We were the lucky guests at a cook-out in Tokyo hosted by Naoto’s Willamette University friends, Jessica and Keiichi. There are actually quite a few Willamette grads in and around Tokyo, so Jessica organized a mini reunion for everyone. It was great for Naoto to see his old college classmates and it was great for me to be able to be around English speakers for awhile (which also gave Naoto a much-needed break from translating for me!) It was a perfect day for a barbecue–sunny and warm.
We met in a park near the water and Keiichi and his friend Shige-san did most of the grilling. Keiichi and Shige take their grilling very seriously. There was a ton of grilling equipment all around our picnic site. We enjoyed hot dogs, sausages, shrimp, asparagus, pumpkin, yakisoba and more. 
Keiichi made his famous chicken for us…it’s a secret recipe that involves buttermilk and a lot of garlic cooked in a dutch oven over hot coals. 
It comes out looking like this and tasting incredible! The meat was really tender and had so much flavor! 
It was great meeting and catching up with everyone on such a perfect spring day! (Those are the Willamette grads pictured above.)
Thanks to Jess & Keiichi for organizing the reunion!
[…] picture above was taken at the cook out. I know the hot dog is blurry, but it was the best I could do with my mouth […]
[…] friend Jess, who lives in Tokyo with her husband and son (you may remember her from our Tokyo Cook Out), gave us so many ideas of places to see and things to do. I really think she missed her calling as […]