Japanese BBQ at the beach!

We decided that spring is in the air (even though it was rainy and cool all week).  Therefore, seeing that the sun was shining on Saturday we decided to drive towards the coast and see if any plum blossoms were out.  We set our googlemaps navigation to Uminokoen Park in Yokohama. After arriving and parking our car we realized that it was mid-afternoon and we hadn't had any lunch yet.  We peeked into a small temporary structure that had the smell of charcoal smoke and saw what appeared to be a fresh market specializing in clams and shellfish.

On closer inspection it was obvious that all of the food was raw so we thought it was simply a fresh fish market.  However, when we went around the edge of the temporary structure, we realized that the structure extended for a a great length with more temporary structures and tents and that inside all of these were small tables surrounding makeshift charcoal grills.

We quickly figured out that people purchased the raw food and then were led to a grill and table where they could cook their food and eat it.  So we went back and got in the line to try it out.  We purchased a variety of things we could recognize, paid for the food, and waited to be taken to a grill and table.  The seats were made out of plastic crates and the grills were simple contraptions that were supplied with fresh, hot charcoal bricks when we were seated.  A nice young man gave us explicit instructions in perfect English and seeing that we didn't have any clams or oysters or other forms of shelled creatures, realized we didn't need any specific cooking instructions and wished us well and left.  We watched our neighbors cooking a variety of delicacies.

After feeling confident that we could do this, we donned the white gloves and placed our selections on the grill.  We had purchased some shrimp with heads attached, small sausages, bacon, and a small aluminum pan with salmon, mushrooms and butter sauce.  We also bought cooked brown rice wrapped in foil to go with the grilled items.

After a few minutes things were sizzling and smoking and we were getting ready to eat.  The shrimp was tasty but rather messy to shell.  The sausages and bacon were nice and hot.  The salmon and mushrooms were the last to be eaten since they cooked more slowly in the small aluminum pan covered with foil.  But in reality, the food was cooked and consumed in an amazingly short period of time.

After lunch we walked the wide stone pathway between the large beach and the grassy areas where many people were playing beach volleyball, soccer, kickball, jogging, strolling with their dogs, and generally enjoying the beautiful Saturday afternoon.

After we finished our park stroll, we returned to the car and decided to drop in on Doug's brother, Gary, since we were in Yokohama.  He obligingly gave up his afternoon shopping trip to host us.  We had a nice visit with him after which he took us to a wonderful Indian restaurant and gave us an evening tour of cosmopolitan Yokohama city.