President Barack Obama opens a four-country Asia tour with a trip to a famous Tokyo sushi restaurant with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The president kicked off his trip on an informal note, joining Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a famous Tokyo sushi restaurant with hard-to-come-by reservations and a hefty price tag.
Mr Obama and Mr Abe greeted each other warmly outside Sukiyabashi Jiro, the underground sushi restaurant run by 88-year-old Jiro Ono.
The outing was unusually casual by Japanese standards and underscored the effort by both countries to strengthen the personal relationship between Mr Obama and Mr Abe.
The two leaders will hold more formal talks on Thursday, with Mr Obama aiming to promote the US as a committed economic, military and political partner. But the West's dispute with Russia over Ukraine threatens to cast a shadow over the president's sales mission.
The party was expected to be treated to Jiro's multiple-course, $300-per-person set sushi menu.
After Mr Obama left the restaurant, Mr Abe told reporters he had heard that Mr Obama likes Japanese food, especially sushi, and he
wanted the president to experience traditional Japanese cuisine.
He quoted Mr Obama as praising the sushi as "the best sushi he had had in his life."
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