Sugoi

I really wish my crappy computer would let asian characters through (or maybe I had the skills to do so).

"Sugoi" is a pretty interesting word in Japanese, meaning both "wonderful" and "awful". In other words: "Sugoi" - wow this dinner is absolutely delicious. Or "Sugoi" I just crapped myself because a three headed tentacle monster stole my lunch money (as they do).

I don't like seafood. I mean the smell of any living creature (well any dead creature actually) that has come from the sea whether prawn, fish, or cephalopod can make me dry-retch, its only slightly better after they are cooked. Its the esters, and they soak into the very air about. I think this is probably going to be a bit of a problem in Japan, especially going to coastal area that allegedly has really big fish markets. Yay. I'm still unsure as to whether there is a polite way of refusing food, short of coming up with mock religious beliefs (serious no-no).

Going through the "culniary reader" of my lonelyplanets guide I have come across several dishes which I'm not really keen on:

• geso - squid tentacles
  
• hoya - sea squirt mixed with cucumber & vinegar; eaten raw
• hyakuhiro - boiled whale intestine
  
• idako - "rice octopous" - small octopus filled with eggs, the eggs resemble rice (this I wouldn't mind looking)
• kaizoku ryōri - "pirate food" - seafood that is BBQ'd alive (this I also wouldn't mind watching, yes I'm cruel and sadistic you tree-hugging PETA eco-terrorists)
• ko no wata - salted sea cucumber intestine
• shittsuru - fermented fish sauce

Seriously, pirate food sounds like family fun entertainment.

My seafood aversion aside, I'm game for Natto, no matter what anyone tries to say to disuade me.

PS - DJ I Have No Friends