Tonight’s meal was with my traveling companion, an Osaka-style pancake made with ham, shrimp and squid called okonomiyaki. It was delicious. Far, far, far better than lunch. The restaurant wanted to know if we wanted a version with tomato sauce, but we both turned that down. The version served to us was fine as it was.

My traveling companion with the Implements of Eating Okonomiyaki; a little stainless steel shovel, chopsticks and a paper bib for sloppy eaters (I kept mine spotless). The okonomiyaki was placed in the center of the table which is heated, and the shovel is used to cut up and place portions onto the eating plate. Simple enough for even a Big Scary Gaijin (BSG) like me to do.