>>21418902 (OP)To be honest he makes a point but he fails to acknowledge some of the finer points at play here, in relation to food service and the dining experience.
Primarily, this is the fact that Jappanaise food is full of funky and off flavours and textures. It is not immediately palatable by any means. By being served miso soup at the outset of your meal, your palate is acclimatizing to the taste of mold, funk, and sharply briny seaweed; and to all the unnatural textures involved like tofu, diced seaweed, and grainy miso paste.
This very prepares you for what's to come, and makes a cold platter of sushi seem like a refreshment when otherwise it wouldn't be considered edible.