Indiana Jones and the Resutorans of Kamakura

On our trip to Kamakura, we were told to go find a restaurant and enjoy the local cuisine. Eating out for the first time in Japan - sounds easy enough but nothing is simple in Japan. This are so for many reasons for this. One reason is that the language is so different that you cannot use context clues to decipher what is on the menu - so you will often see poster boards and menus with pictures next to each item. Second, the food is so different and the choices are so varied, that it is truly hit or miss when ordering. Third, many of the restaurants have small storefronts that will lead upstairs, downstairs or down a hallway to the actual restaurant. Because of all this and more, as we looked for a place to eat, we felt like Indiana Jones in search of something mysterious and exotic.

The lady in front of the placard
wearing the mask was like a
circus barker trying to lure in
customers. After we told we were
interested, she led us down a
small passageway that led to
the restaurant. 

The restaurant (resutoran) was so
small that Mona said it reminded
her of a dollhouse.

We were lucky that we picked
this restaurant. They listed their
menu items in seven different
languages.

Mona is demonstrating the proper way to
eat Japanese food. You hold the rice bowl
in the left hand while you sample the main
dish using your right hand (not with a fork
like Mona but with chopsticks). She is such
a typical gaijin.

Our first bill in Japanese kanji and
the amount we owed in Yen.