Squid guts for breakfast

We are safely back from a WONDERFUL visit to Lake Toya. There is much to write about, and a lot of great pictures, and I will give lots of space tomorrow to all good things. It was so beautiful -- the lake, the ocean, the active volcanos -- and fun -- the traditional Japanese baths and not-so-traditional watersides, the gondola ride up the side of a volcano -- and as always the people have been incredibly kind. But tonight, in addition to letting you know we are home, I want to mention a few things I don't like about Japan.

1. Tea. This was true in England, too. I still can't stand it. But then we kind of expected that.

2. Bugs. This was true in Philadelphia, too. I still can't stand them. Most days we have a particularly hideous visitor or two make its way into our otherwise so very pleasant house. I try not to squeal (trying to model "can't we call get along" behavior for my children, probably not very successfully) and they still freak me out each time.

3. The smell of tatami mats. As we stayed in a traditional (and very fancy) Japanese hotel room last night on HGU's dime, all I could think of was "get me out of this barn!" I wasn't helped by the fact that I might be allergic to the tatami (woven straw), or else was badly bothered by the secondhand/old smoke in the room, as I gasped, wheezed, and sneezed my way through the night. I love the look, feel, and *idea* of tatami, but oh, the smell. (And it's not so bad in our house because the tatami room is only a small portion of our space, and we can open our windows, which sadly was not possible in our hotel room).

4. Japanese breakfast food. This is another for the "I'm probably not fully appreciating the richness of the culture here" category, but I just can't get my head around fish for breakfast. We had an amazing buffet dinner at the hotel Saturday night, and what was probably an amazing breakfast buffet this morning. But all those fish! Platters and platters of fish, including (my favorite) a plate of something which had been translated as "Squid and squid guts" (really)... Sigh. I would have given anything for a pancake...

But more (and more positive) things to come tomorrow -- after I will wake up and enjoy my bowl of rice flakes and milk!