan. Joy is enjoying a sweet potato dessert plate. Yes there are dessert options, too, and they are very good.

Indian

We went out again with Akihiro and Carrie, as well as a dear little lady here named Iwama-san. Iwama-san lives close by, and she is very friendly although neither of us can understand a word the other says yet. Here we are at Taj Mahal - a superb curry restaurant. We learned about "nam," a hand-tossed and baked thin bread, kind of like a fresh pita bread. Instead of ordering separately, we got a meal-deal where we were able to try many different things for one price. It was all very, very good. I'd never eated Indian food before. I guess partly because everyone always said how spicy the food was. However, after coming from Korea(why doesn't anyone say how spicy Korean is???), the 2-star it did not seem very spicy at all! I think we will try for the 3 & 4-star options next time.