Day 1: Nama Buta

Clockwise from left to right: intestine, tongue, liver

We landed in Tokyo late Thursday afternoon after a 16 hour flight. Luckily, our friend took into account the fact that we'd been sitting for almost an entire day and took us to Nihon Saisei Sakaba, a standing room only yakitori restaurant in the Shinjuku section of Tokyo. Despite guy standing outside soliciting customers Little Italy style, this was far from a tourist place. We enjoyed the standard chicken heart, liver, and white meat on sticks, but the highlight of the meal was the nama buta (raw pork). Incidentally, I like pork in just about any form except ham, and that's exactly what the liver and the tongue resembled. But since I never tasted it and it was in front of me, I had no choice but to try it. Indeed, the texture of both was not unlike ham; what was missing was the gross slimy aftertaste. The liver was surpisingly mild, with only a touch of bitterness. The spicy mustard worked well to balance it out. The tongue was incredibly juicy, and with lemon squeezed over it you'd never realize it hadn't been cooked. The intestine was packed with flavor, like a noodle that had been dipped in pork broth for several days. It may have looked like a hole in the wall, but the food was awesome. We followed our meal with Moa soju at Nikenme and finally karaoke.