"Horse mackerel" is not a good name for ma-aji. It is better to just call it aji, which is the Japanese family name for these fish. If it is called aji it really is ma-aji, but in Japan they normally just call it aji and write it in hiragana. Latin name is trachurus japonicus. It is a very inexpensive and common fish. I am surprised that it is served at a 30k a head sushiya. Surely keeps there costs down!

Horse mackerel is a vague term that refers to Atlantic and other fish that are only vaguely related to trachurus japonicus.

I recall seeing it at a sushi joint in the US and it was a big deal because it had been "flown in specially" and it was quite expensive.

It's among the cheaper fish on the menu in the 100 yen ballpark at a place like Zanmai. In the store you pay 100 yen for one smaller aji. They are normally not sold filleted. At Zanmai they also have them fresh in the tank and you can order sashimi with it still twitching. Some sort of muscle spasm, I imagine.

p.s. The noodle was probably somen, which is a wheat noodle served cold and popular in the summer.

Its an insecurity complex, same with the Koreans. They claim to dislike Japan. But deep down, they know how far ahead the Japanese are. And this comes with the wartime baggage too, Japanese slaughted a lot of Chinese and Koreans.

But all this being said, Japanese culture, cuisine, appreciation is definitely ahead of the rest of Asia.

*I am Asian.

This doesn't work for everybody, nor does it work for everywhere.

My own experiences as a non-Japanese speaker with going to restaurants in Tokyo both on my own and with those fluent in Japanese is so varied that there is no binary result.

Depending on the restaurant and the personalities of those involved a non Japanese speaker might have a much more enlightening and entertaining visit than one who visits with a fluent speaker. In many instances the Japanese companion will be the one relied on to supply the visitor with information and the vistor's questions, once translated into Japanese, might seem a bit naive and idiotic, which potentially makes it embarrassing for the Japanese companion who might be expected to know the answer for her/himself. Visiting by yourself, without a supposed interpreter, frees you to make a few mistakes and also frees the restaurant staff to show their own hospitality to you. And that's when it can get really fun. Or, there's the possibility that an English speaking diner might approach you, and that sort of experience could lead absolutely anywhere...

If you know a Japanese person and would like to dine with them do it for the sake of their company and see where they are comfortable going with you. Picking your own restaurant and getting someone to go along solely as a way to better appreciate the restaurant's food could wind up being a very uncomfortable experience for at least one if not all of those involved.

Hiyamugi is not the same thing as ramen, but quite commonly eaten as a cold dish. It's also possible that your noodles were actually soba (buckwheat) noodles but with a low buckwheat content. It's possible to find very light colored soba (perhaps just 20% or less buckwheat content and the rest is wheat). And it's actually quite unusual to find 100% buckwheat noodles (although that's what Mrs. jib imports from Japan for our table).

Somewhat OT from this thread. Being from the west - and being Jewish - there were people both in Japan and China who helped Jews from Europe in WW!!. The parents/families of some people I know. The Japanese were fighting the US - and China was fighting with Japan. Etc. But both Japan and China (and people in those countries) saved the lives of many Jews in the midst of hostilities then. And I thank both countries for that - very much. There are probably some people who have "dogs in the fights" among countries in Asia - but I'm not one of them. Robyn

I thank Japan not one tiny bit. Nope, they bombed us after lying to our face about being friends. Women and kids. Not combatants. That does not work for me.

But I do look to the heroics of some individuals from Japan. Especially the liberators serving in the US Military. They did it because of who they were not their passport.

Guess I've been lucky. Never a bad experience. And it is perhaps possible that your Japanese is better than my husband's (he's ok - but nothing to write home about - my Japanese is non-existent).

Also - I like to explore topics other than dining. Like health care systems in different countries (more important when you get to be old like we are). And what people think about their current governments/economic policies/etc. I can't say that the people we get together with are always typical - but it's refreshing getting out of the our "hotel cocoons". We've thought of spending an extended period of time (like a month or two) outside the US. But it really isn't practical at our age. Our health insurance won't travel with us. And - in a couple of years (age 70) we apparently won't even be able to buy travel health insurance for small trips outside the US. Robyn

Yes, there are a lot of slimy foods in Japan. I particularly do not like slimy food, but Natto (納豆) I can handle Natto no problem, but some other slimy Japanese food is not my cup of tea...　:rolleyes: There are few other common slimy items in Japanese food:

Sea urchin (Uni, うに):
This is also popular item in Sushi restaurants in the U.S. But wondering how many people know what part of sea urchin is eaten as sushi or sashimi? It is ovary and testis of sea urchin, yes, that is where sliminess of sea urchin comes from. At high end sushi restaurants sea urchin is served raw so it is very slimy. Testis only part of sea urchin is valued very highly at high end sushi restaurants and it is priced very high.

