Hope you'll have fun, Julie....

And I hope they work out. I really only cook traditional Japanese food at
home, because of health and personal reasons. It's naturally low-fat, lot of
emphasis on vegetables, and I feel much better eating the way I grew up eating.
(I'm Japanese-American, but I grew up in Tokyo, and my mother, who is Japanese,
came from a foodie family who owned Japanese ryotei's -- those expensive
restaurants that serve kaiseki cuisine -- for more than a century. Also, her
brother is a chef/owner of a Chinese restaurant in Tokyo.)

If you can't find the products that are used in the recipes, try these on-line
sources:

www.katagiri.com/
www.maruwa.com/

Enjoy, and if you have any problems, just ask!