Sunday 11 October: Dinner at Hitomi's. Grilled shishamo (smelt) from Hokkaido.
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Deep fried yam wrapped in nori, shishito peppers with baby sardines.
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Deep fried aubergines.
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Squid and scallops marinated in white saikyo miso and grilled.
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Chilled sake for the girls.
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Tuesday 13 October: Dinner at Kisen. Ayu, local freshwater fish, with spawn, and various mushrooms.
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Pan-grilled sweet potatoes.
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Kousa vs. river crab.
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Wednesday 14 October: Dinner at our favourite restaurant Nomura. Assorted sashimi to start.
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Ginko nuts.
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Lily root cake in soup. Is it just me who sees a face on the lid of this bowl?
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Fried potato with butter.
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A big oyster grilled in its shell.
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Hitomi's mini seafood donburi - with 3 kinds of sashimi.
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Hazuki's rice with seaweed, sesame and wasabi.
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I go for more scallop sashimi instead of carbs :-)
Afterwards we walk to the cafe bar Mirai around the corner for coffee...
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The bartender brings pickled carrots and cucumbers for Usakousa, on the house.
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My glass of local sake, a plate of dried nibbles: squid, fish and seaweed.
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Saturday 17 October: Dinner with Mami at Shimanouchi Ichiyo in Osaka. Amaebi (sweet prawns) with uni. Shiitake-shaped chopstick rest.
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Sashimi (can't remember what fish, but most likely seabream) marinated in kombu. The greens are baby okras, and the flower made of carrot.
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Deep fried sanma (mackerel pike) and aubergine with daikon.
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Grilled "black" edamame - they're dark inside and yummy.
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Above: Tender cooked octopus.
Right: Plenty of baby veg for Usakousa.
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Sunday 18 October: Grilled mackerel maki for lunch - with veinegared daikon, shiso leaves, cucumber and grated carrots.
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Monday 19 October: A short train journey to Kyoto in the afternoon, and dinner at Fukushima in Gion district.
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We order a bottle of champagne, to celebrate our friend Peko's birthday. Usakousa's friend Kots is also with us.
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Amago (river trout), ginko nuts, yam, conger eel with cucumber, and other bits and pieces.
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Ayu with spawn - much smaller and more delicate than the one we had in Gifu (see 13 October). A pregnant teenager, I guess?
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Buri (Amberjack)?? marinated in sweet saikyo miso, with chives.
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Aji (horse mackerel)?? with vinegar sauce. Yum! (As everything else is.)
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Seared katsuo (bonito) with ponzu sauce and daikon on top.
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A small bowl of ikura (salmon roe) with sushi rice underneath, and tiny flecks of green yuzu peel.
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We then move on to Café Indépendants for a couple of glasses of white wine, and an oven-baked onion with anchovy sauce to share. (Apologies for the blurry photo, it was very dark in the cafe.)
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Friday 23 October: Back in Gifu, I go shopping at the Hokkaido Food Fair for dinner with our friend Atsuko and her family. The main dishes are Kamtschatka crabs and grilled squid - with daikon cooked in broth...
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...and other veg dishes and mini bottles of sake.
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Peeled kaki (persimmon) hanging to dry outside the window.
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Saturday 24 October: Hitomi treats us and several friends to lunch at Mino Tetsumei.
Right: A slice of deep-fried ayu with spawn - big Gifu size again - with yam, sweetcorn slice covered in quinoa?, assorted fruit & veg, and watercress in lemon dressing. All very yummy.
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For the wagyu beef course everyone had, I got a fish dish - kinmedai (splendid alfonsino) I believe - with turnip and sauce made of turnip greens.
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Rice cooked with crabmeat and ginko nuts. (Most of us were pretty full by then and asked for small portions.)
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Sunday 25 October: Dinner at Trafuku overlooking Nagoya Station.
Usakousa looking at the sunset, as a Shinkansen train pulls into the station.
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Shimaaji (striped jack) sashimi - delicious!
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Seared bonito with sliced onions and cress. Also yummy.
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Monday 26 October: Our last dinner in Japan, at Ginbei. Scallops and seabream sashimi.
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Octopus in olive oil with garlic and chilli. Nice and garlicky!
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Sautéed scallops and asparagus.
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Warm salad of 3 kinds of mushrooms (shiitake, eringi and enoki, with nori strips on top.)
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Tuesday 27 October: Sushi breakfast at the airport before flying back to Berlin.
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Sunset after take-off from Helsinki.
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By the way, at Helsinki Vantaa Airport, next to Gate 21, they have several bunches of mains sockets dangling from the ceiling, where passengers can recharge their units. A very practical idea :-)
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