Sashimi and You.

How it started.

Tokyo, Japan – A hand-painted menu is placed on our table like a piece of art we cannot understand.

A carafe of green tea follows.

While the flourish of black kanji holds the solution to our hunger, Google Translate can only give us “sea bream.” 

We shrug and point, our server similarly unsure of what we’re trying to order. But he’s eager to please. 

Having wrapped up my morning visiting Harajuku and seeing the cosplay and fashion kids lined up outside pastel-coloured crepe shops, I’ve come downtown to meet colleagues from London for the first time. 

How it's going.

Naturally, I’ve travelled around the world to have lunch with people who work across the street. 

Being open to eating anything is helpful, but we audibly sigh as elegant bowls of miso soup and of rice, topped with fresh sashimi, arrive at our table. Delicate threads of nori are perched on top like tail feathers.

It is, unsurprisingly, delicious – in a way you don’t need language to describe.