("Japanese Food" Continued)

able, but the local variety of nuggets with a little bit of ginger flavoring is better); and gyoza, a fried dumpling that makes a good side dish with ramen.

Fast food is very popular.  I mentioned KFC.  McDonald's (Makudonarudo) is very big here.  The teriyaki burger is quite good, and the service, as in most Japanese establishments, really lives up to the image that the company tries to present in its commercials).  One of the more common Japanese fast food places is Hoka Hoka Tei.  This is for carry out only and they offer a variety of combination meals (or sets as they say here).  Most entrees come with rice, a small side of potato salad, and pickles (not Kosher dills unfortunately).  Some of my favorite entrees are the Japanese-style hamburger (more like meatloaf), fried chicken, and curry.

For a night out, yakitori, yakiniku, and izakaya provide the most fun from my point of view.  Maybe because the food is mostly grilled or fried, which is what I was used to back in the U.S.  Yakitori refers to chicken grilled on skewers, but these establishments offer other grilled meats as well.  Part of the adventure for me has been trying to guess what I'm eating.  Yakitori places are usually very small, so it's been common for the proprietors to watch for my reaction as I sampled each item hot off the grill.  The more unusual items are chicken stomachs (very chewy), chicken hearts (not for the chicken-hearted), and chicken skin.  The proprietors seem to get a kick out of my proclaiming that the items are oishii (delicious).
Let me throw in a plug here.  Yuki and I have made kind of a habit of going to the same yakitori place in Taku just about every Wednesday evening.  It's called Kawano, and it's run by a nice young couple--he's Japanese and she's Phillipino.  The owners and some of the other regular customers seem to enjoy the fact that we both speak English.  The food is great and everyone treats us like family.  So anyone planning to visit us, a trip to Kawano will be part of the itinerary.

OK, yakiniku.  This is thin-sliced meat that you grill at your table.  Again, guessing what you're eating is part of the adventure.  The only really major surprise (shock actually) that I had was a thin-sliced meat, uncooked, that is supposed to be dipped in a sauce and then eaten.  It turned out to be horse!  Of course, I proclaimed it to be oishii (it wasn't that bad), but the thought of it still gives me chills.

Izakaya are establishments that offer a large variety of inexpensive fare.  It's typical to order several dishes and side items to share.

For more formal or special occasions, there are also the traditional Japanese restaurants, where you will get more than your fill of raw fish and tofu and have seemingly endless courses presented beautifully on tiny dishes.  And of course you'll be sitting on the floor.  That's one thing that gets old real fast.  At first it seems charming and quaint, but once your knees start to stiffen up, you'll wish you were sitting in a booth at Denny's.

Desserts and snacks are really good here.  Japanese cakes are works of art.  Gener

(Continued on page 27)