Shikoku: Post-trip

I made it to Shikoku and back. I did have to stand for about 5 hours on the trains to get down there, but I made it. And was it worth it!
Even if just for the food. I never thought I would eat such strange things, but I expanded my horizons:
This first picture is pigs' tail. That's right, TAIL. I did not eat this, but watched my travel partners eat it. It looked innocent enough, until you could start to see the vertebral segments under the meat and fat. I did try some intestine (unknowingly) and tongue- which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. But that's about all I could handle. Actually I'm starting to make myself sick thinking about it. The owners of the restaurant were really nice, though. I think they were happy we tried all of these things.

Next:
This one is jellyfish. I had no idea what to expect, but when I ate it, it seemed to make sense. It was kind of crunchy with a membranous texture. Sounds good, huh? At this meal, I also had chicken wings stuffed with gyoza, but I don't have a picture.
Finally, we made it to Takamatsu- a city famous for it's fresh-as-can-be seafood. By "fresh-as-can-be", I mean still moving. I read something about octopi in restaurants that were kept in tanks and occasionally taken out to get a few tentacles chopped off for the customer. Just so the customer could feel the sensation of movement on his tongue. I didn't really want to try this sushi that still moves, but the boys I was with did, so we stopped by a restaurant that had a few fish tanks. You went and picked out a fish that looks good to you:
This is the one that had to give its life for us. You can't see it, but it is flopping around wildly in the pan. We didn't actually see the preparation (thankfully), but they cut the sashimi right off the fish while it's still alive. Then they put it all on a plate for you to eat.

Apparently, it's probable that the fish is still alive at this point. One of the guys had eaten the same thing before, and after about 10 minutes of it being on the table, the fish started moving it's tail. Because he told us this, we all stopped talking when it was served to us and watched for it to move. It never moved and I am pretty sure it was dead, but still, I think this was about the most cruel I have ever been to an animal. What's worse than eating parts of an animal while it is skewered and still watching you? It was pretty bad. Actually, just writing this makes me feel a lot worse. There was more to this trip, but I will have to write more when I'm feeling better about myself.