As Japanese department stores as just as cool as you imagine them to be, apparently most of them have grocery stores/markets on the bottom floor. Generally one half was a grocery store where you could buy produce, meat, and fish as well as boxed and canned goods like rice or cereal. So, I went about basically acting like what we in America would call a "Japanese Tourist," and took photos all over their grocery store.
Behold: Wasabi in its natural form:
Behold: a "musk melon" (which I must confess I thought was a cantaloupe) for approximately $150! That better be one hell of a melon!
The market in the department store may not be where most Japanese shop on a regular basis, but it sure was a feast for the eyes. The other half of the market consisted of vendors selling prepared foods from small kiosks. You can find anything including chocolate, yakitori, katsu, sushi, sandwiches, dumplings, ice cream, salads and even Italian paninis. We bought a little from many different shops to take with us on the bullet train to Nagoya. Interesting note: Japanese do not eat while walking.
Probably the most extravagant meal we had on the trip was Chinese New Year's Eve Dinner. We all assembled in a private dining room in our hotel in our fashionable Japanese robes, called yukatas, for dinner. Yes, we all matched--photos will be posted.
The set dinner menu was written down on the small menu you can see in the bottom left corner of the picture. The dinner included a hot pot (the metal bowl on the left--it is atop a small grill with charcoal underneath), tempura, sushi, and a bunch of stuff that I have no idea what it was, but it sure was good. Check out that spread!
Another aspect of Japanese cuisine, which to some extent holds for much of Asian cuisine, is that Asians like to cook the food themselves. I think it has something to do with the fact that they appreciate food that is so burning hot that it will remove tastebuds from a typical Whitey's tongue.
One night near Lake Biwa (the name of the town currently excapes me) we feasted on duck hot pots, which were basically big hot pots of broth, with vegetables, in which we boiled big fatty pieces of duck for our eating delight.
Another example is to the right, where we had Mitsusaka beef (forgive me for the probable misspelling of Mitsusaka). Rosie is flipping meat on the grill and Truman is telling her she's doing it wrong. :)
The beef is special, the equivalent of Kobe beef. It was magically tender. It melted in my mouth. It was such good beef that we were actually served with beef sashimi which is--you guessed it--raw slices of beef. The owners of the restaurant owned the farm where the cows were raised, and also owned the brewery of the beer which we had with dinner and which the cows enjoyed before they were slaughtered. No, really. If you don't believe me, look up why Japanese beef is so good and so expensive.
Go to Japan. Eat the food. Eat all of it. Don't ask what it is. You will be happy.
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