Within the past few weeks, I have been fortunate enough to have a dish called sukiyaki (すき焼き), not only once, but twice. The first time I had it was with my host family, which starting off is a dangerous game. I was brought up to never turn down food that is put on your plate in somebody else's home, and while this is basically my home in Japan, I've been maintaining that philosophy whenever physically possible. And that evening was no different.
Where the danger comes in, is that sukiyaki is basically moderation's worst enemy. It's a type of "hot pot", where there is basically a big pot of boiling sauce in the middle with all sorts of things thrown in it, and then everybody grabs what they want, when they want it. The signature to sukiyaki is that the sauce has a soy-saucey taste, and you dip everything in raw egg before you eat it. Disregarding the inbred habit of running away at the sight of raw egg, it's absolutely delicious. And it never ends....Ever. The night that we made it, we cooked around 4 pounds of meat, at least 3 pots worth of veggies and tofu, and then when all of that was gone some mushrooms and noodles, because why not? Afterward, I felt pretty incapable of movement, but with enough motivation was able to waddle over to my bed and collapse in a ball of delicious, painful, food-induced exhaustion.
The next time I had sukiyaki I went out with a group of Japanese and exchange students to an area called Ikebukuro (池袋). This is actually where we had stayed during the orientation period of the program, and had been my first time returning there since. Most sukiyaki places in Japan operate as tabe-houdai (食べ放題), which means all-you-can-eat for a certain amount of time. So picture us, 20 college students, sitting down to a 90 minute celebration, a 90 minute challenge of how much delicious your stomach is really capable of holding, and heading in full force. I had a great time with everybody there, and by around lunch the next day I began feeling like my stomach was once again back to normal capacity. There is actually photographic evidence of me having fun with with Japanese people somewhere, but not on my camera. If it ever surfaces I'll be sure to post it.
The other interesting thing about sukiyaki, is that it is also the name for the English version of what is incontrovertibly the most famous song in Japan. The original song, titled "Ue wo Muite, Arukou" (上を向いて歩こう), was sung by Kyu Sakamoto (坂本九) in 1961. It's claim to fame was being the first Japanese song to become known and liked by international audiences, and it remains the only Japanese song to reach top charts in the US. If you've got some time, take a listen. I have yet to meet a single person in Japan, of any age, who doesn't know this song.
Original (which I prefer)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbH754gScuk
English Version (lyrics are almost completely unrelated to lyrics of actual song)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqFkUNqBwMw&feature=fvst
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