Japan

Sushi making and a trip to Akihabara

B Byrd

— 5 min read
Sushi making and a trip to Akihabara
Akihabara.

On Tuesday we used up the remainder of our Klook cash (and some real cash) to do a sushi making class. As far as we could make out, the class is run in a little out-of-the-way sushi restaurant on the fourth floor of an unassuming high rise. We were joined in our class by a couple from Tennessee, and that was it. So lots of personal attention from the sushi chef / instructor.

Our class started off with a Japanese-game-show style quiz about sushi and its history – complete with sound effects and special paddles (True/False and A or B). Most interesting factoid? The oldest sushi restaurant in Japan is over 800 years old!

The boys had cooked ingredients especially prepared for them (we figured they'd have no interest in uncooked sushi), but the rest of us were working with all raw ingredients – salmon, tuna, white fish, prawns and a few others. We made three different types of sushi – an inside-out style standard sushi roll (but with five different ingredients), a rice ball with topping draped over the top and not-always-successful nigiri (cylinder-shaped rice with topping draped/pressed into the top).

Very sticky rice!

Most of us were mostly happy with our results. And everyone then got to (and did!) eat all of their sushi.

Result!

After our delicious sushi lunch, we headed on to the famous Akihabara / Electric City district. This area is historically famed for being the place to go to find all manner of obscure or esoteric electric parts, tools, systems etc. While this has decreased over the past few years, there were still some spots with the traditional small alleyway stalls. I was very tempted by some high-quality Japanese measuring tapes and pointy-nosed pliers, but I did manage to resist.

A lot of the buildings in the area have been taken over by either big-name retailers of electrical goods, or by stores (both large and small) specialising in manga, anime and computer game related "stuff". This includes new and used games and gaming equipment, comics and magazines, and many, MANY figurines. F spent some of his pocket money on a special Star Wars figurine (Commander Fox). The store he bought it from had eight floors, two dedicated to figurines – these ranged from $11 to $700!

So. Many. Figurines.
A quick rest next to some maid cafe touts.
Gashapon (toy capsule dispensers) were also in abundance. We saw whole shops dedicated to them later in the trip.
We were quite tempted by the Japanese-style bidet toilet seats. Unfortunately they were mostly Japanese (and North American) standard 110V, and the 220V overseas options were a bit too pricey (and apparently you can buy them in Australia for similar or lower prices – we will be investigating!).
Portable hand-held bidets for travel!
Commander Fox.
A succumbed to the temptation of buying a set of chopsticks (much cheaper than what she has previously resisted).

We finished off our day with some delicious (if a little spicy for some) kebabs from a hole-in-the-wall shop with a hidden eating area upstairs, and then some special mini apple pies for dessert (from Pie Mania). It was a great way to gird our loins for the train trip home.

More. Figurines.
Mmmm... kebabs.
Pie Mania selection – we got two mascarpone, one custard and one raspberry.
A train on the way home. I think this was among the few times we saw people having to squeeze onto a train. Because we seldom travel during peak hour, it's usually far less busy. While we don't always get a seat, usually most of us do.

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