Sushi with Ryoko

Mike talked about buying Japanese knives since we first moved to Japan but he wanted to wait until right before we moved to purchase any.  We took Isaac with us to the fish market to choose some knives and also to get his mission suits.  The fish market is just a few blocks from Ginza, where there are fancy shops, most of which we could never afford.  Our friends told us that Uniqlo sold nice custom suits but we had to go to the main store in Ginza.  So, Isaac got to join us on our outing to the fish market.  

I also had the good fortune of having my dear friend Ryoko Togashi teach me and two other friends how to make sushi.  She taught us how to make fancy sushi, not the normal sushi you would see at a restaurant.  She said that her mom taught her how to make these when she was little and they are a traditional Japanese family meal that they would make for gatherings.  Two of them didn't even have fish in them.  The first one was thinly sliced beef, marinated in a delicious Japanese sauce and wrapped around a small ball of rice, then fried on the stove.  The second was a little sausage link wrapped in rice to look like a tulip with cut open and the final one had salmon but when you cut it open it was supposed to look like a rose.  That one took a few tries to get right.  All three were delicious and I felt so thankful to Ryoko for inviting me into her home and teaching me how to make these.  It was definitely a memory of Japan I will keep forever.  I never would have guessed that I would be so lucky to one day go to a Japanese home and be taught to make sushi (and a family recipe!) from a dear Japanese friend.    My life has had some special twists and surprises.