I made sure our last full day in Japan would be one to remember. I scheduled a live Kabuki performance, the famous Fish Market, and the final day of matches for the September Sumo Basho! Are you ready for this?
Continue reading Heaths Come to Japan – Day 13 – Kabuki, Sashimi, and Sumo ~ Oh My!
Day 10 dawned with an overcast sky – would the rains we had only just escaped catch us again? Perhaps it was meant to be! In any case, the scenery was as beautiful as ever.
Today we were going to visit the two most famous parts of Kanazawa – the gold leaf district and Kenrokuen (“Kenroku Garden”).
Continue reading Heaths Come to Japan – Day 10 – Gold, Gardens, and Gourmet Chefs
Saturday rolled around and it was time to blow off some steam, so the usual suspects were rounded up and plans were drawn. It was going to be a typical sushi & karaoke outing, but with a twist – we were going to visit a brand-new SCBR that had opened a few kilometers west on the same road as the one we usually patronize… bit of foreshadowing here for you: we were not going to be disappointed.
Last night, as promised, Satoshi, Ting, and I hit the streets of Beppu to visit one of the greatest inventions known to man: a sushi conveyer belt restaurant! Now before we begin, I should clarify that there are two types of SCBR’s in Japan, differentiated by price. At the first type, plates whirrrrrr about in a variety of different colors, which signify different prices. These restaurants typically serve more upscale sushi and sashimi delicacies, but the bill can add up pretty quick. Furthermore, after several mugs of beer, you may no longer be able to distinguish between red, pink, and reddish pink plates, leading you to select the $8 ’emperor’s plate’ when you really wanted the $2 ‘lil fishie’ plate! This was not the type of restaurant we visited.
We went to the other kind, the everyman’s SCBR, where every single plate can be had for the flat fee of 105Y – tax included(~$0.92). Therefore, one can snatch any damn plate he feels like and still be able to immediately calculate his current tab. After having eagerly anticipated this event for an entire week, we arrived a little after 5:30pm Saturday evening. Early yes, but these places are ridiculously popular, and not 15 minutes after we got there every single seat was taken and people were queuing along the walls.
Continue reading The Sushi Conveyer Belt Restaurant Adventure
