Japan

This web page was supposed to give some insight on things I have seen and experienced during my trip to Japan (October 4th - 14th, 2001). But as it always goes, I did not have enough time to add all the things I wanted to add. I will try to make it nicer in the next couple of days, but I cannot promise anything.

I would like to thank Dan and Taka for being such great hosts and guides.

Pictures

You can find here 224 pictures of the trip. All pictures were shot with my Canon Powershot S300, which had some problems with the weather conditions that week (we had some haze). Also, the pictures cannot really show how beautiful Japan is.

Food

Food is great in Japan. It is amazing what you get there if you have the right guide .

I just want to list what I ate there.

Yakitori	Small grilled chicken pieces on a stick (it tastes much better than it sounds). You can buy it at any convenience store (conbini).
Takoyaki	Small balls, made of octopus pieces and some dough and a special sauce. You can buy it at street corners in a box of 6 or 8. Yummy!
Shabu-Shabu	Fondue. You get vegetables and meat and you put it in a broth for awhile. I liked it a lot! Btw, "all you can eat" usually means in Japan that you have to leave after 90 minutes.
Okonomiyaki	This is probably the best food I had. It is a pancake with a cabbage base. It is topped with meet or seafood and a special sauce.
Negiyaki	Similar to Okonomiyaki, but the base is green onions. Very good.
Natto	Fermented beans. It is different. It is weird. It smells and tastes... interesting. It is sticky. Actually, I did not eat the whole thing. I tried a little and Dan had to finish the rest.
Katsudon	Pork cutlet over rice with an egg. Yummy!
Sushi	Well, you know what sushi is. It is cheaper and better in Japan.
Tempura	Deep-fried vegetables and shrimp.
Sanma	It is a mackerel. Have you ever tried to eat a whole fish with chop sticks? Well, you should! It is an experience (especially for the people watching you).
Yakisoba, Yakiudon	Fried noodles.
Cha-han	Rice in tea.
Ika	Squid.
Japanese Curry	Even though curry comes from India, Japan has its own style. It is really tasty (and cheap).
Ramen	This has nothing to do with the american ramen for 10¢. This soup is very, very good and actually still quite cheap.
Chinese Food	We went to china town and had an umpteen courses lunch. I never had jellyfish or shark fin soup before. It was very good.