I'm in Tokyo!

I’ve been up for 24 hours now but it’s been a great day. After our 10 ½ hour flight and 1 ½ hour bus ride, we met a Fulbright volunteer who took us to dinner. But first, have you figured out why I arrived 27 hours after I left San Francisco? Here's a video that might help you.

We went to a restaurant called Wind and Flowers where we removed our shoes upon arriving and put them in small wooden lockers. We sat on the floor (this one did have an area to put your feet so it was like sitting in a chair. We sat in a small room with this sliding walls so we could hear others but not see them. The menu had many unfamiliar items so we picked a couple and enjoyed hearing about Japan from Satoshi Miyajima, a university law professor who lived in Chicago for two years.

Our first menu item arrived- yakitori- marinated meat on a stick. I know I had a couple of pieces of chicken but I’m not sure about the other two I ate. We ordered the variety plate so it could have included anything on the menu, including horse.

Next we ordered a variety soup. There were fish balls, tofu, Chinese radish, boiled eggs, some kind of dried fish and a few things I couldn’t identify. It was tasty. It makes me realize how narrow my view is about what I consider “acceptable” food to eat. There was a dish that has squid guts in it and our host thought it sounded really good, or sushami made with horse meat. I eat cow meat, why not horse? But I haven’t yet!

























Here is our host ordering for us. The waiter comes in and kneels on the floor.













The reception that we’ve received here is so gracious and special. There are people at every turn welcoming us.

And as a final note, the Japanese are serious about their umbrellas! There are racks of umbrellas outside our hotel (locked) that people can borrow or rent. Here's an example.