I sure wouldn’t mind seeing a copy of that lobster/lemon grass recipe. Sounds really tasty – I wonder if I could use fresh crab instead? (We got a lot more of those in SF!)

I have slowly come around to have a great appreciation of sake. It really is like wine – there is a whole range out there – and several distinct styles. Generally quality is determined by the precursor ingredients, and the best are made of a highly polished rice grain. Their sweetness and acidity runs the whole gamut and generally has a regional basis. I sure as heck haven’t figured the wheres and whats but I do know that the local stuff my mother in law drinks is out of this world. One of these days when I live in more than 600 sq. feet of urban apartment I will start making my own. Apparently the initial ferment is super stinky…

As for Japan – it is a place of great contradictions, polarity and deeply held tradition. The cities have a certain charm – bright lights, freaky kids, shopping galore – like a more orderly and consistent NYC. Outside of the cities, you have these fantastic small towns and villages where people still live in very aesthetically rich but simple life. Ancient ways still persist, in a way that I can barely even fathom as an American. Many are traced back thousands of years…

Whenever we go to visit my fiancee and I take at least a couple days to stay in a ryokan – a sort of B&B except with a focus on what usually breaks down to a 10 course dinner and soaking in mineral baths. If you don’t mind being naked around other men, the baths are stupendous – if you can actually move after the meal. :-)

As for Lost in Translation – love the movie. It does reflect how it feels a bit to visit Japan as an American – hard to decipher. Luckily not all of us are saddled with disaffected rock-star photographer spouses… Japan is definitely not depressing – opaque perhaps but rarely miserable. I find the cities to be vibrant, beautiful and transfixing (and of course delicious!) blends of modern industrialism and glorious historical roots. The more traditional rural areas have a calm steadiness and austere beauty unlike any place else I have been on this planet – which is quite a few at this point. This is not to say Japan doesn’t have its problems. In the rush to modernity the tensions around gender roles, sexual morass, social strata, etc. have deepened and resulted in some unhealthy trends.

To get a perhaps more hopeful sense of modern Japan, from the Japan side fo things you could check out Densha Otoko – Train Man in English – a film about a man whose chance encounter on a train changes his life – and the group of normal. but alienated, Japanese people who hang out with him in an online chat room. I could suggest some more should you ever want.

By and large, Japan is highly recommended as a destination. It is not cheap, so you definitely want to save up to go there. If you ever do, you can always hit me up for ideas and pointers. And of course, a list of foods you have to eat while there. :-D