Jinja and Shoga: Life in the Land of the Rising Sun

    We celebrated Valentine's Day a little early, by going out for a lovely sushi dinner tonight at our favorite sushi bar, Icchou (いっちょう）. We went with a course menu, just selecting the price and letting the head chef pick out whatever he wanted to give us. Since fish availability and price varies by season, the chef's selections are always a little bit different every time we go. This time, the show-stopper was a broiled uni (sea urchin) and kai (oyster) dish. I can't even begin to describe it, but it was some of the best sea urchin I've ever had. All the other dishes were great, too, of course, but right now I'm feeling so stuffed that I probably don't need to eat anything else until Valentine's Day. See for yourself...

           The appetizer: egg sushi, crab, tempura, and leek sushi (it was amazing, and now my breath is just as equally amazing, hah)

      Another appetizer: nori (seaweed) and wasabi with fish flakes over clams and mekabu (another type of seaweed)

   The sashimi plate: shrimp, fatty tuna, little squid, red kai (clam) and tai (a type of white fish)

             I HEART IKA!

         Steamed eggs with crab, shrimp, and mushrooms, topped with salmon eggs 

       The best dish of the meal: oysters topped with sea urchin and then broiled

    The main course: nigiri! Clam, tuna, squid (2 types), shrimp, salmon eggs, sea urchin, and..uh, something else...