Japanese Slimming Secret

      A paltry 2% of Nihonjin are overweight vs one in three Yanks and one in four Brits, and most of the fatties are probably professional sumo wrestlers. At the annual checkup the isha (doctor) alerts patients to a potential metabo (lism) issue. Yet an informal survey based on many meals with tomodachis (friends)confirms that this is a country of good eaters. No need for doggie bags, thanks to the symbiosis of smallish portions and healthy appetites. Each meal follows the same pleasant script beginning with Itadakimasu ("I humbly receive") said by everyone at the table before digging in. Predictably, the next word is Oishii (delicious). After each morsel (including every grain of rice and slimy konyakku) has been gratefully devoured, the term is Gochisosama  (thank you for the meal).

    "Eat until you're 80% full," advised tomodachi: "Hara hachi bu is what our mothers teach us from a young age." Without insulting the cook , everyone is gauging the fullness of her tank.  Stopping is key, which leads to the first corollary of the rule: Do not fear the scale. "We are at our lightest before lunch, at around 11 AM," confided another tomodachi who travels with a scale. Most tomodachis weigh-in both AM and PM; if they don't like the result it's cabbage soup (or slimy equivalent) for a week. Second corollary: Travel by bicycle. In this hilly town, that's a lot of work.

   On May 5th, Kodomo no Hi (Boys' Day), the last day of Golden Week, two gaijin (foreigners) headed for Tonogayato Gardens. One of nine Metro Gardens in Tokyo (properties that are the equivalent of the UK's National Trust) a smattering of  visitors paid Y 150 ($2) to enter yet another Mitshubishi place, this one in Kokubunji. At 1 PM the bamboo grove was full of lunchtime visitors polishing off o-bento (lunch boxes) filled with pretty compartments washed down with bottled green tea. Thanks to Mme Pompadour bakery in the station for making lovely sandwiches -- gochisosama!