Dan had been wanting us to meet one of his colleagues, Nakkei san, for a while. He finally arranged a meal out at a traditional Japanese restaurant chosen by Nakkei san and we were also accompanied by Nakkei san’s mentee and all-round Good Guy, (Junior) Suzuki san.
I got the kids to Dan’s office and then joined Nakkei san and junior Suzuki san for an introductory lesson in striving through crowds at rush hour to get on trains. Really, had we not had our Japanese friends with us I’m sure I would have waited in queues and the whole journey to Tobe would have taken twice as long. Let’s call this behaviour ‘Being Assertive’.
It was a lovely restaurant where you remove your shoes, and we ordered our food, and Dan ordered sake. I’d heard about it being presented in a glass in a box but never seen it before in the flesh, so to speak. I stuck with my oolong tea. We had a great night and tried Japanese Parfait as pudding for the first time and it was yummy. We learned that the gelatinous cubes were made from seaweed.
Having Nakkei san with us really enhanced the experience as he is from the countryside and is very knowledgeable about food. He and his brother have a rice farm and have invited us out there in September to stay with them and see the farm.
bookwormbird 