At not so high end restaurants often sea urchin is processed (steamed and few other processes) for the shelf life and those are not as slimy as raw sea urchin.

Shirako (白子):
This is also well known slimy white items eaten in Japan. Shirako is ovary of cod fish, angler, or blowfish. Do you start to get the trend? Anything raw and slimy at sushi restaurants…　:D

Jynnsai (純采):
This is vegetable, water shield grown in ponds or lakes which looks like lotus. Young buds of this vegetable is covered with slimy clear agar substance. It is commonly eaten at northern part, Tohoku region of Japan but not that difficult to come across in Tokyo.

Hata-hata (ハタハタ):
It is sandfish common in Sea of Japan. The fish itself is nothing unusual, just like eating any white meat fish. But one of common way to eat Hata-hata is in hot pot dish, cooked right on the table in broth with vegetables. Well, they usually use female Hata-hata with eggs in the belly. And this egg of Hata-hata is covered with slimy clear liquid stuff. In the hot pot dish Hata-hata is cooked so that egg is still pretty much raw and part of the hot pot dish is to enjoy this sliminess of egg. It just was not for me… :(

Talk about hot pot dishes. Ankou-nabe (angler hot pot dish, あんこう鍋) and Suppon-nabe (Japanese soft shell turtle hot pot dish, スッポン鍋) are something not difficult at all to find in Tokyo. Both meat of angler and soft shell turtle contains large amount of slimy stuff made out of collagen. It really is slimy, and sorry but it is not for me. :(

Duplicate post

I do not speak Japanese. It could well be that our interpretations of competency and fluency vary wildly and my Japanese is indeed better than your husband's. That doesn't change the fact that I do not speak Japanese.

I am glad you have expounded on your previous comment which was suggesting that one should pay for someone's company so that they can merely translate for you.

"Picking your own restaurant and getting someone to go along solely as a way to better appreciate the restaurant's food could wind up being a very uncomfortable experience for at least one if not all of those involved."
From your point of view, no. But there is no way of knowing how your companions felt.

I've never had natto. Never went out of my way to avoid it (or seek it out for that matter either). Just never saw it on a menu.

I've known what uni is for a long time. Since the first time I had it (about 1980 or so - had never even heard of it before). Not in Japan - but in Paris (at a French restaurant). Served room temperature "in the shell" (probably raw - can't remember) topped with a poached quail egg and some yummy sauce. Don't know whether the French chef (Robuchon) got the quail egg idea from Japanese chefs - or whether Japanese chefs got the quail egg idea from Robuchon (or perhaps they arrived at the concept independently).

FWIW - I don't think uni is slimy. "Mushy" would be a better word to describe it - but that's not entirely accurate either. We had uni sushi on this trip - uni tempura too (I didn't care for the latter). But my favorite preparation was "Sea urchin with a delicate crustacean jelly and cauliflower cream" (a starter at Robuchon). Yummy. Robyn

Going backwards - all I know is I've wound up staying in contact with almost all of the many people I've met over the years. Sometimes sporadically. And sometimes our contacts have come to an end. Because some people got sick - had other family issues - etc. (one - to my knowledge - died). FWIW - I met most of these people through certain food chat boards (or through a common interest in food). Most (including me) have popped up on other food chat boards. So it winds up being a "small world".

My oldest "on line friend" is a portfolio manager I met on Compuserve in about 1990 (we met on a financial chat board). He lives in another part of the US - and we still talk on the phone about once every couple of weeks. Having a friend for almost 25 years - no matter how I met him - works out ok for me :). Note that we pay for dinner for him and his family when he gets to our part of the world - and he pays for dinner for us when we get to his part of the world.

I guess my husband and I are at a point in our lives where we don't think twice about picking up checks - for anyone anywhere. What are we saving our money for - our old age :D? And I can tell you we honestly enjoying treating people - especially younger people - and especially those who enjoy good food - to meals they otherwise couldn't afford. It puts a smile on our faces to do this. We had a "food mentor" when we were young (in our 20's - early 30's) who did this for us on multiple trips to France (he's dead now - died a few years ago in his 80's) - and we are simply "paying it forward" as far as I'm concerned. Note that one of my favorite "food things" is taking my favorite elderly aunt to really nice places in New York (where she lives). She enjoys great food she couldn't afford on her own - in places where she's treated like a queen.

As for speaking Japanese - I think my husband speaks it quite well in terms of "tourist Japanese" (as opposed to being able to conduct a business meeting in Japanese). But he doesn't understand as much as he speaks. I think that is due in part to the fact that - IMO - he is starting to lose his hearing to a perceptible degree (not unusual for men his age). Robyn