Yokoso Japan!

Mama Chong and I are in Japan! We arrived in Tokyo yesterday afternoon and met up with my Uncle Vincent, who was on a business trip in Nagoya last week. In 9 days, we'll travel through 4 cities - Tokyo, Kyoto, Hakone and Nara. It's our first time here, and we're really excited!

My mom and I arrived in Tokyo yesterday afternoon after a surprisingly long trip from Beijing. After arriving at the airport, we took an 80 minute bus ride into the city center and spent the night at the Shiodome prefect.

The view of the Tokyo Tower from our hotel

Today we caught the train from Tokyo to Kyoto, a city which many people say is Japan's most beautiful. We'll be spending 3 days here!

So far, these are my initial impressions of Japan:

• Japan is so damn cute - and I mean EVERYTHING...from its snacks, to its people, clothing, culture...almost everything in this country is fascinating and oozing with cuteness
• This country is ridiculously clean - after living in China for 2 years, I sometimes forget what it feels like to breathe clean air (sad, isn't it?). The subway stations are so spotless, I can probably lick the floor. Even the bathrooms on the train are pretty clean compared to everywhere else in the world. I also haven't seen this much greenery in a long time. How sad!
  
• People are really, really polite! - so polite that I feel obliged to speak softly all the time. Unlike in China or the US, where people are constantly on their mobile phones, obnoxiously chatting in loud voices, the Japanese are soooo quiet I can almost hear pins dropping.
• Everything is pretty expensive here - not good especially when they all look so cute!
  
• The food is REALLY GOOD - it's no wonder that in 2007, Tokyo was the Michelin's biggest star. Everything here is so yummy! Last night I had the best freshly made sesame sauce. Today I had really amazing sukiyaki for lunch!
  

In fact, here are some pictures of my lunch today in Kyoto -

We had lunch at Moritaya, a restaurant that's been around since 1869. It's known for its beef cuisine, and the restaurant raises its own cattle called the "black cow".

Lunch started off with a seafood sampler. To the left was a piece of octopus garnished with pickled vegetables. In the middle was a mixture of fish and beancurd with a mayo-like type of sauce, topped with caviar. To the right was a piece of grilled eel garnished with pickled ginger.

Our server started cooking by first coating the heated pan with a bit of oil. Then she brought in the marbelized beef and fried it in the pan.

Next she poured in a liquid mixture that consisted of soy sauce, sugar, sake and water. This was the sukiyaki sauce.

After the beef was ready, she placed it into a dish for us to sample. To eat sukiyaki, you dip it into a raw beaten egg before taking a bite.

While we were sampling the beef, our server continued making the dish. She placed the remaining beef in the pan, along with tofu, mushrooms, leeks, some green leafy vegetables and a handful of shirataki noodles that were made from yams. She simmered all of the ingredients in the sukiyaki sauce.

After a few minutes, the dish was ready! Doesn't it look so good? It certainly was, and I can still remember the taste. Maybe I'll head back to Moritaya before leaving Kyoto!