Back in Tokyo

With only a couple of days left in Japan, I find myself concentrating more on what I should buy than on what I should see. This is probably bad. Perhaps I should do something more nature-oriented.

Unrelatedly, I have struck out consistently on the mangosteen front. It must not be in season. But I have had a couple of really good meals, an assortment of solidly competent ones, and one or two unredeemably bad foodstuffs. Savory wins over sweet every time, and Tyler Cowen's ethnic dessert rule holds overseas. The only problem is that I do not know the names of the foods I do like, so obtaining them more than once seems problematic. What is the white vegetable with the holes in it? Or the name of the rice dish mixed with wasabi and some white paste and then covered with clear broth? I still cannot figure out the appetizer I had in France some years back (white paste made of fish and cheese, spread on crisp rounds of bread), so I assume anything I eat over here is a one-time thrill.