How does Japan not have an obesity problem???

This isn't meant to get into a discussion on the obesity rates or 'super-size' mentality.  My question is simply how you don't see that many overweight Japanese people considering all the great food options, everywhere you go.  The food here has been amazing.  I just found my new favorite restaurant last night, but more on that later.

I probably came over with an extremely narrow view point on what the food options would consist of.  I think I had this impression, ignorantly, that most of the dishes and restaurants would be centered around Japanese cuisine of fish, noodles, rice, and vegetables.  Completely not true.  First of all you can't swing a cat by the tail without hitting some kind of restaurant.  Most restaurants are not the stand alone type buildings, many are tiny little places with maybe only 4 or 5 tables.  Maybe because of the limited spaces you don't see large restaurants, but a bunch of little ones.

Walking down Blue street, just outside Yokosuka naval base has a wide variety of restaurants.  By the way, the name isn't actually blue street, most streets don't have names.  This one is blue street simply because there are blue flecks in the pavement and there are blue lights lining the street...hence, Blue street.  Anyways there is everything from McDonald's, (where the burger you get actually looks like the one in the picture hung on the wall!), to Tempura, to Indian (Indian Go-go's has this phenomenal pumpkin curry and cheese naan, naan is like cheese pizza without the sauce), to a Sushi go-round to a French bakery.

Okay, Sushi, we haven't hit a big old sushi restaurant yet, mostly because Amie doesn't like seafood.  But Harrison and I have grabbed some from the small street shops, great to say the least.  Sushi go-rounds...haven't sat down at one yet, again because it would just be Harrison and me...are a very simple concept.  You sit down at a counter with a conveyor belt in front of you.  The belt goes by carrying single plates of sushi.  You simply take the one you want and stack your plates.  Some places have plates of different colors to differentiate price, other places are all pieces the same price.  The 100 Yen (just under $1) sushi go-rounds are highly recommended.  If you here of a fish shortage over the next few weeks, it is because Harrison and I have hit one of those places!

Also, French bakeries are everywhere and they are AWESOME.  Everything from your standard pastries to hotdogs in buns with ketchup and mayonnaise (haven't tried it).  The tricky thing is trying to decipher what is in the donut.  Not every place has translated labels so you run the risk of getting a great looking pastry that is actually filled with bean curd!

The town near our housing is called Zushi.  It is beach town just south of us.  It has a ton of great little places to eat, across the spectrum, Italian, Greek, good old fashion burgers...you name it.  We found this place, Luana, a couple of weeks ago, really good.

But last night we tried this place called Matchpoint and the food was out of this world!

One appetizer was avocado spears wrapped in prosciutto, another was eggplant and potatoes (left picture).  Then I had Korean flat bread stuffed we seafood, while Amie had Udon noodles (pictured right).  Finally we split French Toast with ice cream (lower middle).

Of course it all went with a couple bottles of wine.  We went with a Merlot, but the Sparkring Wine looked interesting as well.