First thing to do in Japan is to go find sushi! In Sweden I usually don’t feel like eating sushi at all because I know what it tastes like in Japan and as soon as I land here I instantly need to go find some raw fish (and it’s not difficult here). The variation of sushi in Sweden is very limited while in Japan you will be busy for a long time if you want to try everything.
This time was no different, I immediately went to a sushi place a colleague had recommended. It was close to the hotel and it was lunch time = I was hungry. It was not particularly crowded and I got a seat at the running sushi counter. Usually I let the plates go by for a while before I choose what to take. I know that I can not eat more than 4-5 plates until I am full so I need to choose carefully.
As I was picking out my first taste of the wonderful sushi the man next to me made contact. He was a middle aged, well dressed, slightly drunk (this was a nice of me) man who started of course to speak in japanese of which I understood basically nothing. This often has no affect on the japanese who gladly continue to talk although you look like a living question mark (don’t know if that expression works in english but I’ll give it a try 🙂 ). The only english word he knew was chop sticks which I now know in japanese… But he seemed to be happy talking to me anyway and he pointed out a few very good plates of sushi for me so I was not unhappy either. As I was leaving to go see the city of Kyoto he insisted on paying for my lunch. Thank you!