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Yes, it's shirako; cod milt/sperm. One of my favourite things. I hardly know anyone who likes it; everyone's all, "Ewww, sperm.." But me? I looooove it. Ahem.

I've captioned the first few sets now..luckily for me, I have a steel-trap mind when it comes to a good meal and remember everything I've ever eaten and where.

I know, I'm sorry I haven't captioned them..the enormity of the task is tiring just to think about. I'll get around to it. But if there's any picture in particular that intrigues, let me know in the meantime. I also have approximately a billion pictures of the inside of the local supermarket next to the restored machiya house we rented in Kyoto I could post if anyone's interested - I love to cook, and so does Mum, so I wanted at least one of our stops to be somewhere we'd have a kitchen and could shop and cook together. That was a highlight.

And that's it! Happy travels, from her and me!

Tamagoyaki (omelette) maker Nishiki Market, Kyoto Cucumbers pickling in sake lees Nishiki Market, Kyoto Unagi (eel) stall Nishiki Market, Kyoto Grilled fish - that says kamasu, which Google tells me is whiting Nishiki Market, Kyoto Obligatory photo of the plastic food key rings Nishiki Market, Kyoto Grilled things Nishiki Market, Kyoto Wagyu/kobe beef of various grades, to be grilled on the spot Nishiki Market, Kyoto Kameboko/fish cake stand Nishiki Market, Kyoto More fish cakes Nishiki Market, Kyoto Roasting sweet potatoes Nishiki Market, Kyoto Oysters, turban shells/sazae Nishiki Market, Kyoto Sashimi on sticks Nishiki Market, Kyoto Nikuman (beef bun), snack for me Nishiki Market, Kyoto Shop! Nishiki Market, Kyoto Grilled and simmered fish stall Nishiki Market, Kyoto Warabi - mochi/pounded sticky rice sweets, usually rolled in roasted soybean or green tea powder Nishiki Market, Kyoto Grilled buri (yellowtail) and baby squid Nishiki Market, Kyoto More pickles Nishiki Market, Kyoto Chief Pickle Inspector Nishiki Market, Kyoto Lemon tuna sashimi, snack for me Nishiki Market, Kyoto Now we're onto to Sapporo, the snowy capital of Hokkaido. We arrived and immediately realised that we're pathetic Australians who are shithouse at dealing with snow, so we stood outside for approximately 30 seconds of the whole trip. This is at a kaisendon (seafood rice bowl) place in Nijo Fish Market, Sapporo SO GOOD. This had salmon roe, uni, sweet amaebi prawn, salmon belly, scallops, squid, tuna, ark shell clam and a raw crab leg (not shown, I ate it before remembering to take a photo) Nishiki Market, Kyoto Akami (lean) tuna Nemuro Hanamaru Kaiten Sushi, Sapporo Engawa (flounder fin) Nemuro Hanamaru Kaiten Sushi, Sapporo Aburi (grilled) salmon Nemuro Hanamaru Kaiten Sushi, Sapporo Scallop grilled in its shell and eaten standing in a gutter on our second trip to Nijo Market, Sapporo Flower crab, Nijo Market, Sapporo Snow crab, Nijo Market, Sapporo Hairy crab Nijo Market, Sapporo Giant octopus leg Nijo Market, Sapporo Crab tank Nijo Market, Sapporo Spiny crab Nijo Market, Sapporo Nijo Market, Sapporo This was then in Hakodate, a town south of Sapporo. At an uni-specialist restaurant. Uni gratin - uni, in uni custard, grilled in its shell. After. Uni Murakami, Hakodate Morning Market Before. Uni Murakami, Hakodate Morning Market Uni and shiso leaf tempura. Uni Murakami, Hakodate Morning Market More uni and shiso tempura (I ordered a second serving!) Uni Murakami, Hakodate Morning Market My mother's uni tempura rice bowl. Uni Murakami, Hakodate Morning Market Raw uni don Uni Murakami, Hakodate Morning Market

