Sushi that goes Round and Round!

Yesterday, some of Matt's co-workers took us to our first Sushi resturant.

This one is called the "Sushi Go Round". The kids call it the "Sushi Train". Either way is fine with me, as long as they keep bringing me the sushi!

Neither Matt, not I, are really that into fish. We never really have been. In the past, I have occasionally got a hankering for sushi and head to HEB to grab some. Other than that, I have avoided it.

Well, that will not be the case while we live in Japan.

We believe in being 'tourists' where ever we go. Japanese eat a ton of fish! Maybe because they are surrounded by water, maybe because it is tradition, maybe because it is just so good here. I'm not sure.

Whatever the reason, when in Rome Japan do as the Romans Japanese do.

The plates' cost is in the bottom right corner of the picture. 

When you go into the "Sushi Go Round", like most restaurants in the USA, you have decide what you want to drink. Water is available at a water cart with glasses, ice and water. It is self-serve. There are trays to take the water to your table if you have a large group like we did. Water is free. (We went with water.)

If you want "coke" (You can take the girl out of the South, but you can't take the Southern lingo out of the girl.) you get a different colored glass from the "Coke Bar". The "coke bar", which is fountain drink area similar to the US,  is about Y390 or about $4. It is free refills though, which has been hard to find in most places overseas.

When you sit in the booth you quickly see the "train tracks" going by on one end of the booth. The tracks circle the entire restaurant and every seat or booth have direct access to them.

You quickly see the varieties of sushi start to come around. There is also some more 'kid' friendly items like fries, chicken and ice cream. ( The ice cream is plastic but you can ask for 'fresh' ice cream.)

There is also a menu to order from. It has several salads and even more sushi. If you want a different sushi than you see you simply say, "Sumi ma sen" which is "excuse me" and point to what you would like from the menu. The pictures are just perfect to see exactly what you are getting.

This Sushi restaurant had an "English" translation. (The name is a tad deceiving because they assume we call food the same thing they do, but it was a great effort. There are several restaurants close to American bases that have a picture or "English" menu available for us silly foreigners.)

My adorable guide, Rachel, helped teach the girls table all about sushi and how to eat it properly. She helped us with chopstick too. She also helped us order salads with avocado, shrimp and the greatest dressing. (She knew how to tell them to hold the fish eggs as well. What a great chick to being with us, huh?)

On the table there are:
cups, a hot water faucet (for green tea), ginger (to cleanse your palette between sushi choices), soy sauce, chopsticks and small saucers (to hold the chopsticks and sauce).

Only a few plates for us!

The girls had eaten already, so they weren't that hungry. They did try a few things. Mainly they stuck with the fruit, fries and rice sushi.

The boys had eaten already as well. That did not stop them! Carson tried everything! From octopus to tuna and fish eggs. He ate everything. He liked most of it too! Austin wasn't as adventurous, but tried several types of fish and rice sushi. His favorite was a chicken they make for kids.

The plates that come around on the 'train' and the items you order are all on different colored plates.

At the end of the meal, those plates are organized, stacked up and put at the end of the table.

The waitress comes around and calculates your bill based on the colors and height of your stacks.

She then hands you a wooden piece (about the size of matchbook) for your 'bill' that has a Japanese character on it.

You take that 'bill' to the front and pay there.

Look at ALL those plates!

The boys ate a TON! Their bill was pretty high. About Y3200 or $32.

The girls not nearly as much! The girl's bill was only about Y1400 or $14.

Also, you don't tip in the Japanese culture. Bonus.

Pass the Sushi,

 ~ Aggie Amy

What is SEIYU?

We made our way to Machida. "Little Tokyo" is a very large, active shopping town. It is known for it's pedestrian zones, where the cars are not allowed and the shoppers go from high rise store to high rise store in search of new goodies.

Oh, there IT is!

Now, where shall we shop?

Well, wouldn't you know it?

Guess what we found?

SEIYU!

What is SEIYU?

Well, let's see if you can figure that one out.

