Inside barbecue. hmmm....

We went to an interesting restaurant as a family today. Our table had a little pit in the middle of it with a grate over it. This turned out to be a mini fire pit although it was either electric or gas operated because we didn't have to build the fire itself.
The restaurant was buffet style so we paid once and got to order almost whatever we wanted (mostly meat but there was some vegetables available as well). They brought us our orders cut and seasoned but not cooked. That was our job! You know, people always say that Japanese people don't eat very much but oh boy when it comes to barbecuing I think these people could give even an American teenage boy a run for his money. We ate, and ate, and ate, continually adding more and more meat to that little grate over our fire until I felt like I had just finished Thanksgiving dinner and when we were all done with our roasted meat and veggies we ordered some ice cream to top it off! It was now that I realized that all of you who are expecting me to come back to America several sizes smaller are in for a surprise I have a feeling that the food here will do just the opposite to me!!

I did notice one thing today though that you all might find interesting and that is the tiny beverages. Here in Japan you have the option of water or soda or tea most of the time but the difference is the cup size. America's cups are huge. It takes me almost the entire meal to finish off my glass of water (for it is always water) but here my cup was tiny and there are no handy waiters to fill your glass as soon as they see it is empty. There is simply a spout where you get your own. Needless to say my family was astounded and amused as I got up 4 times to refill my teacup sized water glass and then promptly downed the whole thing in about 2 minutes. I guess they just don't understand an American's need for their beverages.