寿司 vs 刺身 (Sushi vs. Sashimi)

Well, I finally did it....I tried some traditional Japanese food. Now before we get into exactly what I ate, lets have a vocabulary lesson. Sushi is a Japanese dish made of vinegared rice with a topping (fish, egg, shrimp). Sashimi is raw fish. Now you are wondering which did I have to eat....Sashimi.

It is traditional to have a End of Year party with the staff of your school. The cost was 8000 yen per person (which is about $75). I figured it was be good for me to attend so I paid up and waiting for the big day (Friday, December 7th). The day before I was invited out to lunch with one of my co workers Keiko and her friend (the students were taking finals so they had half day and so the lunch hour was a bit longer than usual). She told me we were going to a Japanese sushi restaurant but at lunch time they served a set lunch. I figured that was ok. Then she asked me what I was going to do if they were serving raw fish. "I guess I can try it" hoping that they were serving cooked fish that day. So when we got there, Keiko asked what was being served and they said Salmon (I of course asked, "is it cooked" and the ladies assured me it was. Thank God). Let's just say I tried sashimi that day and it was ok.

Now back to the end of the year party...I was so glad that I had tried sashimi before arriving....

This was the first course. It was at my seat when I arrived. Not too bad I thought. Starting on the left we have dipping sauce (soy sauce). Then we have cab meat with miso sauce on green vegetables. next is shrimp (cooked), a yellow vegetable, 2 different kinds of cheese, and greenery. Next was a gelatin with some fish in it. And in front was some tofu with wasabi and something pink. I did eat or at least tried all of it.

On to the second course. Shrimp (cooked but the head and legs are still on it), tuna and snapper (noticed I didn't say they were cooked). So I put a lot of wasabi in the soy sauce and started dipping the fish. I have to say it wasn't all that bad. I was expecting slimy, chewy things and it was tender and edible. Now don't get me wrong, I won' be ordering it in a restaurant because I didn't think it had much flavor, but it was ok. The tuna was better than the snapper.

What was left of my second course. Everyone at my table was watching me to see if I was going to eat the sashimi. It was quite comical.

Third course - oyster with miso and uzo sauce, white fish (cooked), slice of tuna (raw) and the little round brown thing is a Japanese potato. Not bad. I gave the oyster away but ate the other food.

On to the fourth course (I was wondering the same thing, how many courses will there be??) This had to be the most disgusting dish I have ever laid eyes on (worse than the pie floaters my mom said I had to eat in Australia) Let's start at the bottom. I think that was some sort of tofu. It didn't have much taste, but I ate it. The brown thing was a mushroom, not bad. The pink thing was fish (snapper I think) in a vinegar sauce, pretty good. The white things on top were onions (I am learning to eat and like raw onions - are you happy G-Papa). Now on to that blob sitting in the lower left part of my bowl. It is the intestines of some fish. I had no interest in eating it. But I am sure it was a hot topic at all the other tables (is the American going to eat it?) So over walks one of the young male teachers whom I play badminton with during testing days. And it seems that he wants me to eat this thing (although when he first asked it came out, "I want to eat you"). So then we have a long conversation and he gets me to cut it in half. Then he says he will eat 1 and I will eat 2. So I said you eat 1 & 2. Eventually I end up eating a small portion of one half and he ate the rest. But that wasn't the end of it, he came back over with his and wanted me to eat it...I said no way!!! It was quite hilarious.

Here are all the drinks I was nursing while eating all of these new foods. (I am sure Rosa Leigh is enjoying reading this blog much more than I am writing it). In Japan you are not allowed to pour your own drink. Which I think translates into you can't order your own drink either. So we start off with beer and someone fills my glass, not knowing that I don't care for beer. Then when I am not drinking it, they start asking me what I like to drink (sake, sho chu?) I said I would like some Sho chu. So they brought me a glass of sho chu and water....I was hoping for a fruit drink mix. So then I figured out that the place had orange juice so I get someone to order me a sho chu with orange juice. Much better. Then they figure out that I like this drink and several of the teachers brought me one. I think I ended up drinking 4 of them. Not bad for my first Japanese Drinking Party (that is what they call them here).

Now back to the food....The 5th course arrives and I am in heaven. BEEF!!! And it is cooked!!! Very tender and delicious. It was served with a few small vegetables. I ate this course very slowly as to savor all of it!!

On to the 6th course (no, it still has not stopped). This is sushi. The topping is crab meat (cooked), salmon (not cooked) and some fish eggs. I manged to eat everything except the eggs...I think I am getting use to sashimi....

By now I was very full, but then they brought out a dessert plate. Very small portions here in Japan which is very nice because then you can sample a lot of different things and not eat too much. We had a slice of pink grapefruit, a strawberry and a small slice of cake (chocolate, vanilla and strawberry) Oishii! (that means delicious in Japanese). And as a piece offering, the young man who got me to eat the fish intestines brought me his dessert plate. I couldn't eat anymore so I told him he could enjoy it.

These were some of the ladies who I sat with for dinner. Keiko is the lady in blue. She kindly lent my family her small Christmas tree so that kids would feel like it was more like Christmas. The lady sitting to her left (your right), Miya, works in the office at my high school. She often helps me in the copy room when the machine gives me an error. She very fun to talk to and she has been reading my blog lately.

These two guys are the life of the party. The one on the left is the young man who offered me his dessert plate. The gentleman on the right organized this years party. He asked me to give a short speech at the beginning of the party so he gave me a Santa hat as a gift.

All functions in Japan have a set beginning and ending time. So as the party came to a close, it is traditional at our high school for all the teachers to stand together in a large circle and sing the school song.

I had a great time at the End of Year party. I look forward to another party with this group of teachers.