4. - Fish – in all forms :) Japan is an island country and therefore there is alot of fish in the Japanese diet. From Sushi with raw fish to fried fish, fish is consumed in every imaginable form in Japan.

5. - This picture was taken on a section of the coast where the water withdrew over a big area during low tide. At this time, many people will collect fresh mussels to prepare delicious dishes with.

6. - Yes, this is a delicacy too. This image shows a statue of the "Hida ushi", which is famous for its uniquely delicious beef from the region of Tayakama.

7. - Cake with delicious strawberries. Strawberry is a big favourite of mine, so I was always happy whenever it was offered to me.

8. - This picture was taken in a museum in Esashi, North-Eastern Japan, which showed Japan’s aristocratic society during the Heian era (794-1185). The practice of using many bowls in a Japanese meal, due to the wide variety of dishes, already existed then.

9. - Perhaps this picture will remind you a little of the previous one :) When I first arrived in Japan, one of my greatest difficulties was that I didn’t know what I could cook with and how to cook. That was why I enrolled in a cooking course. The picture shows the "result" from one of the lessons.

10. - This picture was taken during the cooking lesson too – in the process of cooking the meal.

11. - Group photo from one of the cooking lessons made up of a smaller group of students.

12. - Group photo with a bigger cooking class.

13. - There are those who love the Japanese cuisine and there are those who cannot stand eating these "seafood". I belong to the first group. In Japan I would cook something "national" from my home country only when I wanted to make friends with the Japanese or with people from other countries by introducing Hungarian food to them. Pancakes usually worked. :)

14. - Preparing for one of the most famous Hungarian dishes, the Goulash Soup – some of the ingredients had to be obtained from Hungary, of course.

15. - The Goulash Soup is usually a big success – In the picture Vicki chan, a friend from Hong Kong, helped too.

16. - The happy moments of cooking in the common kitchen :)

17. - The Goulash Soup, ready to be served. I encourage anyone who is going to a foreign country to keep in mind some special dishes from your homeland to cook for your new found friends. It will be a great success as long as you do not screw it up! :)

18. - However we must not forget, that what is delicious to us may not be the same for others. I liked Semolina in milk, sprinkled with sugar and cocoa very much, especially when I was a little child. However, for obvious reasons, it was less successful among my Japanese and Southeast Asian friends….

19. - "Oiwai no manjū". Manjū is the name for a type of Japanese cookie while (o)iwai means greeting/holiday. My homestay mom surprised me with these two cakes one morning after we found out that I have passed my Level One Japanese language exam.

20. - My homestay family usually had dinner between seven to eight in the evening. If I was not able to be home for dinner due to activities, Harumi san would leave dinner on the table for me.

21. - We were usually not at home for lunch but if I did and was at home alone, Harumi san never forgot about me and lunch would be waiting for me on the table :)

22. - When we did not have lunch at home, we would prepare the "Obentō" with Harumi san every morning. That was the lunch for the day, which we wrapped with the traditional Japanese cloth called, Furoshiki.

23. - "Buta shōgayaki teishoku" – namely: buta = pig, shōga = ginger, yaki = roast, teishoku = menu. Before I lived with the Harumis, I usually made breakfast and dinner myself but I would have lunch in one of the nearby inexpensive canteens. The buta shōgayaki teishoku was one of my favourites, because it was cheap by Japanese standard (about. 500 yen = about. 6,5 USD) and delicious.

24. - You have two options if you do not eat at home. One is to bring something homemade with you and the other is to buy something outside. In both cases, the food is collectively known as, (o)bentō. You can see me eating it in the picture.

25. - In the "Kaitenzushi" bar. The kaitenzushi is a Sushi bar where a variety of Sushi go around on plates placed on a conveyor belt, and everyone can take the one that he likes. The color of the plate implies the price so everyone can count how much he has spent :)

26. - Three Hungarians in an Izakaya. The Izakaya is a traditional Japanese pub where besides ordering alcoholic drinks like Sake, simple food can be ordered too.

27. - Rob in Izakaya – I would like to reassure all of my dear visitors that I didn’t go to the Izakaya often and I have a high treshold for sake :)

28. - Barbeque. The Japanese like this form of social gatherings for families and friends get-togethers, where they will grill the food, eat and chat.

29. - The menu of the barbeque – Both meat and vegetables can be found on the menu.

30. - In Aki san’s and Baba san’s house. Aki san and Baba san love the Hungarian culture. We had cooked together several times, chit-chatted, went on a trip together and I have even lived with them for more than two weeks. On this evening, both Japanese and Hungarian dishes found their way to the table.

31. - Yukie san (furthest righ in the picture) won a scholarship in 1998 to study at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest. I have also taught her the German language and we are still in close contact today. She lives in Gifu, which is not far from Okazaki. I was invited several times to her home and one of my Christmases was spent with her family.

32. - "Shokujikai", a common meal with friends usually in an eatery. This picture was taken with some of my teachers and classmates after I completed one of the semesters.