Apologies for the late update! Been very busy with work and family commitments. Anyway, yesterday was my first trip to a yakiniku restaurant, a type of eatery that specializes in grilled meat. The ingredients are brought to your table and you prepare them yourself on the kind of small barbecue that you can see in the picture. It's an unusual place to find a long-standing vegetarian like myself, but my wife was tired after work and wanted something special, so off we went. Even if you don't want to sample the many different kinds of meat on the menu, there are usually plenty of vegetable dishes available, as well as standards like fries/chips and in this case some truly delicious deep fried cheese-and-potato balls. Sitting around that open grill is definitely a warm experience, so I imagine that it's a fantastic place to eat in the dead of winter. Very much recommended if you come to Japan!