Puffer Fish Lunch

Thursday 5th November 2009

AM

Least: At about 10:20am, I finally got out of bed after hitting the snooze button so many many times that the alarm simply gave up. I'm not sure if it was the early day yesterday, but today I felt exhausted. I might have to invest in a series of alarms, each with an increasing volume that will force me out of bed early.

Most: At nearly 11:45am, I rode through Tezukayama on my way to Life supermarket. A huge (and previously mentioned) white house that I often ride past, has finally been completed and appears to have occupants. The ultra modern building, has been tempered with a small garden on one side. The garden has a moss lawn and a few small trees. The interesting feature though, are some obviously ancient stone water features that help make the house accepably Japanese. I just wished I lived there. (photo right)

PM

Least: At 2:35pm, as I walked into work at Nakamozu, it became obvious that the week had dragged on for too long. The overdose on Halloween festivities probably didn't help, and the day off on Tuesday made it feel like ages since I'd walked through the glass doors of the school. It is strange how time plays tricks, both flying by and dragging at the same time.

Most: At about 1:00pm, I sat down to a plate of Puffer Fish sashimi (Fugu). I'd bought it at the supermarket, attracted by the picture of the deadly fish on the label. Given its notoriety it was a little exciting to taste the flesh for the fisrt time. It had a very delicate flavour, but was delicious. It came with a small sachet of soy sauce, a spicy sauce and chopped spring onions. For a supermarket meal, it was amazing (see photo top). I was left with a numb mouth for a few hours, but otherwise I was unaffected and remained alive to tell the tale. Apparently recently, Japanese scientists have been mass producing non-toxic puffer fish so maybe it's not so deadly after all.