I want to begin to post about probably the most meaningful and enjoyable trip I have made to Japan in the last 17 years. The reason it was so special was because it was the first time I was able to take my wife with me, something I have wanted to do for a very long time. To make this trip successful, so many of my very beautiful friends in Japan realized the significance of this trip, and went out of their way to assist me in my efforts to make my wife feel so comfortable, and to see and enjoy the beauty of Japan as I have had to good fortune to do for so many years. You people know who you are, and I just want to say thank you so very much, from the bottom of my heart!!! How can I ever repay you for such a priceless gift you have given me?
Before we get into the details of our travels together, the story actually starts BEFORE her arrival. I arrived a day earlier due to logistics requirements, and therefore spent the first night with a couple of my close friends discussing last minute details of the following weeks plans. In order to get off on the right foot, my friends chose a special, new restaurant for me. The specialty was "guts". This small shop, run by a very capable Mama-san, is located in Shingawa, in a very old building it shares with one (or two?) other restaurants. This is what it looked like as we approached. The shop we went to is actually to the left side of this building beyond view. The neon of course drew me in like a moth to a light, as it usually does!
My culinary expert friends selected a number of very unique dishes, which were obviously prepared with much skill. Two of them stood out in my mind. The first, was a scrambled egg dish that was mixed with some kind of green vegetable. The flavor was absolutely fantastic. It was actually my favorite dish of the night, and I could have easily eaten the entire plate all by myself. It is on the left side of this photo.
The other memorable dish, seen at the very top of the photo above, was a guts dish, but what made it special is that it was raw. Raw guts. Now that will challenge most Gaijin, and probably even a few Japanese?? It was "interesting", and the flavor and texture were certainly not that bad. Here is a blurry close up.
It was great to see my friends again that first night. We had a very good conversation, and the plans were set for the week ahead. I was so eager to start this historic (for me) trip. More posts will follow on this particularly wonderful journey!
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