ShinjukuAce

Lab-created sapphires are so cheap that Apple considered using a sapphire screen for the iPhone.

I worked in Japan, and one time my boss and clients took us out to a really expensive sushi restaurant in Ginza that came out to like $300/person. The clients would order things for the whole group. Most of the things they ordered were tasteless - either really bland fish, or unchewable clams/squid/shellfish. Then they asked me if I wanted any pieces, and I ordered things like mackerel and Kohada, and they looked at me like "what the hell is he doing", but I actually like the really fishy-tasting fish better, since I think they have more flavor.

I lived in Japan 2000-2003, and most sushi bars refused to make Western-style rolls with lots of ingredients, and would only make traditional nigiri sushi and maybe 2-3 basic rolls.

Uni and Natto are the two things that really put most Americans off. I have tried Uni and like it a lot. Natto on the other hand deserves everything bad people say about it.

"But most sushi bars don't use real wasabi because it's so expensive."

A lot of "wasabi" in the US is really just green-dyed horseradish.