It's late and I had sashimi

 One of the professors here, Mark, took me out for dinner near his house.  (BH, if you happen to be reading this, both Robert and Mark said hello.)  Two things I have to say.  First, I drank a lot more beer than I have in recent days, so I'm grateful for the taxi slips the school provides.  In spite of Mark's assurance as I was getting in the cab, I did not make a stop at a brothel.  The driver brought me straight home.  Second, if you're reading this Dad, you are absolutely right.  Compared to the sashimi here, American stuff is basically fish bait.  Holy shit, was the flavor and texture amazing.  Mark didn't know what fish they were ("This one is whitefish of some kind, and that one isn't."), but that doesn't matter.  What matters is a small, Mom and Pop restaurant, in the middle of what most of Japan views as rural Kentucky had some of the best fish I have ever eaten.  10/10 - Highly recommend.

I should say the "rural Kentucky" piece is my interpretation of things.  However, Mark did say the Tokushima dialect and accent is considered unrefined and country.  As such, I have a new aspiration in life.  I feel I must return to America speaking some Japanese with a Southern accent.  I don't know how "Y'all" and "You sweet summer child" translates, but I have time.

Here's what dinner was from my perspective.  Food is what really defines a culture and a people.  Jen and I are in esteemed company when it comes to this view.  The late Anthony Bourdain said about his time making "Parts Unknown" (maybe it was "No Reservations," but that doesn't feel right) that when you visit a remote tribe and the chief offers you warthog anus as a delicacy, you eat it.  That food has meaning and carries weight.  Your squeamish feelings are because you are the outsider.  They are welcoming you in.  Don't be a rude asshole.  Just eat the warthog anus.  A civilization eats what the region provides, and they prepare it in a way that reflects their thoughts on the world.  My parents and my in-laws instilled this notion in their children.

Sashimi is just raw fish that you dip in soy sauce.  Maybe add a bit of wasabi. I've learned that in Japanese business (and most of Japanese life) appearances are more important than reality.  If you've managed to get your paperwork done by the right people, and things look like they are okay no matter what, then it's all good.  Even if the underlying reality is crap.  (Watch Tommy Boy if you've never seen it.)  I think the sushi and sashimi are a nod to reality.  You can make a somewhat rotten piece of fruit look okay, but you can't hide a bad piece of raw fish.  If it's just a little bit bad, it's awful.  It is always exactly as you present it.

I digress.

 Mark said he spent some time in regions even Americans would consider rural.  Places where the lumberjacks and farmers eat boar, deer, and monkey.  He said that coronavirus makes it almost impossible to get out there, but if he can make it he'll let me know.  That has potential to be among the most unique experiences I can have.  How many Americans can say they've eaten monkey with Japanese lumberjacks?  I don't know if it will happen, but if it does I will be sure to write about it.