Today was a rest day (the last of our trip), spent in the
city of Toyama. It was a day to run errands, go to the barber/hair salon, and
catch up on email and related tasks.
Our lodging during the trip has been at traditional Japanese
inns (ryokans) on some nights and Western-style "business hotels" on
others. The ryokan stays all include breakfast and dinner, prepared and served
in traditional style. The dinners always include miso soup, rice, sashimi
(slices of raw fish), and a variety of other dishes generally involving
vegetables or sea food. There is rarely chicken or meat. The dishes have little
or no fat content, other than an occasional serving of tempura.
The food is quite unlike what we have had at Japanese
restaurants back home. In particular, we have had very little sushi (raw fish
combined with rice) and have rarely seen sushi rolls. We often have no idea
what a particular dish is, and are even uncertain at times about whether a dish
consists of a vegetable or sea food.
Each dish is served as a small portion in its own plate or
bowl. The food is interesting and usually pleasing to our taste. It is always
artfully presented, with great attention paid to the layout and the choice of
dinnerware.
Several examples follow of food as served to us:
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| Breakfast buffet |
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| This is not artistic, but the Coke machines found everywhere along the roads (including in the middle of nowhere) have been great for us |
