Kate started out the week by going to Nikko with Dinorah for the Nikko spring festival on Monday. I was working so was not able to attend. The festival has a number of events, but Kate mainly attended the historical procession. Around 1200 volunteers dressed up for the parade and walked down the streets of Nikko.
First picture is one of the bridges at Nikko.
The rest of the pictures are from the procession. I am not sure what each costume represents. Looks like it was a cool event.
One of the portable shrines being carried through the streets.
Kate with some of the warriors
Slowly the children are becoming more Japanese. Their language is getting better all the time. Last week Kate found out that there is a Tofu truck (like the Yaki iimo truck) he drives around selling Tofu. Apparently the truck also sells Nato. Nato is fermented soybeans. The smell is very strong and it is slimy. Not even all Japanese like it. Everyone tells me that it is good for you, but I am only at a point that I can tolerate eating it. Liam is still at the point were he won't touch it, but Colleen loves it. She eats it at the school lunch and Kate bought some from the truck. She gobbled it right up as well. Here is the proof.
Close up of the Nato. The picture can't show smell or texture. They are what make it difficult to eat, the taste itself is not that bad.
To finish out the week we took the train down to Tokyo to meet Jessica. She is Kate's cousin's daughter. She has been visiting China and stopped in Japan during her trip. We met her at Shinjuku station. We hit up the Krispy Kreme shop before meeting her, man the fresh glazed doughnuts there taste good.
Here is Jessica.
From Shinjuku we headed to Asakasa to see the temples. Last time we were there was New Years Eve. This time we saw the temples in the light, but it was pouring rain.
The children tried the water cleansing for the first time at the temple.
While walking around we found salt chocolate. Kate wanted to give it a try.
It was pretty good, like a chocolate covered pretzel without the pretzel..
Finally we headed back to Shinjuku. Close to the station we found this giant panda. It was disturbing to see such a huge animal contained in a small glass cage. He is smiling so I guess he is OK with it.
Finally before heading home I had one last item on the agenda. Prior to coming to Japan I made a list of some of the things I wanted to do before our stay was finished. On that list was eat Fugu. Fugu is blowfish and is lethally poisonous if not prepared correctly. There is not a known antidote for blowfish poison. Only licensed chefs are allowed to prepare Fugu. I was able to find a place that serves it but had not been able to go. Just so happens that it was near Shinjuku station. I attached a map of the place.
The restaurant is called Torafugu Tei. I used my new bicycle GPS to help us find it.
In the front window they have a tank with a number of the blowfish on display.
I ordered two small plates of the Fugu sashimi. It came with a small bowl of Fugu skin and seaweed. This picture shows the size of one of the plates of sashimi.
Everyone at least tried the Fugu, even Liam gave it a go (one piece was enough for him). The flavor was pretty straight forward. Fairly mild. I did feel a very slight tingle in my mouth after eating it. Could have been in my head, but I am pretty sure it was there.
The two plates of sashimi cost around $50. You could never get full on it at that price, but I felt it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Also it was on my list so I had no choice. My basic feeling is you don't want to eat Fugu at Yamaguchi's discount Fugu shop so I was able to justify it this one time. The restaurant was very friendly and the service was fast. We were in a bit of a hurry to drop Jessica off at the station and catch our train back home and they helped me to get on our way quickly. We made the train with 4 minutes to spare.
Thats all for this week. I was able to get it all in before the poison affected my typpppppppppppppppp
No comments:
Post a Comment