Happy New Year

Yesterday we went Asakusa (a town in Tokyo) to visit the Sensoji Temple with Kuniko's dad. It is a combination of a Buddhist temple and Shinto Shrine which apparently a common thing here.








Last night (New Years eve) we went to Kuniko's friends house for dinner- more amazing food. I ate raw chicken- yes raw- apparently it is sashimi grade (very fresh) chicken- which included raw thigh and gizzard- I ate them both- the gizzard was sort of crunchy- very odd. As much as I love raw fish, I think I prefer chicken cooked. The top picture below is the raw chicken. We also made sushi which was sort of a joke- traditionally at home you make hand rolls but never nigiri sushi- there is a reason, it is very dificult- apparently you go to school to become a sushi chef- now I see why. We also ate a hot pot with duck which is in the picture below- really good.

Japan!

Hey, I thought I would start a blog as a way to share the stories and experiences of my travels and my life with whoever is interested.
I flew yesterday from Honolulu to Tokyo. I left on Dec 29th at 11:30 am and arrived in Tokyo on the 30th at 4pm after 8 hours of flying- that whole international date line thing is crazy.
Kuniko's mom prepared shabu shabu a traditional japanese dish and used some very expensive japanese beef- see picture. They feed the cows beer and massage them to get it so marbled and rich. It was really amazing. Kuniko's parents are very nice and welcoming. Tomorow we will be going to check out temples and eat more good food- pretty much all the food is amazing and very refined- I love it.