Another light eating day today.  Had a croissant with morning coffee and not much all day.  At night we went to the yakitori place in Ueno and ordered much of the same dishes I've posted about (chicken sashimi, skewer grilled chicken, chicken skin). 



Here is a new dish we ordered.  Bacon wrapped eniokitake mushrooms.  Juicy, fresh, delicious.

A few thoughts on eating in Tokyo based on my very short stay:

- Many more mom and pop shops.  Instead of a TGIFridays and P.F. Chang's on every corner, there are many small 10-seater restaurants owned and run by a husband and wife team. This is not just true of restaurants, but little markets and stores as well.

- Food not so greasy in Japan.  For the first few days when I got back to the U.S. I felt like everything I was eating was so greasy that I was constantly grabbing for a napkin to wipe the grease off my hands. 

- More respect for cooking as an art.  There are many, many restaurants I've been to in the U.S. where the chefs hold the food in high regard and exhibit respect for the plates which they serve.  But there are many more that do not.  In Japan, for the most part, I did not find many restaurants where there was such a lack of respect common in many American eateries.

- KOBE BEEF!  I've eaten Japanese Wagyu beef a couple of times in the U.S.  Once I believe I paid $160 for 6 ounces and also at the French Laundry it was a $100 add-on.  But wagyu is so common in Japan.  I had it multiple times - grilled, shabu shabu.  You can even buy it at the 7-11!  On several occasions we ran down to 7-11 and bought some wagyu to have with our eggs in the morning.

- Eggs are amazing in Japan.  I can't help but think of David Chang interviews where he talks about his inspiration for his egg dishes coming from the time he spent in Japan.  Usually soft boiled, not runny but more of a firm pudding consistency.  Yolks are sunset orange.  I will definitely miss the eggs.

- Fruit.  I had some amazing fruit.  The grapes are so grapey!  And flavorful, and juicy.