Here are a few pictures.
(** I apologize, the program is not letting me control the placement of the pictures. Maybe it's a glitch? Forgive me.)

8 floors of goodness.

Just to let you know, the exchange rate for 

the Yen is currently about 100. 

So, 100 Yen = $1.

The yellow tags in the pictures show how many Yen the item is. 

Divide by 100 and you get the cost in Dollars. 

Ex: 227yen = $2.27

These are like Little Debbie Strawberry Shortcakes.

Dried, and shredded squid. 

Green Tea Oreos anyone? 

Shampoo comes in 'bladder bags' as you nurses call them.
Recycling is huge here.
You can buy the actual bottle,
but it is very expensive compared to the bag.
 ( It's almost 4x more!)

This is how they start teaching their kids English.
They put the English version of words on the cracker.
So smart. We really should do this in America!

Did you figure out what store we found?

We found everything from food and fun items to bikes and backpacks. 

Face masks a plenty and TVs of all sizes. 

Did those famous yellow tags clue you in?

Here's one last photo to let you in our new found treasure.

Yes, Walmart! Gotta love finding stores that give you just enough of "home" to make you feel good.

Thankful for the small things & the Big Stores,

~ Aggie Amy

How about a TRAIN ride? Anyone???

Our 'little' station, Sobudai-mae

Our newest adventure... the train!

In the United States we rely on cars to get us most places, unless we live in large cities where buses and subways are used. 

The 'dot' is the last stop.
The name in blue is where you are.
The arrow is the next stop.

The majority of Japanese commute on trains, every day. It is just simplier. In fact, less than 40% of Japanese own cars. The trains and too good and too cheap to justify the cost of car ownership. 

We wanted to explore  bit and see what the trains were all about. We figured today would be a good day since Matt is off for Memorial Day, but the Japanese are still working. 

(The trains get VERY crowded during rush hours and on weekends. We wanted to learn the system without the stress of crowds.) 

Oh, that's where that goes!

  The only way to really conquer the train is to completely go for it.

  I have to admit it I was nervous the first time. 

  We have to get two adults, and four kids to another town without any    

  English, or any help. Umm, did the blood pressure raise a little?  

  Nah. But, I was nervous a bit. 

  Figuring out how to buy a ticket, where to put it in the turnstile and  

  deciphering which train to take can be overwhelming.  Matt was all 

  about diving into the experience, so I let him lead the way =)

I did learn enought to do it again on my own. (I can always find the shopping.)

Here is the train map. Nervous yet?

The RULES:

 *  No talking on your cell phone. PERIOD. In fact, your phones have to be on "Manners Mode", or silent. 

  *  There is also almost NO talking!  You can talk to your closet neigh in a tiny voice, but anymore than that is considered very rude.

  *  You give up your seat to elders or women with small children. 

The RESULTS:

  *  The trains are basically silent. There is no talking or noise. No music, no loud stories or rude commuters. 

  *  The trains are also spotless. Not one speck of dirt, or trash to be seen. 

  *  A lot of people use the train to nap. (I mean sitting up.) They ride the trains their whole lives, almost everyday. They see it as a time to relax and recharge, quietly. 

The arrows on the ground direct pedestrian traffic. Brilliant.

We had heard that children ride the trains alone. We were pleasantly surprised to find this true. We some a ton of kids. Some in groups, some on their own. All of them using their cards, riding the trains, knowing their ways. It was pretty cool.

Yes, they are being goofy! We found the shopping and were stared at everywhere we went =)
Our family is quite a show, apparently. 

The pricing of a ticket depends on how far you're traveling but the type of train has no affect. 

From our stop, Sobudai-Mae station, to Machida it costs 380 yen round trip. This comes out to be about 4 dollars for one person. Not too bad, even for a family our size. It ended up costing us less than $24 to travel. 

It was certainly worth that amount to gain some confidence in ourselves, and in the train system. 

It was a great adventure!

Conquering the trains came with a prize: ice cream at 7-11!

Living the Dream,

Aggie Amy