Grilled fish stall, Omicho Market, Kanazawa Unagi grilled eel stall, Omicho Market, Kanazawa More crabs Omicho Market, Kanazawa The hotel in Kanazawa had a sashimi buffet for breakfast, as well as a Western bacon and eggs style spread. So the only thing for it as far as I was concerned was a make-your-own sashimi kaisendon (seafood bowl) bacon abomination. Sashimi breakfast buffet, ANA Kanazawa Hotel Matcha and red bean sweets, Higashichaya teahouse, Kanazawa Tonkotsu Ramen and gyoza, A1 Ramen, Kanazawa Grilled salmon Michita Izakaya, Kanazawa Sashimi omakase, Michita Izakaya, Kanazawa Gold leaf soft serve, Kanazawa Onto Kyoto. Baby octopus stuffed with a hard-boiled quails' egg (of course) Nishiki Market, Kyoto Clams, Nishiki Market, Kyoto Cold icy cucumbers on sticks, very good Nishiki Market, Kyoto Wasabi roots, Nishiki Market, Kyoto Pickles of various sorts - some in sake lees, some in fermenting miso Nishiki Market, Kyoto Grilled things, mostly unagi (eel) Nishiki Market, Kyoto Baby octopus, braised in sweet sauce, stuffed with a quails' egg Nishiki Market, Kyoto Fugu (pufferfish) shop Nishiki Market, Kyoto Rice cracker-maker Nishiki Market, Kyoto Shops various Nishiki Market, Kyoto Chestnut shop, freshly roasting Nishiki Market, Kyoto Dried fish/bonito shop Nishiki Market, Kyoto Dried fish shop, Nishiki Market, Kyoto Pickles and things Nishiki Market, Kyoto Eggs of all sorts (such beautiful, yellow-yolked eggs too, Japanese eggs taste amazing) Nishiki Market, Kyoto Fresh warm tamagoyaki (sweet/salty omelette) on a stick Nishiki Market, Kyoto Sake shop (I bought quite a bit to drink in the bath in the house we rented) Nishiki Market, Kyoto Nishiki Market, Kyoto

Isomarusuisan, Shibuya - a grill your own seafood place. You get a portable grill and a pair of tongs and have at it. They even have a 'catch your own squid' pool in the middle of the restaurant. Grilled tuna collar, Isomarusuisan, Shibuya Bukkake (ahem) sushi, with uni, whitebait, tuna belly and salmon roe, Isomarusuisan, Shibuya Grilling our own sazae (turban shell) and scallops, Isomarusuisan, Shibuya Grilling kani miso (crab tomalley served in its shell) and clams, Isomarusuisan, Shibuya Happy peoples, Isomarusuisan, Shibuya And more Isomarusuisan, Shibuya The all-important business of choosing our ekiben (filled lunchboxes to eat on the train) for our trip to Kanazawa Kanazawa sashimi don, with minced tuna belly, salmon roe, chopped cucumber and sesame seeds on sushi rice, Omicho Market, Kanazawa Snack for me; eating a raw sweet spot prawn with its roe, Omicho Market, Kanazawa Snack for me: uni, Omicho Market, Kanazawa Crab-lookers Omicho Market, Kanazawa Oysters, Omicho Market, Kanazawa Oysters, uni and scallops, Omicho Market, Kanazawa Squid, crab, chunks of fish, Omicho Market, Kanazawa Clams and whelks, Omicho Market, Kanazawa Shirako (cod sperm sacs), Omicho Market, Kanazawa Fresh wasabi root, Omicho Market, Kanazawa Crabs and uni, Omicho Market, Kanazawa Raw spot prawns with roe, Omicho Market, Kanazawa Omicho Market, Kanazawa

In December, I spent 3 glorious weeks eating my way through Japan; Tokyo, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Sapporo, Hakodate and back to Tokyo. It was my 11th (!) trip to Japan but my mother had never been, so I thought I'd take the old girl over for a good time. We did not kill each other, surprisingly. I'll come back and caption these a little more informatively over coming weeks, but as you can see, we ate rather a lot. Midori Sushi, Mark City, Shibuya (always my first stop when I arrive in Tokyo, as my preferred hotel is directly above it) Toro tuna belly, Midori Sushi, Mark City, Shibuya Squid gristle for snack time (as you do) Uni tempura, Tsunahachi, Shinjuku Uni tempura, Tsunahachi, Shinjuku Eel, fish and scallop tempura, Tsunahachi, Shinjuku Clam meat, chopped, stuffed back in clam shell and tempura'd, Tsunahachi, Shinjuku Crab leg tempura, Tsunahachi, Shinjuku Maitake mushroom (a cluster of them) tempura, Tsunahachi, Shinjuku Squid, prawn which had been alive right up until this point, lotus root tempura, dipping sauce, radish and green tea salt, Tsunahachi, Shinjuku Prawn head tempura, Tsunahachi, Shinjuku Evening hotel room snack - an AUD$15 tray of uni from Isetan depachika (food basement), Shinjku Amaebi (sweet raw prawn) gunkan sushi from Umegaoka Sushi No Midori Sohonten, Shibuya ' Engawa (flounder fin), lightly grilled, Umegaoka Sushi No Midori Sohonten, Shibuya Otoro, chutoro and akami tuna, Umegaoka Sushi No Midori Sohonten, Shibuya Marinated raw baby squid sushi, Umegaoka Sushi No Midori Sohonten, Shibuya Otoro fatty tuna belly and minced daikon (takuan), Umegaoka Sushi No Midori Sohonten, Shibuya Fried oysters, Umegaoka Sushi No Midori Sohonten, Shibuya Negitoro - fatty minced tuna belly and green onion, Umegaoka Sushi No Midori Sohonten, Shibuya Salmon, flounder fin and tuna belly aburi (lightly grilled), Umegaoka Sushi No Midori Sohonten, Shibuya

Claypot rice, with chicken thigh, lup cheong sausage, Chinese smoked bacon (lup yuk), dried mushrooms, ginger and a drizzling sauce of oyster sauce, dark and light soys, and sesame oil. And broccolini on the side. But forget the broccolini, LOOK AT THAT RICE CRUST!

