Lunch today was some type of ground meat patty; I think it was pork. It had a brown gelatinous sauce, which had hints of chicken broth; there was a blob of daikon with green onion on top. It was the best cafeteria food I’ve had all trip (minus the daikon, bleck!). Sides were stewed sweet potato with lemon (good), noodles and shredded carrots in a mayo sauce (meh), a beef broth soup with mushrooms, onions, tofu, and a mystery gel cube (soup good, gel cubes gross), and rice.

I picked up some more lemon gum this morning, and brought some grape flavored gum called “Juicy Shower.” With a name like that, how could you go wrong? The packaging is cool, the gum is very small, and I do not really care for the flavor, but overall it is not bad.

After work, two Japanese members took us out for dinner at a yakiniku restaurant. Yakiniku literally means “grilled meat,” it typically refers to a Korean style restaturant where meat is brought to you on a plate and you grill it at your table on a small grill. It is a very popular type of restaurant in Japan. We went to a small local place that served in a traditional Japanese style. I was happy because I had wanted to have a traditional style Japanese meal. On entering the restaurant you take your shoes off and store them in a little cubby. You step up into the seating area. The tables are low and you sit on small cushions. Men typically sit cross-legged or with both feet tucked under your behind. Women sit with both legs off to one side.

One Japanese member ordered for us with a little input. He asked if we wanted beer, so we said yes. When the beer came out there were two massive ones for myself and the other American, and a medium for him. Hmmm…

He asked what type of beef we liked, lots of marbling, medium, or little. We said we wanted Japanese style, but he insisted we would not like it (fully marbled) and ordered us medium style. He was right. The medium style was still very chewy and fatty for American palettes, but the flavor was excellent. It is a good thing I am no longer a vegetarian because I would have gone hungry tonight. If you ever find yourself in Japan in need of a protein fix, visit a yakiniku joint. Our Japanese member also ordered us kimchi, fermented Korean cabbage. It was good but spicy. He ordered us liver and tongue and insisted we try it. The liver had a decent flavor, but the texture was appalling to me. It was very chewy at first then disintegrated into a nasty pulp. I had to swallow it down with a gulp of beer. The tongue had a good flavor, but again the texture was not good for my American palette. It was chewy and smooth, and I felt like I was eating my own tongue. He also ordered small intestine, which looked terrible. He didn’t offer it to us and we didn’t ask to try.

We spent much time socializing and talking over the meal. It took us a good 2.5 hours to eat, which was enjoyable. It was interesting to grill our food right on the table. The platter didn’t come with much veggies, so I was a little disappointed in that, but the meat was excellent. I am a little worried about the sanitary aspect of it, since you are grilling, serving, turning, and eating next to raw meat. Hopefully it turns out okay. Overall it was a great and interesting experience and I am grateful to our Japanese members for inviting us.