Sushi, Sushidai, Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo

September 19, 2008

So, last meal in Japan.... I tottered around the selling portion of the fish market for a while, almost got run over by some of the vehicles, before I found this place at around 9am... and had to stand in a line for an hour. Oh well, totally worth it. The sushi chef told me what each of these things are, but I totally forgot. The first four are the memorable ones, whether they were awesome tasting, or were still moving (2nd one). Good end to the trip.

Tenmusu, Nagoya Station, Nagoya

September 18, 2008
Tenmusu, the reason for my only double-stop of the trip (other than Tokyo, naturally). In my first trip to Nagoya, I stuffed myself leaving the city so much, I completely forgot to buy this, which basically amounts to a type of onigiri stuffed with tempura shrimp. Thankfully, I found it at one of the convenience stores (I love having convenience stores that sell meal-like food, we need that in Toronto). I had this after I got home that night. In retrospect, I should've stopped in at Yamaton again for some more misokatsu. Dang.

Yakitori, Nenohi, Yurakucho, Tokyo

September 18, 2008
So I actually bought this after I bought what's coming up in tomorrow's post, but I ate the Yakitori before, so there.

Yakitori, or grilled meat on a stick, the highlight of late night (or siu-mai) of Japanese food. In a nice drinking place surrounded by many other Yakitori shops, I downed seven sticks of meat easily. Mainly chicken and pork, with the meatballs on the bottom, and also some chicken neck (surprise, tasted like chicken). However, this was a bit of a downer, since it marked the only time I really wished I had someone there with me. Sitting at the bar amongst lots of Japanese natives and tourists drinking and eating loudly and happily will do that to ya.

Unagi, Yaotoku, Hamamatsu

September 18, 2008
The only time I ate unagi (other than on sushi) on the trip was on the second last day, here in Hamamatsu. I actually also wanted to eat snapping turtle here, but that went out the window because of an unpleasantly expensive experience with transportation and taxis the previous night. But besides that, the unagi was solid, very flavourful. It didn't leave a huge impression, though, because I'm not an unagi connoisseur. It was also rather pricey =P But still worth the experience

Yakisoba, Totoro, Fujinomiya

September 18, 2008
Mm, Yakisoba. Visited Fujinomiya to eat it on the recommendation of Ian, which coincidentally is partly how I got the idea of visiting many many places to eat their specialties. Fujinomiya was a great example because, although its a really small town, they still had a map indicating where you could eat Yakisoba. I love the concept of towns centred around food.

I've had Yakisoba once since I've been back to Toronto, and it didn't compare to this. Contrary to how you might usually find it, this wasn't saucy at all, but a little dry, basically non-greasy fried noodles, cabbage and meat. However, the bits of nori (seaweed) covering it was an awesome addition. Mixed up all together with the rest of the food made for a fantastic combination. I'll definitely have to use that idea in cooking in the future.

Ramen, Raumen Museum, Yokohama

September 17, 2008
Ahh.. the Raumen Museum (yes, it's spelled R-A-U-men, I don't know why. I will continue to spell it without the u). This place was pretty cool, they brought in 9 "famous" ramen makers from across the country, selling local specialties or twists on the standard ramen fare, all in the basement in a recreation of 1950s Tokyo. I had actually managed to visit at least 5 of those cities already, so I went for two places I had not tried yet. Apparently I've lost my Raumen Museum guide, so I can't remember where each one was from.

Anyhow, it was ramen, tastes good =). The ball of red stuff in the second picture is actually a ball of spices, that was interesting. And I only realized after I made it to the second store that I could order half-orders, so I probably could have eaten a third type had I realized that before. Surprisingly, the one on the bottom was the half-portion; the pictures don't really show that, do they?

Finally, they had all sorts of other stuff in the Museum, including a history of instant noodles, and many other things that I couldn't understand cause I don't read Japanese. There were also apparently ramen video games, which basically consist of you trying to eat ramen faster than your opponent. Also a bar, a candy store, and some sort of archery/gun carnival game. I bought the marble drink and some ice cream in a balloon, pictured below.

Sushi, Sushi Zanmai, Akihabara, Tokyo

September 17, 2008
Oooh.. the second of 3 sushi meals in Japan, and one of the happiest =P. This is a kaiten (revolving) sushi restaurant in one of the large department stores in Akihabara. I had already planned to eat here, but the bonus was getting a coupon for free chu-toro (medium-fatty tuna, top picture) before entering the restaurant.

The quality of the sushi was excellent, there was a spigot of green tea, and I even got to try otoro (really fatty tuna, bottom picture), though it didn't really meet the hype. But that was the only minor negative in a meal which I stuffed myself with sushi for about 1700 yen, less than the price of a lunch all-you-can-eat in Toronto. Japan rules =)