Today would have been a perfect day for a barbecue except for the random rain and the fact that the Japanese don’t quite know how to do a proper barbecue.

It was 80 degrees with a nice breeze and it was cool enough for us to leave the windows open and the air conditioner off. It rained in the morning but by lunch time it was partly sunny and we didn’t get a rush of humidity.

I imagined, mostly because I was bored (long story) breaking out a grill and introducing a couple steaks to it and then starting the coals to cook the hamburger patties, the chicken and the sausages. (The introduction to the grill counts as properly cooking the steaks. Actually, just stabbing the animal counts as properly cooking the steak. But I’m weird that way.)

Then we got the torrential rain which washed away the last hope for a proper barbecue.

The real problem is that although the Japanese love to have “barbecues” near the river and on the beach, one of the first things they cook is noodles. That’s followed by vegetables. More specifically, they make yakisoba (fried noodles with cabbage, green peppers and pork). That is followed by other vegetables and the occasional hot dogs and bits of steak.

At no point do they ever grill a proper hamburger. (This, I feel, is one of the things keeping Japan from being truly great rather than just awesome.

For supper, though, we did come close to proper barbecue by stealing, sort of from Korea. My in-laws set a large electric griddle in the middle of the table and we fried various forms a meat and random vegetables in a fried interpretation of Korean barbecue. (For those who may not know: Imagine an indoor table with a flaming pot of coals on it and you grill your meal yourself.)

The meal, though, ended with egg fried rice stir-fried on the griddle. Awesome, but not truly great.