Yes, trying fish in Japan is a must, an adventure, something you know will thrill the stomach, the eyes, all the senses, and one afternoon in Tokyo quite near one of the national museums, my friend and I popped into a small restaurant filled with more live fish than (live?) humans, catching sight of four enormous fishtanks flanking the walls I realised actually enclosed us completely. The decor sat well in the L-shaped building, many reds and oranges, a few shuttling shades of black, tall ceiling, black upright chairs, and a long bar to the left, with three lively men, one of whom I swore had a guitar which was never confirmed.
My friend was not a great eater, and he seemed very shocked at my choice of Sapporo beer, but it was the ONLY thing which troubled me in Japan, a constant thirst for water or, while travelling on foot, beer. My choice was immense, and astonishingly cheap, 450 yen, in the heart of Tokyo, beside a national museum, for what by Japanese standards was a very large lunch, my place decorated with 7 side dishes of various fish, (including octopus), 5 of which were raw, exquisitely served and decorated, accompanied with rice, miso soup and a sauce. I tucked-in and savoured the foods that have given the Japanese such longevity, and feeling like all this fish would shortly come alive again within the confines of my stomach, in the best way!
It took my friend 10 minutes, or maybe less, to complete his meal, about half the size of my own, as it was no novelty to him, but to silly me, I prolongued the enjoyment to a massive 45 minutes, almost unheard of over the course of a Japanese midday meal. But it was my free day, and such was the joy of that lunch, I am able to still write the details a year later, with total recall.
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** for sudha_c: SALSA info on my other blog: www.cheeseplz.blog.de
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Restaurant notices;
Our great food will never leave you!
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Please leave a pet outside.
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It will take about 1 minute to fix a hot drink.
Please wail.
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Big crap sale today! Rush yourself here!
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We serve people like you as good food!
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The shadiest cocktail bar in Bangkok.
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The name of a Chinese Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur;
"Soon Go Fatt"
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Sign in a Taiwan cafeteria;
Please keep chair on position and keep table cleaned after dying.
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A big poster advertising a restaurant in Japan:
Happy Your Pocket!
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Sign advertising newly re-designed restaurant:
“Colorful dining space surrounded by stained glasses."
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On Tonight's Menu...
Dumpling stuffed with the ovary and
digestive glands of a crab.
From a menu in China.
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Three cute prawns suntanning on the rice.
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Children soup.
From a menu in India.
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Deep Fried Fingers of my Lady.
From a menu in India.
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Boys style little chickens.
From a menu in Barcelona.
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Pork with fresh garbage.
From a menu in Vietnam.
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Dreaded veal cutlet with potatoes in cream.
From a menu in China.
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Strawberry crap.
From a menu in Japan.
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Teppan Yaki - Before Your Cooked Right Eyes.
From a menu in Japan.
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Intestines of crab.
Describing a Dim sum plate on a menu in China.
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We serve dead shrimp on vegetables with a smile.
Chinese restaurant.
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The American slogan for Salem cigarettes, "Salem - Feeling Free," got translated in the Japanese market into "When smoking Salem, you feel so refreshed that your mind seems to be free and empty".
A warning to motorists in Tokyo: "When a passenger of the foot heave in sight, tootle the horn. Trumpet at him melodiously at first, but if he still obstacles your passage, then tootle him with vigor."
Panasonic developed a complete Japanese Web browser, and to make the system user-friendly, licensed the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker as the "Internet guide." Panasonic eventually planned on a world version of the product. The day before the ads were to be released, Panasonic decided to delay the product launch indefinately. The reason: an American staff member at the internal product launch explained to the stunned and embarrassed Japanese what the ad's slogan, "Touch Woody - The Internet Pecker", might mean to English speakers.
In a Tokyo bar: Special cocktails for the ladies with nuts.
In a Tokyo hotel: Is forbitten to steal hotel toweles please. If you are not person to do such thing is please not to read this notice.
In a Japanese hotel room: Please to bathe inside the tub.
Diversion sign in Kyushi, Japan: Stop - Drive Sideways.
