Itadakimasu!

Bridget:

One of the best parts about visiting Japan is the abundance and variety of delicious foods.  Yes, yes, the sushi is amazing and incredibly fresh, but there are so many other dishes that leave you wanting more, more, more.  I will do my best to describe each of the foods we devoured and couldn’t get enough of over the mere week we spent, in my opinion, in one of the best countries for culinary delights.   But first, a little vocabulary lesson:

1. Before every meal in Japan, you must say, “Itadakimasu,” which means “let’s eat!” 
2. “Kampai” is the Japanese way of saying “cheers!”
3. “Oishi” means “delicious!”
4. “Izakaya” is a traditional style Japanese restaurant and bar (see picture below):

I’ll start with a familiar one.  Sushi…but not just any sushi…this is kaitenzushi.  Translated it means conveyor-belt style sushi.  You just take a seat, pick any plate as it comes your way, then pay for the number of empty plates you’ve stacked up at the end of the meal.  I have seen a few of these in the States.   Also, the sushi doesn’t come in rolls, as we Americans are used to.  Sorry, you won’t find deep-fried rolls or gooey cream cheese in the middle.  Just a roll of vinegared rice topped with raw fish.  Oishi!

Probably my favorite food, my dad’s favorite, Craig’s favorite….well, you get the idea…. is yakitori, or “chicken on a stick.”  But this isn’t just any chicken on a stick, my friends.  This is succulent chicken thigh meat cut into little pieces, seasoned, and grilled over open hot charcoals.  Then you can top it with shichimi, a seven-spices sort of seasoning you can find at almost every izakaya.  Don’t forget to pair it with some hot or cold salted edamame (soy beans). Oishi!

Along the same line as yakitori is “asuparabeekon,” or bacon wrapped asparagus on a stick: 

I scream, you scream, we all scream for….green tea ice cream?  Or how about…purple potato ice cream?  Well, they may sound odd, but they tasted pretty awesome.  For the more adventurous folk, why not try….drum roll please…wasabi ice cream?

Not sure what this is called, or even what it tastes like, but it sure looks good.  Kind of like a Japanese burrito:

Probably the most fun we had going out to eat was having dinner at a yakiniku restaurant.  This basically means that you can order raw meats and vegetables and grill them yourself on your own built-in grill right in the middle of your table.  We took advantage of the “all you can eat” deal and used the little handheld electronic menu to order more meat or veggies as necessary (okay, well Sanae did since it was all written in Japanese).  We talked about having yakiniku the entire week, and finally did it for our last official meal in Japan.  So much fun!

Last but not least, I must take a few minutes to describe one of the most amazing culinary experiences we’ve ever had (in any country).  In the last post, Craig wrote about staying at a ryokan, which is a traditional Japanese style inn.  Usually included in your hotel fees are dinner and breakfast.  This involves all guests meeting at the same time (imagine that!) and sitting down for a multi-course meal.  Our dinner consisted of ten courses.  I couldn’t tell you what many of the foods were that we ate that night, but I can tell you that each course was a beautifully presented tray of gorgeous little dishes, all containing some new texture, flavor, or aroma.  It was like an adventure of the palette, if you will.  The following snapshots are just a few of the more striking courses.  Breakfast, was equally impressive.

There were many other yummy treats we sampled like octopus balls (don’t get the wrong idea here), dumplings, raw ham, etc.   Unfortunately, we did not take any photos due to overwhelming hunger, watering of the mouth, or sheer greed.  Please forgive us.