When we Americans think sushi, we tend to think “fancy,” “delicate” and “expensive” – the antithesis of family food. But in Japan, sushi is much more versatile and workaday. It’s really a whole pervasive category of food, even more expansive than “sandwich” in America. In Japan, sushi is served as fast food “to go” in train stations and convenience stores. It’s also served in all kinds of restaurants, from working class places to high end fancy places. Exquisitely-made sushi with delicacy ingredients is often served as one of the courses of very expensive meals. On the other hand, there’s a sushi restaurant not far from the fish market in Nagoya (a working class town) that my friend takes me to when I visit. Like the neighborhood, the sushi restaurant is a working class place with the most incredible assortment of fresh fish and sushi chefs joking with one another (in Japanese) while they serve their customers. A full course of sushi there costs the equivalent of $25. It’s not fancy, but it’s incredibly good.

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