Wednesday, 25 November: Warm beetroot & salmon salad on the BA flight. For a moment, I forget what I've ordered and think those little things are baby squids!	Friday, 27 November: Back in Gifu. A dinner at Kogane Hassho with my cousin, Osamu, who's visiting the region for a medical conference. Lots of fish and lots of sake are consumed.
Monday, 30 November: We're invited on an overnight trip to the Echizen Coast in Fukui, to eat the region's famous crabs - the season has just started. Maki lunch on the train is provided by our hostess, and we all bring sweets & nibbles for the trip too - it's just like a school trip :-)
A quick stroll by the seaside at dusk, just by the inn we're staying.	Street lights are adorned with a crab motif - not just on the glass cover but also in the metal structure above.
We see many houses with daikon hanging outside...	Salted plaice being drived on the rack, at the fish shop nearby.
A fish tank full of live crabs.	And fridge full of dead (boiled) ones.
As we return to our room from a good soak in the onsen bath, the table is already laid for dinner, and the whole floor smells of crabs!	More and more food arrives, and the dinner is ready. But we all have to take photos first, of course.
Big sashimi boat of amaebi, hamachi, some white fish, and whelk; small female Queen Crabs (Snow Crabs) on individual plates.	From left to right: sashimi of big male crab legs & claw (sweet & heavenly!); carpaccio of sea bream and whelk; big boiled male crab; legs & claw grilled on charcoal; a pot of crab rice (see next page.)
The dinner continues on Page Two...