Tempura Fukamachi

People always talk about how safe Japan is, but without experiencing it firsthand, it's impossible to truly understand. Before our arrival, I was continuously perplexed as airbnb owner after airbnb owner would provide some variation of the following check in process: We will leave the front door unlocked, and you can find the keys on the kitchen table. Enjoy your stay! In the beginning, it was still hard to shake old habits, but no other moment can exemplify what a turnaround we did as the one right before our meal at Tempura Fukamachi. We were returning to Tokyo but couldn't check in until after lunch, so we had to bring our luggage to the restaurant. Yes, we were those people. It soon became clear that space was extremely limited, and I looked back, only to see my friend casually parking her suitcase next to the front door. "What?? You're honestly going to leave your suitcase in the street?" 'Yes, no one's going to do anything. If anything were to happen, it would be someone calling the police to report a suspicious suitcase.' And that pretty much sums of safety in Japan. 

The final tempura. Here, we were given a choice in how it was served, although, I forget wha thte choices were. 

For dessert: matcha ice cream, served in a Where's Waldo bowl

In Japan, tempura is considered to be a high end cuisine. Although the price is higher than what most people are used to seeing, being a full course meal, it is also a different experience, one that I wanted to try during our trip. Each tempura master has their own techniques for enhancing the flavors of each ingredient, such as types of oil or cooking temperatures, and each bite is served with specific instructions on which sauce or seasoning must be used. While I have not tasted enough to be able to discern the differences in effect on the final product, our meal was delicious and and included a broad range of ingredients - more than what is shown in the photos. 

Date: March 2015