Sushi Go-Round: A One-Way Street
Sushi in Japan is very different than in the States. It is very fresh. And it is often served via a conveyor belt that circulates small plates of many different types of sushi. Usually there are only two pieces per plate and each plate is color coded according to the price. There are even several different types of tuna, the fattiest "toro" being the most expensive. So, it is very convenient, especially when you don't speak Japanese.

Another difference is that there are no elaborate "volcano rolls" or "spicey couple" rolls with fancy ingredients and presentations. Very often, nigiri sushi is mostly served, that is a slice of raw fish atop a bitesize mound of vinegared rice. Some types of sushi come with a tiny bit of wasabi between the fish and rice, but not enough for my taste! (I laugh because sushi menus in English often state that the wasabi can be left off any order.)

Sometimes, when the sushi chefs see that Americans are in the restaurant, more rolls like California rolls will start to circulate around the room. I almost feel compelled to take them knowing they were made especially for me. However, I am happy to let the raw horse meat pass me by.

Several things besides raw fish circulate around the sushi bar, such as small salads with tiny packets of salad dressing, yogurt with fresh fruit, and sesame-coated "donuts" filled with sweet bean paste (a dessert). There is often even an ice cream cone circulating on the belt.

One day, Brian and I decided to try the ice cream. This is one thing Sydney will almost always eat. We couldn't tell, though, was it a real ice cream cone? Or was it fake just to show you they serve ice cream? It's a tough call. It's very shiny, so it looked like it could've been melting. Either way, we decided it was probably proper protocol to just take it off the conveyor belt and put it on our table. Only then did we realize it was not a real ice cream cone! We generated a lot of snickers throughout the restaurant. So, we laughed too and looked around nervously...while we waited a minute for our ice cream to be delivered. It never came. So, we looked around and when all eyes were off us, we slyly returned the ice cream to the conveyor belt!

I'm pretty sure sushi-go-rounds are meant to be one-way streets. So, we still haven't ever had ice cream in a sushi-go-round to avoid a repeat of this embarrassing experience. But that's alright, the sesame-coated sweet-bean-filled donuts grow on you the more you have them.