Is it weird that I’m getting bored with these posts where I post mostly photos and just small captions as to what those photos are about? Hm.... There is nothing boring about posting photos, but I feel like I'm not really sharing my thoughts on those particular photos. I think of it as me just being lazy! If I look back on my blog when I'm older, I'm going to have plenty of pictures to look at but not much background as to where my mindset was during the time I took those photos, ya know? So I will do my best to change that! I will try to incorporate as much original thoughts as I possibly can within my posts!



So! I wanted to show some photos that I took recently. My Japanese mentor (more on him in a minute!) took me to a delicious Shabu Shabu styled restaurant in Kabukicho, Shinjuku. Shabu shabu is a popular hot pot dish from Japan consisting of thinly sliced meat and bite-sized vegetables cooked in steaming hot broth.... The dish gets its name from the Japanese onomatopoeia “shabu shabu” meaning “swish swish”, which describes the light swishing of the meat in the simmering broth.










So the first dish they bought out was the one above. It had a "jelly-like" consistency and there was some type of meat on the inside.









After stuffing it in my mouth I thought, "wow what an interesting taste..". After the fact, my mentor told me that it was blow-fish. A fish I told myself I would NEVER try. The fish, referred to as "fugu" in Japan, contains a toxin hundreds of times more poisonous than cyanide; its liver alone can contain enough poison to kill five men. Japan has laws in place to ensure it is prepared and detoxified properly before it is sold. EVEN SO(!) I promised myself I would never risk it! But I ate it by mistake. My mentor just laughed and I just sat there, puffing out my own cheeks. :(
Apparently it was just blow-fish skin, but still!!








My mentor is a man that has helped me during my time in Japan. He has taught me cultural differences between Japan and my home country. He has also been extremely helpful with my Japanese studies, general advice, and stocks!
Very friendly and generous man!












The restaurant decor was so traditional! I felt like I was dining outside during the Edo period!

Labels: black japan blogger, blowfish, edo, fugu, hot pot, japan, japan blogger, japan travel, Japanese food, kabukicho, kawaii blogger, nabe, pufferfish, shabu shabu, Shinjuku, tokyo