CAPE CANAVERAL (AP) – Koichi Wakata was still getting used to gravity, though it wasn’t going to stop him from diving into a deluge of sushi.

Huge amounts of the delicacy awaited the Japanese astronaut Friday after he returned to Earth aboard shuttle Endeavour with six other astronauts. Wakata, the first Japanese astronaut to return from a long space journey, lived in orbit at the international space station for four and a half months.

The shuttle and its crew returned after a long but successful construction job that boosted the size and power of the international space station.

Endeavour’s arrival, set off a steady stream of congratulations and an ecstatic welcoming reception for Wakata.

There was more sushi than Wakata had anticipated as Kennedy Space Center workers dropped it off at crew quarters.

Wakata said four hours after touchdown that he had yet to eat any sushi because of all the medical testing. But he was going to splurge as soon as the crew news conference ended.