Japanese food

Thought I would just post a few pictures of some of the different kinds of food we've been having here! Half the time we're not entirely sure what we are eating but since most of it's vegetarian, it doesn't worry us that much! We've had very few things we didn't really like - it's all perfectly edible, just some of it tastes better than others :)
What we have noticed is that it's very different from the "Japanese" food we get in NZ. Lots more pickles and vegetables and we haven't been eating much sushi at all.

Soba noodle soup with rice and pickles

Kate with yaki-soba in Nikko

Dave with dinner in Takayama

The meal we had in Takayama. Hida beef pieces in local miso paste with a selection of wild vegetables.

Markets - lots of fresh (still moving) seafood and vegetables. Very hard to find actual meat and is quite expensive.

Many resturants have these plastic replicas of their dishes - makes choosing food very easy!

Desserts - the Japanese seem to love desserts and french bakeries. They are everywhere! We never would have guessed how good the bread and pastries are here. They are all french boulangeries or patisseries and quite expensive - seems to be a bit of a delicacy.

Our huge dinner meal in Koya-san. Traditional vegetarian/vegan monk food.