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

   After a few good weekends of doing pretty well at saving money, we caved and went out for an eel lunch today...this being directly after we spent way too much on curtains for the new apartment. (Did I mention that I've packed 7 boxes total and we move in just under 2 weeks??).
  This little eel restaurant is in Haibara, a small town about a half hour's drive from Shizuoka. We didn't arrive there until going on 2 pm, seeing as shopping for curtains takes way, way longer than one would expect. Much, MUCH longer if you happen to be incredibly picky with a knack for always choosing the most expensive merchandise while on a limited budget. We were of course starving by that point, but the upside to arriving so late was that we didn't have to wait for a seat.
  It'd probably been a year or so since I'd eaten at this restaurant, even though it's our favorite. Not only do they have some of the best eel around, they also have fresh fried eel bones. I'm guessing that most people are gagging at the mention of eating eel bones, but they're basically like really crunchy kettle chips, albeit with a somewhat more roasted flavor. And they're high in calcium, what more can you ask for? Hopefully we can get back there again before another year goes by.

  
                                      Some of the decor

                                  The Lovely Bones!

                         Lunch set: eel on a bed of rice, pickled veggies, and soup