Sushi

I spent my last afternoon in Tokyo stocking up on snacks and feasting on cheap and delicious conveyor belt sushi, in anticipation of characteristically criminal airport concession prices. But when I made my way past Haneda Airport’s Rodeo Drive-esque esplanade of luxury shops — does anyone really buy a $10,000 Omega watch on their way to their gate? — I was in for a surprise. Bottles of water, iced tea and other soft drinks were less than $1 in airport vending machines, just like everywhere else in the country. I wasn’t hungry, but when I realized that I could buy a plate of yakisoba with shrimp, pork and squid for the yen equivalent of $6 and six takoyaki (essentially balls of fried octopus) for $4.75, I ordered both.

The other day I attempted to have sushi rolls for dinner. I ended my night disappointed, and excited to go shopping for overpriced groceries. Back in college, in central Jersey, I used to go to a Japanese restaurant in town, order the triple spicy roll combo, claim a student discount, and walk out with a perfect dinner for about $13. The filling was just pure fish, and enough spicy mayo to complement it. No crunchy flakes, no cucumber, no cost-cutting measures. Sure, it was a lot of rice despite feeling healthy, but I told myself the hours of studying would burn it off. So the other night, with my wife at the office and out for a work dinner, I was on my own for dinner and went searching for my old college favorite.