Sushi and sashimi

Taste and visual pleasure converge in sushi and sashimi, both prepared with uncooked seafood. Japanese simply adore shshi and sashimi, and knowing the Western bias against raw fish or meat will often ask visitors-simply out of sheer curiosity-if they can eat one or the other.

A good sushi shop, or sushi-ya, can be both expensive and confounding if one doesn't know what to ask for. Try, instead, a kaiten sushi-ya, where small dishes of suahi pass by on a conveyor belt along the counter. It lacks a certain elegance, but in a kaiten sushi-ya the uninitiated can study the sushi offerings at leisure and sample it for less cost. then later, armed with new-found expertise, visit a proper sushi-ya.

Good sushi requires that the ingredients should be of good quality and exceedingly fresh, that the rice be properly vinegared and steamed, and that the topping should be as fresh as possible. (Thawed-out frozen fish just doesn't cut it.) Those who prefer raw fish and seafood without rice should order sashimi, served in a tray or on a plate with attention to the appearance. Often small bowls of sauce will be offered for dipping the sashimi.