This weekend I visited Elspeth in Nisshin. We went to grab some sushi at kappazushi, a cheap, kaitenzushi sushi chain that's near her apartment (ok, well not really near...it's a good 20 minute hike, 25 minutes when it's sweltering like it was on Sunday). When we sat down at our table, the first thing we noticed were the new tv screens they've installed. Now, instead of having Elspeth stressed that the lady in the back can't hear her Japanese through the scratchy intercom, we just ordered on the computer.
Previously, when you ordered something specific (instead of picking it up off the conveyor) it came around on the conveyor belt on a numbered plate holder so that no one accidentally stole your tekka-maki. Now...get this...it comes by shinkansen!! That's right! They load the plates onto the kappazushi shinkansen, press a button and it pulls into the station at your table. The conveyor belt instantly lost it's appeal and we only ordered stuff from the computer. It never got old. Of course, I took video!
On Monday we headed to Okazaki to visit Elspeth's homestay parents. Our mission was to bake a REAL cake. Let me explain why this was so very important. In Japan you can't really get real cake. Yes, it smells and looks like cake but it's just not quite cake. Japanese chocolate cake especially is not my favourite. As my mom says, 'it tastes like brown'. Elspeth had bought a Betty Crocker cake mix and some icing at the international store and that afternoon we made two perfect chocolate cakes. While we were waiting for the real cakes to cool, we went to visit Teruyo at the fancy cafe where she works. Check out my matcha latte.
(How do they do that?)
(Masao made this poster and posted it in the living room! The tinsel is supposed to look like Mt. Fuji!)
(Not only did we have cake, we had ROAST CHICKEN and mozzarella cheese!! I was in heaven)
Just before dinner, the lights mysteriously went out and they all surprised me with a different cake! This one had my name and happy birthday in Japanese! The chicken was superb (way to go Teruyo on a successful first roast chicken!) but I was careful to leave enough room in my stomach for the cake battle.
(Our finished masterpiece! Sorry the picture below is so blurry - I was in a hurry to eat it!)
We had to wait until Masao's son and girlfriend arrived to cut the cake. Elspeth was dying, she wanted the cake so much! It was worth it though...the cake turned out divine! Everyone was very intrigued by the non-whipped cream icing (All Japanese cakes have whipped cream as icing). After the 'American' cake as it was called, we turned to the 'Japanese' cake. While still good, it was more like a slice of triffle, rather than 'cake'. 
Final verdict: The American cake was the clear winner of this battle. 
My birthday request: purikura. It was hilarious having this many people in the booth. Good times. I'm going to miss Elspeth's homestay parents. They are amazing people.
4 comments:
Laura,
Elspeth's homestay parents are so kind and generous. What birthday memories! I know you'll miss the travelling, sites, food etc. but I think you'll miss all the GREAT people MOST OF ALL!
Take care and BE SAFE.
Love, Mom and Dad and Christopher and Chelsea
Laura, I'm glad you got to eat REAL cake on your birthday (I know what you're talking about "Japanese" cake... my dad really likes the cake from this asian bakery near our home, but I think it is just a more refined version of the infamous dust cake). But will this purikura addiction be a problem when you're back in Toronto? Will we find your trolling the stalls of Pacific mall looking for booths?
It really was a phenomenal weekend! We totally rock the Japanese arcade. :)
The sushi Shinkansen was probably the most surprising part of the weekend. Ah, cheap sushi and purikura weekends with awesome people... how I'll miss you.
Laura's Japanese birthday party was stunning. The theme was epic and everything just turned out to be flawless. Have been planning a fun party for my son’s birthday at a rental event venue in Chicago but I know that I am going to have a hard time creating something fun like this.
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