Todd and Sara's 2007 Trip to Japan

COMING DOWN THE MOUNTAIN
After decending on the cable car and taking a few trains, we finally reach Tokyo. The city is very large and it has many districts. We arrived in the afternoon and had to walk a little from the station. We stayed at a great hotel called the Akasaka Prince. It is a tall building that is easy to see since it has no other large buildings next to it.

WHAT A ROOM
Our room was the best room during our whole trip. There were 2 good sized beds, a large curved sofa and a fantastic view. I should also mention the hi-tech toilet with a heated seat (which apparently is pretty common in Japan)

SUSHI TIME
After a long series of trains, we were a little tired. However, this was my 7th day in Japan and I had yet to sit down for some sushi. So, Sara and I had separate dinners. I walked to a local sushi bar, where I was the only one who spoke English. Luckily, I am well versed in sushi speak. So I asked for ni Maguro (2 Tuna), ni Ibi (2 Shrimp), ichi Toro (1 most fatty tuna) and ichi teka maki (tuna hand roll) and sake. It...was...awesome!

There are three differences I noticed from the sushi bars in the US. First, when you ask for sake, they give you close to a liter-sized bottle. I could only down about half. Also, the prices are way less (approx. $2 for 2 pieces of tuna.) Lastly, it took me a few pieces to figure out another difference from American sushi. In America, I mix a dab of wasabi in the soy sauce, then dip the sushi. So this is what I did. After the first bite, my eyes were watering and my sinuses were tingling. I thought it was just stronger wasabi than I was used to. Through my tears, I see the chef preparing another meal. AHA! He was spreading a layer of wasabi under each piece of fish, which to me was A LOT of wasabi. So, I learned, from then on, to request a smaller amount, which helped me the next morning at the Tsukiji Fish Market. I also learned the Japanese have a high tollerence for both wasabi and sake.