Natto and other dining experiences

So quite awhile ago, I experienced the nastiness that is natto. Natto is the uber-traditional Japanese dish of fermented soybeans. Not surprisingly, it's really stinky. I had promised myself that I would try it while I was here. I mean, I really like anko [sweet red bean paste] that lotsa foreigners hate, so maybe I would like natto. Then I could impress my students and teachers with something beyond my poor chopstick ability. Traditionally, natto is eaten for breakfast- mixed into rice with soy sauce, and sometimes a raw egg. Ok, honestly there was no way I could handle that first thing in the morning. So we headed off for the kaiten-zushi [conveyor belt sushi]. I snagged the natto sushi and shoved it straight into my mouth. Woof! Even though I barely got a whiff, it sure stank! And the taste... well, the Japanese say natto is good for the digestion- and since it smelled and tasted just like BILE, I am willing to accept that it would increase your stomach's break-down ability. I somehow kept it down, but only ate one of the two sushis. And I will not be trying it again, ever. Yuck.

In tastier food news, we had two Thanksgivings this week. Last Saturday we made our way to Kaibara, met up with Todd & Alicen and James & Sally. A local bar was putting on a turkey dinner for the foreigners. Everyone was to bring a dish and 1,000 yen. Since the drinks at the bar are kinda steep, we split a few bottles of wine before heading down to meet the taxis. Well, Sally had called two taxis to pick us up at her place. After 10 minutes, it was clear they weren't coming, so we started walking to the station. After a few minutes we saw a taxi making its way toward us. So we did the natural thing- we lined up across the street and waved him down. The poor driver kept pointing ahead, but we were all "No, no! We're your fare!" Right as we're reaching for the door, we notice the two elderly, freaked-out Japanese in the back seats- we were trying to hijack an occupied taxi! Laughing, we backed off and found our own taxis.

We made it to the bar where we met up with Diana and John. There was loads of delicious food- Kiso, the bartender, made a wonderful turkey with stuffing. After stuffing ourselves we did the Japanese thing and headed off for Karaoke. For all you stateside, Japanese Karaoke is much more fun than in the states. Your group gets their own room, so you only make an ass of yourself in front of friends, not an entire bar. Often you get comp mixers, and you can order food and booze. Very cool.

On Monday we received a box of goodies from my folks- Hooray for sweaters and sweets!

Our next turkey day was on Wednesday, which was National Labour and Thanksgiving Day here in Japan. Aaron and Julius had picked up a turkey in Kobe on Monday, along with other essentials. Nic, Jenny, Julius, Alicia, Chris, Jasmine, Aaron, and I chipped in and had a fantastic Thanksgiving. Pictures later.