Japan adviser's going-away dinner

We had a dinner the final night my boss and his wife were in Japan. They left for their summer holiday in Germany and Switzerland. They stay at the same hotel in Switzerland every year... for an entire month. If I was going to take a month off and spend so much money, I don't think I would visit the same place every year. There are so many other places in the world to visit still! They like to walk around the Swiss Alps each summer.

Before going, we were asked if we were interested and asked for a 2,000yen donation for dinner. That is around $25 :-o I thought "this place must be nice." I don't know by how much but the dinner must have been subsidized. It was a traditional Japanese restaurant with a set menu; you choose the number of courses you want. We had 6.

My favorite was the fish with tomato sauce. I wish I had the recipe. It was so delicious!!!
Note the progression of drink levels ;-)

F'-san asked if we could have the expensive sake. It was good but I didn't think this particular sake was so much better than others. It tasted a bit like rubbing alcohol. I have had better. It was fun to see what all the fuss was about though :-)
My adviser informed me that rice grains are surrounded by a shell of protein. The shell must be polished down/ removed to have the most control over flavor. The general rule is: the more polished down the shell is, the more expensive the sake.

I had a BALL with my lab that night. I wish we could have more time together outside of lab, especially time that involves a small amount of alcohol to help them loosen up. It was a real silly time.