On Sunday night, all of the first-year residents took me out for sushi. The first thing most Japanese seem to ask me is "Do you like Japanese food?" When I say"Yes, of course!" they smile and ask, "Do you like raw fish?" They seem a little surprised when I answer so emphatically with "I LOVE it!" and also surprised that it is eaten so frequently in the States (at least by my friends). However, the next question is always, "But do you like nato?"
Nato is a traditional Japanese food that one of the residents describes lovingly as "rotten soy beans". They insisted on ordering a sushi roll filled with nato, and I can now answer honestly, "I'm afraid not".
But the rest of the meal was fantastic. We started off with green tea, of course. This time, with green tea powder that you spoon into your mug and then cover with hot water from a spigot at your table.
Next came miso soup with an unexpected habitant....
The dishes came out quickly - maguro (tuna), onago (the cheaper version of eel here), and some other form of mashed up rare tuna with another name - and all were a surprise since the residents were ordering in Japanese. There were twelve of us all together, so halfway through dinner, they insisted on switching tables so that everyone had a chance to sit with the American. I felt like a celebrity.
Table 1
Table 2
Hitomi shows me how to pose Japanese-style.
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