South Pacific: Part 9 of 11

9.  Japanese jaunt.  Actually, we had two of these.  The first was unintended.  Due to weather and resulting flight delays, we slept the night in the Narita airport.  On the floor/in chairs. The good news is that this helped us learn the layout of the airport and the process of getting a transit visa.  They were also very hospitable and provided air mattresses, sleeping bags, bottled water, and crackers.  So, on the way home when we had a scheduled six hour layover, we took the opportunity to explore downtown Narita a little bit.  How do you know you're in Japan?  You know you're there when the toilet seats are heated, and there are all kinds of electronic buttons associated with the toilet.

Part of the Narita-san Shinshoji Temple.  It's a giant Buddhist temple in downtown Narita.

Me outside the entrance to the temple.

We stopped to watch this guy gut live eels.  It was pretty cool.  Lay it out flat, cut the head nearly off but not quite all the way off, use the stake through the head to hold it in place, cut down the belly the full length of the body, cut out the guts, and cut it in half to make two nice fillets.  All done in 1 or 2 minutes.  Then the guy across from him would put little sticks into the fillet to prepare it for grilling.

You can't leave Japan without eating some ramen.