It’s been a while since I’ve posted about our recent holiday to Japan. I have thousands of photos that are yet to be made into posts, so don’t be surprised when, out of the blue, a random post about Japan appears in amongst the usual Puddy posts!

Phill and I caught the train from Yokohama to Shinjuku, meeting up with the rest of the group at Harajuku Station, home of the famous Harajuku fashion. I was very pleased that we managed to get there because I was keen to see the fashions and take some photos. The Harajuku girls (and boys) were happy to have their photos taken for free, unlike the ladyboys of Thailand who require payment.

While there was a good turn-out at Harajuku station, I didn’t see any crazy fashions, besides a couple girls dressed as dolls. The majority of them were dressed as goths and looked similar to the goths in Australia. While they didn’t look intimidating, they did look a little bored with it all, but were still willing to pose with tourists. I guess for them, it was just a normal weekend, hanging out with friends while hundreds of tourists gawked at them and took photos.

It’s a really bad photo, but it shows you part of the huge crowd. After hanging around Harajuku for a while, we decided to go for lunch at a local sushi train. We were looking forward to this because, funnily enough, we hadn’t made it to a sushi train yet! I’m not a huge fan of sushi but you can’t go to Japan and not give it a try.

As you can see in the photo, the queue was huge to get in. Once inside, the queue continued, but at least there was a row of cushy chairs to sit on while you waited. By this point, we were pretty hungry and tired from walking, so when we finally made it inside, we sat happily and I took the opportunity to snap some photos of the inside.

The majority of seats were situated around the train, but in the back there were a couple booths which could seat up to six people. We ended up sitting in one of those booths which was a nice seating arrangement when you’re in a group, but meant the people sitting closest to the conveyor belt had to pick up everyone’s sushi and pass it down.

Displayed on the wall were the different plates and their corresponding prices. I’m not sure how they decide which plate to use – I am assuming it depends on the cost of the ingredients, since there is a big difference between the lowest and highest prices. Most of the plates contained two pieces of sushi, so Phill and I decided to share each plate. He’s the same as me when it comes to sushi, so we figured sharing each plate would be easier than tackling two pieces each.

This was our first plate and quite delicious. The only problem is – we didn’t know what the majority of the food was! There was a menu, but we thought it would be better to just go in blind and give things a try. This one was quite tame really, with crab and avocado. I enjoyed it and reluctantly shared the plate with Phill (haha).

Our second plate was just as delicious … but I can’t remember what it was! Can anyone tell me from the picture? Phill had already taken his piece and he enjoyed it too. I guess so far we’d picked rather tame choices and I was getting confident, because I then shared a plate with one of our friends which had a raw prawn resting on rice with a squeeze of wasabi … that was a mistake. The wasabi was really hot and the texture of the prawn was just not something I enjoyed. I forgot to take a photo. While it wasn’t my favourite, I was proud of myself for trying it!

Our next plate was very tame again (hey, I needed to recover after that prawn!) and consisted of (cooked) prawn, egg and cucumber. This was very tasty but fell apart when I took a bite. What is the etiquette for eating sushi? It’s too big to fit in all at once, but often you bite into it and everything falls out! I think I am missing something.

Phill and one of our friends shared a plate of sushi that both of them found rather difficult to eat, because the topping tasted a little funky. The chef who was busy making sushi across from us had been very friendly the whole time, making recommendations and telling us what we were eating, so we asked him (in Japanese) what it was.

The chef told us that it was cod fish sperm sacs, otherwise known as fish milt, which is apparently a common sushi in Japan, but not something that most foreigners attempt. I was impressed with Phill – even though he didn’t know what he was eating at the time – but still, how many people who don’t like fish can say they ate cod fish sperm sacs for lunch?