May 17 , 2003

Classes were cancelled a few days ago because it was YPU’s (Yamaguchi Perfectural University) Founders Day. Centre C. take notice we need to adopt this policy!

I took advantage of not having school and went out with my friends. We traveled to Viking House, a Japanese grille/buffet restaurant. I found the arrangement of the restaurant very neat. There was a huge buffet of various raw meats, fresh vegetables, and many different pre-pared dishes. From the buffet you snag any meats and veggies you find appealing, then take them back to prepare. You see, a small grille is actually built into each table and you get to grill your own food. Let me tell you the Japanese know how to have a good buffet. I found that the buffet offerings were very diverse, and everything I tried was excellent. Even better was the fact that I cooked my own food.

Throughout the meal I noticed some obvious differences between Japanese buffets and American buffets. I learned that in Japan there’s a time limit to the buffet. So when they say “All you can eat!” they really mean “All you can eat in 90 minutes!” There’s also a penalty for not eating all of the food you put on your plate. Wow, how different. Differences aside, my first trip to Viking House was very awesome, and

by then end of the allotted time I had mastered the art of cooking on the Japanese grille. Watch out Emeril here I come!

After eating we went to a karaoke box. And for those of you who don’t know, we Americans slaughter the pronunciation of karaoke; it should be “cah rah OH ke.” In America karaoke usually consists of performing in front of a large group of people in a club/bar, but the Japanese do it differently. Japanese karaoke is done in a small room privately with your friends. I guess this way you don’t feel as nervous about singing. That was certainly the case with me; I was much less nervous about making a fool out of myself in front of my friends. Anyway, we all headed to our private room and