You know what - I looked on the internet to give my 10 year old cookery lessons from a sushi chef. They even come to your house. Trouble is, my kitchen is quite narrow so difficult to do.
Places like Moshi Moshi use plastic to roll the rice whereas others craft it by hand. How did you do yours?
I used to work at Moshi Moshi and can tell you that my very hands didn't craft our Maki using a plastic roller. Only authentic bamboo and skilled handwork were used to create the fine fare on offer.
Well at least they were in my day (about two years ago now)
Despite working there as a sous chef for a year and tasting my fair share of the goods I still bloody love the stuff.
I have a couple of friends who moved to Japan to teach English - One who was totally open to new ideas and was always very experimental with food, who couldn't wait to get there. The other who wouldn't even eat cooked fish let alone something so raw you can almost see the blood flowing. Three years on and they couldn't be more united in their belief that eating like the Japanese will add years to their life expectancy and well being.
The crying shame is that over here, as others have already mentioned, it is increasingly expensive to eat and difficult to make sure that you are eating good quality and sustainable fishing stock.
More importantly what's everyones favourite derivative:
Sashimi: - Got to be tuna, maybe Tuna Tataki (seared Tuna with a spicy Korean apple, chilli and sesame sauce.)
Sushi/Nigiri: Straightforward Prawn
Maki: Prawn Tempura
Photomaki: Unagi
Hot: Either Tempura, or simple Beef teriyaki.
Would post a more complex poll if I could be bothered but Meh.