Dinners with
Japanese friends in Tokyo/Carlos Pueblo
The reason
why I arranged three nights stay in Tokyo was because we liked to have
dinners with
our Japanese friends in the city and let Amy to have a taste of typical
Japanese
cuisine other than those in Houston. Haruhiko Yamada helped me to locate
the
restaurant, Shuraku near by our inn Jimbocho 1 Chome. It clam that all are
directly
delivered
from Wajima Port, Noto Peninsula, Ishikawa Prefecture on the northwest
part of
Japan facing the sea of Japan. The Peninsula is famous for Japanese lacquer
developed
since early 17 century from a wisdom of a local lord Moeda family. I was
very closed
to Noto one year when I stayed at Kanazawa, the capital city of Ishikawa.
I also like
to mention that I have been attracted by the popular song sung by Ishikawa
Sayuri
during the 70’s, Noto Peninsula; therefore, I have made a visit and researched
the history
of that war era in the late 16th century. Keyoshi and Keiko Otani accepted
the
invitation and came to meet us on the second night of our stay in Tokyo.
We have
known the Otani’s family ever since their time in our neighborhood as our
neighbor.
Amy is very fond of Keiko because they have had four kids at a consecutive
ages at that
time, 1,2,3,4 years old. We have kept correspondence since they return
to Japan.
The kids are all in their 30’s except Naoko who is the third children added
to their
family after returning to Japan. Keyoshi was the bureau chief of Nikkei Journal
in southern
states territory at that time. After his retirement, he has been invited to be
a vice
president of Tokyo Tech University, a very prestige engineering school back to
Meiji era
and one of the best like Tokyo University. We usually go to his office at
Ookayama
campus for a visit when we come to Japan. He is a tourist ambassador of his
hometown
city, Himeji near Osaka and famous for its Castle; therefore, he has given us
passbooks to
visit the Castle and next door, Kokoen a lovely garden of the previous lord.
I have met
Haruhiko Yamada at a small inn in London outside of the Hyde Park and ever
since we
have become pals and I always try to have dinners with him either in Tokyo or
London. He
is a very well learned person with very good knowledge of Japan and I am
benefit from
our dinner conversation to know Japan. After his retirement, he will engage
to a fruits
business to import mango from Thailand and ship to Manila or Japan.
Both
dinners, our friends have consulted with the restaurant manager for dishes they
order for
us. I am very impressed with the raw fish, Sashimi, presented to us in a very
beautiful
way, the fish are clean cut put on top of white basil leaves and white radish
thread, etc.
A proper way to taste the delicacies is dip the raw fish to soy sauce and
apply a
small portion of wasabi, similar to horse radish paste, and join with sake or
draft beer.
I shall explain more in details later.
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