A word about the food...

I thought I would do a quick blurb about some of the food here while I had the images fresh on my camera. Obviously this is just a sliver of my experience in the comestible wonderland that is Japan, but I always find stuff like this interesting when reading about other people's experiences abroad. If you don't, then skip this one and move up to the next post, which will have general Japan and Murakami pics.

This is a typical breakfast for me: coffee (with milk- the quick-brew stuff they sell in the markets here needs a little help), a banana (product of the Philippines!), and a big bowl of rice and natto.
To the uninitiated, natto presents itself like soy beans that were left in a warm container for a week, then sneezed upon several times, and finally garnished with window cleaner to add that characteristic scent. If you can overcome all of these barriers, however, natto winds up tasting not half-bad, and it contains a slew of super-healthy compounds, to say nothing of being high in protein and fiber while containing virtually zero calories. Some mornings I'm not up to it and I eat cereal, but I find that I generally feel better for the rest of the day if I can suck it up and shovel down some natto.




Here's a closer look at the natto... (click to enlarge!)




This is "Boss" brand canned coffee, available in vending machines and convenience stores all over the place- I don't think there's any place in Japan where you're more than 100 yards from a can of Boss coffee. There are several varieties, but it's usually creamy and sweet. I would usually turn my nose up at canned coffee, but I think they put crack in it too. In any event, its swiftly becoming a staple of my diet.




This is my order of a burger and fries at a burger joint in Jusco Plaza, Murakami. Jusco is basically the local mall. I have no idea what "Sante Ole" has to do with anything: if it's a chain, I've yet to see another. The burger came with a special sauce that was double plus awesome.




On an ending note, I love the bottled water here...



Thus endeth the first food post (more to follow eventually). Stay tuned for Murakami and matsuri pics- I'll upload them today as time allows.