Japan: Sushi Again?!

Monday, June 11, 2018 -

I awake today longing for the life in a small American mountain town.  I'm really sick of having to navigate your way through a crowd of people to get on a subway and then some train just to get from point A to point B.  The same problem is had in any large city.

Ben is back to work.  Of course Jack and Sam would rather stay in the room on their phones.  Dennis wants to do something.  Dennis is doing pretty good with his bad back. For me, I kind of want to take a rest, but still want to get out of the room and do something.  I'm just sick of getting to places... I really long for Steamboat Springs and getting back into my Dodge RAM.

The Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge in Maiko.

Dennis really wanted to check out the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge; something Jack considered some weird obsession.  It is a tollway bridge that crosses over the Osaka Bay to another island.  Supposedly, it is or at least was, the longest suspension bridge in the world.  Along the supports of the bridge is where whirlpools occur.  These whirlpools are so strong that many boats and ships can get caught in them and become unable to escape.  I suspect these whirlpools happen when the tide moves in and out.

So, yet another ride on the subways and trains, Dennis and I left to a town called Maiko.  It is a town along the coast just west of Kobe.

We arrive at the bridge and walk around the area.  It looks to be very clean and we're getting a really nice breeze off the bay.  One particular sculpture is close to the bridge.  It looks like a donut.  The description is written only in Japanese and shows a picture of some man.  I joke to Dennis it's a monument to Mister Donut.

For a small admission fee, we were able to walk around underneath the bridge for a ways.  There were some tunnel like walkways and even had a "skywalk" where you can look through plexiglass over the bay.  And it was a clear day and we could see pretty far along the bay.

That night, Ben had made plans for us to go to another sushi restaurant.  He claimed that if we thought the sushi train was good, we'd never want to go back there once we've eaten this sushi.  We were to meet Magoomie, Hanna and Mummi again.  And guess what?  Another round of subway and train riding to get to this place.

When you have to see a man about a donut,
Mr Donut is the man to see!

I ask what the hell is up with their fascination with sushi.  Where is all this great Kobe beef I always hear about?  Why don't we go there?  Maybe it doesn't exist is what I tell Dennis and Ben.  It's all a lie!!  So we go to this place which took some time to get there.  When we do get there, there is a Mister Donut next door.  Jack suggested we should go to Mister Donut for dinner instead.  I kind of liked that idea.

We go to the sushi restaurant and we are seated way in the back at an American sized booth.  However, there are more of us, so we take up 2 booths.  Before long, the ventilation system kicked in and the smell of some sort of bad fish fills the air.  This is really going to suck I think to myself.

A bunch of sushi is ordered.  I maintain being a good sport and try some.  I grabbed one that had conger eel on it.  It was grilled or fried.   Tasted good but it was a tough piece of fish.  But I don't really eat all that much and rather drank my dinner.  Again, I don't understand all the fascination with sushi.  It's bland.  And what's up with all the rice... again, it's bland.  Maybe they like it because it's cheap.  I don't know.

Upon leaving, I said goodbye to Magoomie and her daughters.  We decided to get some donuts at Mister Donut for the next morning.  And lastly, another round of riding the trains and subways to get back to the hotel. And a late night visit to the hotel bar then some more binge watching of "The 100."