a great night out!

Our night out last night in Tokyo's Suginami neighborhood was one that I won't soon forget - the food and the company were top top notch. As far as sushi goes, well... it was the best. The food and the flavours, the presentation and timing, the variety - it was all just so exquisitely perfect; it was perfection. And so, anyways, you know that there had to have been something special about the people - the company - for me to save the best for last and put the sushi-talk first. I'm not sure if I'm able to do this experience any justice, but here goes - I try.

We were seated upstairs in a fairly small room, that had enough room for maybe 12 chairs around two sides of the sushi bar. The meal started with a kampai! and a teensy glass of beer, while the chef was busy busy in his sushi nook. There were no menus - just the following questions: Is the anything you don't eat? Anything you don't like? Will you try many things? I gave my no-shellfish-please request and left the rest up to him - give and I shall eat. Ooooh and was it ever good! I can't tell you all of the different kinds of fish we ate, but we started with a white fish (sashimi), and then there was tuna; there was fatty tuna and less fatty tuna, some cooked - served still warm in a bowl, perfectly arranged with toppings, garnish and sauce - and one piece of sushi. We ate slowly - new sashimi and rolls and sushi were placed on the rectangular plates or presented alone on small ceramic plates; it was beautiful to look at, the way the food was arranged just so, on beautiful, artistic trays - and then to eat... was pure delight. My favourite may have been the eel; there were two pieces, one with a slightly sweet sauce, the other with a tangy hint of lime; I ate a salmon roe role and octopus wrapped to a small tab of rice; there was miso soup and pickled not-sure-what - and all the while wine, white and then red, that complemented the meal perfectly. The chef loved presenting us with something new, something never-tried-before, and it was all totally successful; there were no safe-at-the-plate reactions, but with each bite, with each new thing, my smile grew bigger - and so did his. After the wine came the sake, and after the sake came dessert: pear sorbet followed by green tea. It was absolute perfection.

And so this brings me to the company. We were invited out to dinner, through Seiji (F.C. Tokyo's manager), by Canadian volleyball hall-of-famer Ken Maeda and his wife Mina. In the late 70s and early 80s Ken took the Canadian team to new heights: the team won its first ever medal at the Pan-Am Games in 1979 (Bronze) and made it to the bronze medal match of the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1984, Canada’s highest-ever finish in an indoor Olympic event. He coached some big names in Canadian volleyball, and made a lasting impression on the sport in our country. So, it was an honour to meet him and talk to him and hear some of his thoughts on volleyball and Canada. And there was much more than volleyball talk - like the wine, conversation flowed easily from this to that, and by the time we wrapped things up, we'd enjoyed four hours of great food and great company. Ken and his wife were so friendly, welcoming and kind - we just had the best time chatting with them and enjoying their company. (And the sushi.)

They'd met us at the station at 5:45, and we noticed them before Steve recognized him; they both wore kimonos, and stood out with stature and elegance in their traditional robes. It got me thinking a bit, how people who have done great things - or people who do great things - can (and do) go completely unnoticed. Ken and Mina stood out in their kimonos, and we know who he is and what he's done for a sport that is shadowed - at least in our country - by big-league big-box sports (hockey, basketball, baseball). But if he had been wearing regular garb?

We often don't know about the special things the people around us do and have done - in contribution and scope, big or small - and sometimes I think it would be nice, if somehow people could wear their accomplishments on their sleeve. Then, some of these great things (big or small) could be acknowledged and appreciated, and in the bustle of everyday busy-ness, we could be inspired by the accomplishments of those around us.

Steve and Seiji

The chef - best sushi ever!

Chef, Ken, me, Steve, Mina and Seiji... great company!