Beyond work

Things I ate.

Most of these are from two weeks in Japan in August 2026. The rest went down with my old phone, so the section for home is thinner than it should be. No restaurant recommendations where I don't remember the restaurant, no plating advice. Just 89 things I would order again.

Japan, August 2026

Sixteen days, August 12 to 28. Sushi counters, ryokan breakfasts, a lot of wagyu, and one tea ceremony. Roughly in the order I ate it.

Sashimi platter with octopus, tuna, salmon, and edamame — First dinner in Japan: sashimi platter with edamame.

Japanese breakfast tray with miso soup, rice, and pickles — Japanese breakfast set: miso soup, rice, pickles, and an onigiri.

Convenience store shelf of Lunch Pack sandwiches — Konbini shelf. Keema curry Lunch Pack for breakfast.

Tuna nigiri on a dark stone slab — Tuna nigiri on a stone slab at an omakase counter.

Clay pot of rice topped with ikura and uni — Ikura and uni over rice in a clay pot.

Slices of tuna on a wooden cutting board — Tuna, cut to order at the counter.

Chef's hands packing uni into a nori cup — Uni, packed into the nori by hand.

Fatty tuna nigiri, scored and glazed — Otoro, scored and brushed with soy.

Glazed eel nigiri — Anago nigiri, glazed.

Cube of warabi mochi with black sugar syrup — Warabi mochi with kuromitsu to close out the omakase.

Labeled cuts of wagyu on a slate board — Yakiniku flight, every cut labeled.

Slices of beef tongue on a small grill — Beef tongue on a solo grill.

Set lunch tray with many small dishes — Teishoku lunch: fried chicken, maguro, rice, miso, and six small things.

Bowl of Kamukura ramen with chashu and egg — Kamukura ramen, the chain kind.

Ring of fried kushikatsu skewers — Kushikatsu, a full ring of them.

Bento box with tamago, fish, and pickles — Bento lunch: tamago, grilled fish, pickles, curry on the side.

Cup of chocolate gelato with a wafer — Chocolate gelato in Nikko. The bear is edible.

Tsukune skewers on a striped plate — Tsukune, glazed.

Yakitori skewers on a blue plate — Yakitori, salted.

Bowl of oyakodon topped with nori — Oyakodon with shredded nori.

Bowl of rice topped with salmon roe, yellowtail, and tamago — Kaisendon: ikura, hamachi, and tamago over rice.

Warabi mochi in kinako held in a paper boat — Warabi mochi in kinako, eaten standing up.

Hand dropping a topping into a glass of shiratama dumplings — Shiratama in syrup, I think.

Plate of roast pork with potatoes and green beans — Roast pork lunch.

Bowl of tonkotsu ramen with chashu and soft egg — Tonkotsu ramen with chashu and a soft egg.

Black sesame soft serve in a wafer shell — Black sesame soft serve in a monaka shell.

Wagashi, matcha bowl, and whisk on a lacquer tray — Wagashi and matcha at a tea house.

Tuna and yellowtail sashimi on a patterned plate — Kaiseki lunch: tuna and yellowtail sashimi.

Three xiao long bao in a bamboo steamer — Xiao long bao, three to a steamer.

Whole grilled mackerel on a long plate — Grilled saba, whole.

Tray of cold soba noodles with dipping sauce — Zaru soba, cold, with the dipping sauce on the side.

Bowl of soba with duck and green onion — Duck and negi over soba in warm broth.

Clay pot of rice topped with wagyu tartare and butter — Wagyu tartare over rice with a knob of butter.

Slices of wagyu searing on a grill — Wagyu on the grill.

Platter of sliced raw wagyu — Wagyu platter before the grill.

Large sushi platter from above — Sushi platter: anago, ebi, maguro, uni, and more.

Full sushi platter on a black tray — The full set: otoro, hotate, salmon, ebi, ikura, anago.

Chrysanthemum-shaped wagashi on a blue plate — Chrysanthemum wagashi to finish.

Okonomiyaki on a teppan grill — Okonomiyaki on the teppan.

Kaiseki tray with several small dishes — Kaiseki dinner at a ryokan: the first tray.

Single oyster on ice with lemon — A single oyster on ice with lemon.

Savory egg custard with shrimp and tomato — Chawanmushi with shrimp and tomato.

Maple leaf shaped manju on a metal plate — Maple-leaf manju for dessert.

Glass bowl with a red cube, tea soba, and pickled greens — Kaiseki opener: tea soba, pickled greens, and a red cube I never identified.

Ryokan breakfast tray on tatami — Ryokan breakfast, tray and tatami.

Sukiyaki beef cooking in a pan — Sukiyaki, beef just turning color.

Crepe stuffed with sliced fruit, held up — A crepe the size of a forearm.

Sushi plate under a cover on a conveyor belt — Conveyor-belt sushi at 10pm: the dessert course.

Bowl of spicy ramen with egg and nori — Spicy ramen in Osaka, the day of Hajime.

Cold tea and a sweet on a lacquer table — Cold tea and a sweet on arrival at the last ryokan.

Kaiseki appetizer tray on a lotus leaf — Hassun on a lotus leaf: wasabi, crab, and small bites.

Sashimi arranged on a green leaf — Sashimi on a leaf: hamachi and tai.

Ryokan breakfast tray photographed from above — Last ryokan breakfast, from above.

Hajime, Osaka

Dinner at Hajime, three Michelin stars, on August 26. The room is kept dark on purpose, so the phone did what it could. The signature plate, Chikyu, is over a hundred vegetables arranged as the Earth.