Food

It took a litle while to become accustomed to the food here and the way of eating. It seems important to really embrace the way of eating here. In other foreign locations I suppose food is not that different, or indeed you can always find something like or the same as what you are used to. The love of the West does extend to foodstuffs very much but the way in which it is done is so differently (probably due to the availability and cost of ingredients) that really it is a different thing anyway. I suppose the only thing you could get the same would be McDonald´s. If you wanted to.

So basically it is just better to stay native and enjoy the food everyone eats rather than try to look for something that will probably disappoint. Besides, there are so many things to try I don´t think I´ll get round to trying even the half of it.

Best just to show my favourite things so far:

Edamame beans

Favourite sushi box - left, roll with seaweed and egg and stuff, middle, adzuki bean rice, right, pockets of sweet tofu with rice inside. YUM

Beautiful packaging

Cold (very sweet) coffee - actually the best way to drink coffee, the hot stuff is much worse

Banana cake thing, has a layer of banana paste stuff in the middle. Quite good

Daifuku mochi - mochi are rice cakes made from glutunous rice - this one is filled with sweetened adzuki bean paste. Devine.

This is plain mochi but grilled and has a sweet sauce on it. I didn´t like this as much though...

Think this is a pack for making sukiyaki - like a hotpot. We got it on reduction from the supermarket to try - it has lots of things cooked together, usually with a sauce made with sake.

Okonomiyaki - pancake thing with a variety of things inside cooked on a grill, has a special sauce a bit like barbeque

Anman - hot bready rice thing with adzuki bean paste inside - they make different varieties like meat, curry, pizza...yum. Great small hot snack.

And there is so much more... even just the traditional set meal, rice, miso, maybe tofu, pickles and a main thing like chicken or something. It is such a great way to eat and seems to make sense, you have a little of everything to enjoy.

More to come...