Ladyandpups.com is perhaps my favourite cooking site anywhere on the internet..I LOVE her food, she's basically my pork-fat-and-chilli-fiend hero. I'm slowly working my way through all her wonderfully insane ideas, including many I don't post here as they're too abominable (like last night's Korean chicken with ramen and half a kilo of melted mozzarella cheese!)

Chinese men ding (door nail) meat pies, with a hot water dough and a filling of pork, garlic chives, sesame oil and soy. Fried till crispy, then steamed in chicken stock, and when that evaporates, the bottoms fry again. Brushed with a ginger/green onion butter after cooking and sprinkled with chilli flakes. I need to work on getting my bottoms as thin and even as my tops, but they tasted good.

I mostly dislike eggs, I'm largely anti-bread, and I have only a very sporadic sweet tooth at all, so I really can't say what possessed me to make these Korean gyeran-bbang egg breads this morning - fluffy mini loaves of slightly sweet white bread with a whole egg baked into the middle just until gooey, and I inserted two mini rafts of mozzarella cheese at either end to hold the egg in roughly the centre, which worked a treat. Gooey innards ably demonstrated here by my standby hand-model. I might've just been looking for an excuse to use that ridiculously small loaf tin I bought in Paris. ONE loaf tin, the size of my palm..ridiculous. But good for egg breads!

After over 20 attempts, I think I've finally perfected my bo li guo tie (cut glass crispy-bottomed dumplings) recipe. They're dumplings you fry until the bottoms are just golden, and then pour in a slurry and steam them, till the water evaporates off and the slurry fries into a lacy, crispy, shatter-y, buttery 'skirt', and you slide them out of the pan bottoms up, in one connected crunchy disc. It's all about the right flour (I've finally settled on tapioca, after trying wheat flour, bread flour, cake flour, rice flour, sticky rice flour, corn flour and potato flour) and the right amount of water, oil, heat and time. The dumplings themselves are kimchi, tofu, cabbage and chopped sweet potato noodles, and the dipping sauce is soy, apple vinegar, sesame oil and dried chilli threads.

Korean fried chicken and Penang char kway teow. Hey, if you're eating it at 4am, it counts as breakfast.

Ha! This was broadly the recipe I followed, but it doesn't have to be that complicated..the only secret is cooking it long enough. Report back with how it turns out! Still on a beef thing here; bo luc lac, or Vietnamese black pepper beef, with snake beans. And a spoonful of this intriguing Korean 'beef leg bone extract', to amp up the beefiness, and beef it up it does. It tastes a bit marrow-y, very umami. Resisting urges to mix it with butter and spread it on toast!

Brisket, slow braised for 6 hours in chu hou sauce (sort of less sweet hoi sin), star anise, cinnamon and dried tangerine peel, with bok choy and egg noodles.

Yep, I just mix tahini, sugar and lemon juice in a bowl till smooth. Sometimes I add zest to the mix, sometimes I don't. But I always sprinkle zest over the top; after baking, so that it doesn't burn, but while the pastry's still hot, so the lemon oils release from the zest. And I'd generally bake at 220C for 15-18 mins. I don't bother with egg wash.

And if you're interested in a sweet use of tahini - here's one of the best things I ever made; it's just tahini, mixed with sugar and lemon juice, spread over a sheet of puff pastry, rolled up, sliced and baked. With more lemon zest over the top.

Welcome! Looks great.

Wonton wrappers fried into strips here, too, @huiray. Vietnamese bun nem nuong; grilled pork meatballs on vermicelli, with spring onion oil, crispy deep fried wonton skins, crispy, pickled shredded carrot, and chilli/garlic/fish sauce dressing.

Pork and prawn siu mai. I never bother trimming the square wonton wrappers into rounds, which would be what you'd do to make them look the more traditional siu mai barrel shape. MOAR CARBS.

Octopus. Octopus, vacuum packed and then sous vided for 7 hours. Octopus, chopped and braised in Korean gochujang chilli paste with green onions, carrots, honey, sour plum syrup and sesame oil.

Best thing for breakfast on freezing cold, rainy mornings; the zong zi sticky rice dumplings I made ages ago and froze; glutinous rice, stuffed with a chunk of soy-sauce red braised pork belly, mung beans, chestnuts and a whole salted duck egg yolk, wrapped in bamboo leaves and then steamed and cut open and doused with chilli sauce. And then I was still hungry, so second breakfast, aka treasures from the freezer continued; Balmain bug tail meat, brushed in white soy and honey and lightly flame torched. On sushi rice, wrapped in Korean seasoned seaweed, and down the hatch.

I apologise for this hideous photo! One of the tastiest but ugliest things I've ever made; popcorn chicken, miso butter and caramelised kimchi on a soft roll. And four beers, OK?!