Dinner at a Traditional Japanese Restaurant

On the first night our Fullbrighter Host took us to this really interesting restaurant. We walked a little bit downtown and then took the elevator to the fifth floor of some building. It was really strange because when we exited the elevator we were in a tiny little foyer that was the foyer for the restaurant. I wasn't expecting that -- I guess the restaurant is the only establishment on that floor!

We also had to take off our shoes -- we hadn't been warned before we left so I had no slippers with me. Even worse I had no socks! I was really embarassed, but I got over it. The waiter showed us to our own "room"-- fully enclosed with a low table and tatami mats -- but the interesting thing was that under the table there was a pit for you to put your legs down into. Another unexpected surprise!!

It was difficult for my group to order -- one guy was a strict vegetarian and everything on the menu involved some kind of sea creature. lol. They even had Horse Meat and Chicken Gristle!!! Imagine that????

I listend as our host tried to explain all the dishes so that we could make our choices. It took thirty minutes just to decide on what to order because everything sounded just a little too "exotic" for our group. I saw something that looked like tempura and she confirmed that it was, indeed, tempura. But, it was Eel. She told me that eel is really high in calories, so that was a perfect out -- I told her that I didn't want to eat something high in calories! She finally showed us a dish that was called "baked rice" with shrimp and vegetables. I said "I'll have that!". It sounded pretty tame.

It was actually a great dish -- I don't know what all was in it. Various gelatinous vegetables, etc. A couple of shrimp... but it was absolutely tasty. The best part was that they served it in this crazy hot bowl then poured the shrimp and veggies over the top and that's how they cooked. It smelled YUMMY! I think everyone else was jealous, especially my friend who ended up ordering sushi with sea anemone (she hated it). hehehe. The other two friends ate bean curd and buckwheat soba. But, they said that it was good. I was too chicken to try it. Aparently bean curd (fermented beans) is a really popular staple food here. I'm still afraid of it!!

It was a great time though. The atmosphere was amazing. I felt like I was in that Jackie Chan movie we just saw -- the one with the Monkey King? It was like the restaurant that kid is getting tea in. Anyway, it was really amazing. Loved it!