By Jed


One of the oldest forms of Japanese entertainment, we felt like we had to check it out. Fortunately for us, they give you the option of paying for just one of the three acts instead of watching the whole show. Since the show is in Japanese (with some monotone translation in a speaker), and we have a pretty short attention span, this was the way to go. Nevertheless, we still both managed to fall asleep. If you ever need a good nap, Kabuki seems to be the trick. =) It was interesting to see the performance and partake in some more traditional Japanese culture, even if it was for only a few minutes of awake time.

Eating in Japan is also a form of entertainment (at least for a tourist). From the cooking done in front of you at Hibachi (called Teppenyaki in Japan) to conveyor belt sushi, eating can be quite an experience. Conveyor belt sushi has come to some suburbs around America, but it is a much bigger deal in Japan. If you are not familiar with conveyor sushi, the way it works is the sushi goes round and round the entire restaurant on plates color coded by price. If something looks appetizing, you just grab it and enjoy. By the end, you have a shame pile of plates stacked up in front of you, but it typically ends up being quite reasonably priced. Another experience in Japan is ordering Ramen (one of our faves). Ordering is done on a surprisingly low-tech vending machines that look like a cigarette dispenser. Because it is all in Japanese, I am never quite sure what I am getting, but pushing a few various buttons usually produced a yummy gigantic bowl of Ramen in front of me, so it was all good. Japanese BBQ, Yakitori and Sushi chefs also provided some great fun and definitely good eating.