There are two solid reasons to come to Japan and both have to do with consuming something. Food and Alcohol. I will begin with the first item, food. I am addicted to it in a general sense, but there is something about Japanese food that is just so damn yummy. It is aesthetic in its delivery, but also healthy in its creation. There is a reason why Okinawa, Japan on average has the longest life span in the world today.

Sure there are down sides to the food as well. For me it is rice. I love the stuff. Some call it sticky rice, but it is Japanese rice and they take great pride in the type and taste of it. Which would explain why it is served with pretty much ever damn thing in this country. Hell Sake is even made with it and you can even get cooking wine that is made from rice. That is the one thing I have had to restrict myself from on this trip. I know it will just ruin my goal this year of cutting off the pounds.

So far, on this trip I have been able to check off two of the "Must Have" items on my dining list. Yakiniku, and Okonomiyaki. I suppose I should point out the common part of both of these dishes, and that is the "Yaki" bit. It means basically grilled. Now in the case of Yakiniku it is an open flamed grill over coals or gas, similar to a BBQ. We'll get back to that in a moment. In the case of Okonomiyaki, it is grilled on a flat griddle. Both methods of cooking are also done as elements embedded in your table and you are presented with the raw ingredients and expected to whip it up yourself.

Matsuzakagyu 

First my all time, hands down favorite; Yakiniku. Niku = beef, you know waht the Yaki means. There is no better night out with friends that heading to a yakiniku restaurant. I mean a real neighborhood one. Where the ceiling has gone brown with the smoke that has risen from the grill you sit before. In some places, my favorite being Gyu-Kaku the grill in the table is an actual vented hole where the worker inserts a glowing red bucket of hot coals and then covers it with a mesh top for you to lay the food on. Now as the picture on this blog shows, the key to a great yakiniku experience is the actual meat.

I had never really paid much attention to meat before. Hell you never really see it raw unless you are cooking for yourself. But in the case of yakiniku, it is the focal point of the meal and as with being presented with the first drips of a fine wine for your inspection prior to serving, they present the meat to you on plates that have been layed out in a way as to show you exactly what you are getting. The one thing, which is why I took this picture, that shows a great piece of meat is the "Marbling" That is how the fat in the meat runs through the meat. That is what helps the meat cook and provides the meat with a truly tender mouth watering flavor.

We are not talking "Chunks" of meat here, we are talking thin, finely sliced strips of meat layed out on a platter and in some cases sprinkled with sesame seeds to enhance the visual experience. All of what you have to choose from is before you in the picture menu. You have your Roast cut, your pork, your Kalbi and various other choices. Two of which I have no desire to try; tongue and what they refer to as "Hormones" or basically the various glands and organs. OH HELL NO! Monday night was about business. Roast Cut and kalbi. We must have gone through about 4 plates of the stuff.

This is how the game is played. You first enter the establishment (local establishment of course, no frills here). Order up a few Dai-Jockies (Bigg Assed Draft Beer), one person usually takes charge of the menu and begins to bark out the order while stimulating conversation begins. By the time the first beer is done, the platters of meat arrive. Oh, along with it the bowls of rice. Now, if you happen to be with ladies, there will also be the obligatory platter of fresh sliced mushrooms, onions, corn and other grill=able items, but on this night, it was all about the meat. The person who ordered also is the initial "Keeper of the Thongs" that is probably the 2nd most important role of the night only behind ordering.

A good "tonger" ensures that the grill is never open. That some piece of meat is being distributed over the coals. Each slice is a bite sized one, so all you have to do, while you are in conversation is reach in with your chop-stix and grab a piece, gently laying it into your yakiniku sauce and the popping it into your mouth.... Damn that is good eatin! It is a true social experience and one that I will cherish and partake in each and every time I am back here in Japan. We have a name for it now.... "The Yakiniku Funk-Fest"

That is how the Salaryman does it. The blue collar worker and such. Now I have also had in my Japan travels the ultimate honor of dining on the best that his country has to off that not too many have ever heard of before. No, it is not Kobe beef, which has risen to world acclaim as the best of the best in terms of beef. But there is a little know secret, there IS better! It goes by the name of Matsuzaka Gyu.

If you have ever had Kobe Beef and heard the stories on how these animals are pampered through massage and being fed beer all of the time, there is some truth to that. I do not however know what the hell they do to Matsuzaka Gyu, but I can tell you that it was almost an out of world experience to eat. I have never had meat so tender that it literally felt as if it was melting as soon as it hit my tongue. Not to mention the fact that there was a whole ceremony on how it was presented to us to eat. To give you an idea on what the average "normal" price for this stuff is, try 500g (16 oz.) of Sukiyaki sliced meat (extremely thin for cooking via dipping in a soup broth), going for 10,000 Yen (about $84.00)

At the restaurant I was invited to, they did not use the Open Flame, they used the griddle type grill. There were 6 of us sitting at one traditional Japanese table (meaning you sit on the floor and the table is about a foot off of the ground). After a few drinks and some Japanese veggie appetizers, usually traditional and consisting of some pickled vegetable, two women in Kimono's entered the room carrying a single plate each. One headed to our other table and one came right next to me and knelt. The plate went onto the grill and the brass bell shaped cover came off.... OMG!

On this plate was the biggest piece of meat I had ever seen in my life. It was somehow beautiful. It looked nothing like raw meat. It stood easily 2 inches high, and was about 12 inches in diameter. The meat itself was not red, but a whitish pink. On top it was smothered with what I thought was ground fat, but it turned out to be a mixture of mashed garlic and some radish type veggie. There it stood before me in all its glory for about 2 minutes before being romantically slid off of the plate and onto the already hot grill. When it settled in, the large Brass dome was placed over it and therer it sat for about 5 minutes.

During this time you could see the oils begin to seep under the brass dome. The smell was unbelievable. The lady then took out a large traditional knife and what looked like a mini pitch fork, removed the dome and there it was. A golden brown sizzling joy to behold. She quickly began to slice and dice in a way that was a pleasure to watch. There are many who pay a fortune to learn how to pour tea in this country, after watching this woman work I can tell you that there is something to be said for the pleasure of watching a performance on serving food or beverage. When she made the first slice the knife effortlessly fell through the meat. She parted it and it was so beautfully marbled, I had never seen anything like it before.

She continued to slice it up into bite sized bits as it continued to grill in front of everyone. She asked politely how each of us would prefer ours to be done. Medium for me ma'am. Shortly after about 10 pieces were effortlessly arranged in front of me on the grill. Others received theirs as well. When the meat was distributed, she quickly served up some grilled mushrooms and other vegetables that were distributed to us as well.

The moment of truth came. I expected a good piece of meat, but what I got in my mouth on that first bite was unlike anything that has entered my mouth before. It was sooooooo soft, the flavor, the juices, I can honestly say that I am not sure if I even chewed it. I think it just dissolved right in my mouth. There was no talking on this night for me. There was not even a sip of beer that passed my lips until business with that piece of meat had been completed. I was in Yakiniku heaven unlike any other.

Alas, I was invited by a family friend to partake in 2 of these events. I must warn you, he is quite wealthy. There is no way in hell I could afford this meal. At the end of the night, in casual conversation it was made clear that that single piece of meat worked out to about $400 per head. Uh, that was like $2400.00

Was it worth it? HELL YEA! Would I pay it "homey could never play that." But to be honest, if I could afford it, I damn sure would.