WARNING: Details of Dinner

So - tonight was my first real challenge with dinner. Warning - very long details coming. Last night we went to a top notch restaurant - very nice - high quality food. Tonight we went across the stree to what would probably be the good quality Mom & Pop place. People were waiting in a line out the door, so it was popular. We stepped in and the fish smell hit me. The other places didn't smell like really strong fish odor. This was a sign. They ordered me a beer. (I really don't like beer but have been politely accepting it. Tonight I was glad to have it.) Appetizer was a dish of raw items which included squid, octopus, and something they could not translate for me. Very, very chewy appetizer. I continued to chew but could not break it down. So, I used the beer to wash it down whole. I grabbed another item - I don't know which one it was - but I took a bite and there was a large, knuckle sized piece of body cartiledge. Chewing was not an option - it was going down whole too - but it was much bigger. Another drink of beer. Now I was wondering if the beer was going to last me the entire meal! Then another tray came for us to share - all raw fish. I was fine with most of it - I actually like raw tuna. Sampled a bit of everything and then tried a little "spring shrimp". It was small and skinny - and raw. The only thing was that once I took a bite it turned to fish mush in my mouth. Kinda gross. Another drink of beer. I must say the textures I've run into are quite amazing. So, now for the main course. We each got a sampler platter with a bunch of stuff on it. Rolls of rice/sushi. Big pieces of sushi (the size of my index finger but thicker) on rolls of rice. Something long at the bottom of my plate. Caviar inthe middle. Sea urchin, yellowfin, and several things I couldn't identify. I tried a few things - not bad. Then I ate some of the long stuff at the bottom. It was a big piece so I needed to cut it - something I don't do very well with chopsticks. I've seen others do it but I'm not skilled. I was sawing away and couldn't get through it. Finally - right in front of the waiter - I actually broke the chopsticks! (They were the cheap little disposable ones, but still...) The waiter quickly whisked away the broken ones and new ones landed in my hand. We all laughed a little, but I still needed to cut that thing! I used my finger a little to pull it apart. I ate about half of it and asked what it was... eel. Interesting. Very soft inside but toward the skin was the layer of uncutable stuff. I saw this other greenish stick thing with tiny little clear balls on it (about 5-6 balls would make a pin head). They said it was seaweed with caviar. I took a bite and quickly regretted the size I had bitten off. The little balls would sort of pop/crunch as you bit into them and they would echo through into your head. I couldn't handle that, but I was already chewing it! Several drinks of beer were needed to resolve this issue. OK - no more eel. No more crunchy caviar. No more cartiledge. Grabbed one of the finger size pieces of sushi still on my plate - something I hadn't tried yet. It was very white and glossy. I popped the entire thing into my mouth (wasn't going to try the cutting trick again) and discovered the outside 1/8 inch to be very soft and extremely slippery. Under that was something akin to the texture of your tongue. I nearly lost it. I tried to chew but that was NOT helping the situation. It was going to have to go down the same way as the others, but it was too big. So, I took two or three big attempts at chewing it in half or thirds and then downed the rest of my beer. Thank goodness it was so slippery - it went down pretty easily. Yes, I was able to hold back onthe gagging reflex, though I really wasn't sure that was possible. Ugh. I made it. "Yes, dinner was wonderful. Thank you so much." Then there was the train ride back. I didn't get lost, but after riding for over an hour and 45 minutes I guess I wasn't paying attention and I missed my stop at Nagatacho. So, get off, grab a train to go back and I was just fine. Made it directly back to the hotel. Another day or two and I'll know this system pretty well. Now, it's late. I'm very tired. Goodnight. Hope your stomach sleeps better than mine.