FOOD
If you are a sushi lover, you will be in heaven here when it comes to food. If you hate sushi, you will still be in heaven because there is something for everyone here, and everything is delicious. The first thing we did of course is go and have sushi. Lots and lots of sushi. This when we learned that there are no sushi rolls in traditional Japanese restaurants, and that salmon and shrimp are American inventions. Everything with tuna is so delicious. We were especially lucky to be there during the sakura (cherry blossom), as then all the restaurant decorations reflect the wonderful pink and white flowers that cover the whole city. What we really enjoyed was the fact that the presentation of the meal was equally important as the taste of the dish.
For those who can live without raw fish, Japan offers amazing grilled meats: yakitori (skewer chicken), sukiyaki (hot pot style prepared meat, similar to shabu shabu), and yakiniku (grilled, barbecued meat). All these types of grills are delicious.
When you visit Asakusa, have lunch at Imahan, a very popular sukiyaki restaurant. We were brave enough to try dipping our meat in raw eggs- although the taste was interesting, it's not something we will crave again.
The most memorable dinner we had was kaiseki, the traditional Japanese multi-course dinner at Iraka, a lovely restaurant in Ginza, near our hotel. Kaiseki dinner for 4 persons, with sake, was about $140, and the experience was unforgettable even if you are not crazy about fish. The whole meal takes time and all you have to do is relax, enjoy and wonder what will be the next course.
One thing you should not miss are Japanese deserts. Most are made with bean pasta, and are heavenly. As mentioned, during the sakura season, everything is decorated accordingly, and many desserts are just made for this occasion. In retrospect, we would have eaten many more wonderful desserts. Next time.
