The World According to Mitch

I have been in Japan since Wednesday evening, and it is now Saturday morning.  For my readers in North America the time shift is simple… this morning in Japan is yesterday evening for you, and this evening in Japan will be this morning for you.  I think…

I have been promising that I would start taking pictures, and I am true to my word.  Here are just a few from yesterday.

The sashimi was absolutely wonderful, and as the night before much fresher than I had ever had.  However I also love the elegance with which it was served.  I am not entirely sure what fish I was eating, but it was all scrumptious.

I have eaten tempura in many Japanese restaurants in North America, and it is always the same… some is better than others, but the concept is almost always identical, as is the batter and the sauce.  This was my first Asian Tempura plate, and I was amazed.  The batter was completely different, and notice that in lieu of sauce they gave me a plate of salt.  It was a new way for me to eat it, and it was delicious.  As with the sashimi, I did not recognize a few of t he pieces… especially the thing with tentacles (which i suspect may be squid).

I do not know if this is the Japanese equivalent of a hot dog stand, but as I walked along the street at 11pm I came across this cart.  The man in the white shirt appeared to be a regular Japanese salaryman who had stepped out for a bowl of fast food noodles on a street corner.  In contrast to so much bling and neon ads, I loved the elegance of this vendor’s cart, with only the lantern advertising what he is selling, and what I assume is a menu posted at the top on a sheet of plain white paper.

In contrast to the next photo, this was quite obviously an eatery… people were enjoying themselves after a hard day at work.  There was food and beer on the tables (which appeared to be beer barrels with a table top).  The beer was not in tiny elegant glasses by the way… these were very generous sized steins.  I do not know what the lanterns and signs say, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they read ‘You want to be where everybody knows your name.’

It is hard for me to identify what a lot of businesses are unless they have the pictures in the window.  It was late and I was exhausted, but I thought the staircase leading to this business stood out; I would have had to step into traffic to photograph it as well as I would have liked, but I hope this is okay.  I assume that it is either a restaurant or a bar, but in truth I do not know.  Maybe the next time I walk by (it is only a few blocks from my hotel) I will venture upstairs and see what wonders await… or will I be disappointed after setting my expectations too high?  We’ll see…

Today I am venturing out for lunch at a colleague’s house, which means I am getting onto the subway for the first time since I arrived.  After lunch I will probably hit downtown Tokyo… tomorrow’s pictures will be plentiful I promise!

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