Japanese food

It's lucky we all like seafood! The choice seems to be almost endless in Japan so we were glad that at the end of each day of fieldwork, we were served a set menu at the various hotels we stayed at on the Izu Islands. Tuna, shrimp, salmon, eel and squid were the varieties we recognized but there were others! We particularly enjoyed the sashimi (raw fish, delicately sliced) and tempura (seafood or vegetables - deep fried in light, crispy batter) but there were plenty of other items on offer as well. For example, each meal was accompanied by hot miso soup, the ubiquitous bowl of white rice plus a variety of vegetables (including ashitaba or tomorrow's leaf and pumpkin, potatoes, and tomatoes), and different types of tofu and seaweed. To make the meal complete, we sometimes had chicken and/or noodles. It's a wonder we had the energy to write our daily journal after such feasts.

Back in Tokyo, the high prices in the city's restaurants curbed our appetites somewhat but we were treated to the same kind of aquatic fare as at most of the places we had visited in the islands. It was more interesting to go through the local markets and to see what was on offer. Everything seemed to be available but in the market close to our hotel in the Ueno district many stalls specialized in seafood - fresh or dried varieties (including seaweed), vegetables and fruit - familiar types such as melon, peaches and apples, dried varieties of just about everything as well as exotic offerings such as durian.