19 June 1999 – Since the first day in Japan, Jim has talked about Yoshinoya, a fast food place that serves ‘beef bowl’. Finally one evening, we found ourselves hungry and in a hurry for dinner with Yoshinoya just around the corner, so we made the trip to … Yoshinoya. Served over white rice, the beef, which looked and tasted as though it was boiled or stewed in a broth, was very thin and had more than a little fat attached. The best part was the broth seasoned by the meat, which seeped down from the meat into the steamed white rice. Jim was pleased to accept my meat and I was delighted to eat the rice flavored by the beef broth. A beef bowl cost less than $5, which is a super inexpensive meal in Japan. The restaurant also served three salads, all of which were pickled. Yoshinoya serves all you can drink piping-hot green tea, which they offered as soon as we sat down at the counter big enough for only 10 people.