Squeamish About Sushi by Betty Reynolds

Oh, the excitement! E and I have finalized our travel plans for March (mostly) and the decision goes to… Taiwan and Japan!

We’ll go first to Taiwan with my parents and visit my grandmother. While there, we will probably relax, eat a lot, and take a short trip to a tiny island off the east coast of Taiwan called Green Island. My parents have discovered the joys of snorkeling, so we may get a chance to see some tropical fish while we’re at it. Hopefully we’ll also spend a few days in the capital, Taipei, as well, since my grandmother lives in a much smaller city without too much excitement.

The real thrill of the trip, however, will be six days in Japan. And if we’re lucky, we’ll be able to catch the beginning of the all-too short cherry blossom season. We haven’t decided whether or not to join a tour while we’re there, but if we don’t it will surely be an adventure. The places I really want to visit include Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, and Kyoto. With absolutely no knowledge of Japanese, I hope it’s not too difficult to get around.

As soon as the plane tickets were booked, I realized that I don’t really know anything about Japan’s geography, language, or customs. For some reason, I feel comfortable and confident wheeling off to Europe because I know what to expect: a certain range of attractions (palaces, churches, museums) and a certain palette of flavors and cuisines that I am familiar with.

But Japan… I realized that I didn’t know where Tokyo was or what types of foods there are besides sushi and ramen noodles. I don’t think I know how to say “please” and “thank you” in Japanese, and I can’t even count to three. I have a lot of work to do in six weeks. I have already reserved five travel guides to Japan from the library, so I’ll report back on the best ones.

Luckily, my job is to publish and sell children’s books about Asia. I went straight to the Japan section of the bookshelves this afternoon and looked around for anything that might be useful. That’s when I remembered the book Squeamish About Sushi by Betty Reynolds. I pulled it off the shelf and brought it home with me.

If you know anything about me, you’ll know that I love to eat—especially exotic cuisines and unusual dishes. When we travel, the most important part of the trip is the food. I always want to try the most authentic, traditional, local dishes and flavors as possible (the only place this didn’t work out so well was in Vienna, where the most traditional meal was a slab of boiled beef and potatoes). Squeamish About Sushi is basically a food-lover’s travelogue in pictures.

Every page features an assortment of delicate little paintings describing an aspect of Japanese dining, from signs outside restaurants to types of sushi, drinks, and etiquette. Everything is labeled with handwritten Japanese words, phonetic pronunciations, and descriptions. Visually, it’s a colorful treat. But practically speaking, it’s an essential guide to everything I will ever need to know about the most important aspect of our trip.

Yes, I do need to know what foods I should buy from the vendors on the bullet train. No, I didn’t know that an Izakaya is a casual place to meet with friends, get a drink, and eat small dishes. What is this Okonomiyaki thing? A create-your-own pancake cooked right on a griddle at your table? I must try that while we’re there! And who knew there were so many different kinds of noodles?

Squeamish About Sushi is the absolutely perfect book to get me overly excited about visiting Japan. There are so many incredible foods to try and places to try them. I mean, how could you pass up the Karaoke Biru Basu, a city bus on which riders drink beer, eat sushi, and sing?

Squeamish About Sushi by Betty Reynolds

Tags: travel books Japanese food Taiwan Japan Betty Reynolds