"Edible, Raw Work of Art" Medium: Raw Seafood

We ate this last weekend on the way back from the sumo tournament in Tokyo. (VIEW PHOTOS HERE) We stumbled upon a delicious Izakaya, (a casual place with drinks and great food selections,) with an all-Kanji menu. I couldn't read a darn thing so I just asked for a few things that I knew we liked. They had most of it and this is what arrived when I asked for "sashimi." There's a little raw octopus, tuna and mystery fish plus a few raw prawns. In the front is a bit of red pepper, wasabe and freshly grated ginger. It's served on a bed of plum leaves (ume shiso,) and pine frawn. You eat the ume shiso with some fish but the pine is just for decor. The people sitting next to us were eating raw beef and when they caught us looking, they insisted that we try it. Matt had some and said it was so-so. I felt bad about eating thier food so I played shy.

That's Japan for you. Hospitality Rules!

(Near Yokohama Station, Japan)