not your regular burger and fries...

Just thought I'd show you what you can get for lunch around here. This is yakisoba. (yaki=fried soba=noodles) Interestingly enough, even though soba is in the name, the noodles used to make this dish are more like ramen noodles - made from wheat flour. Other things in the dish include cabbage, bean sprouts, and different kinds of 'meat' - in this case kamaboko (steamed fish paste - much better tasting than it sounds!) and tako (octopus).
I often make & bring my lunch, but sometimes I order something from one of the local restaurants that deliver here. Something that really impresses me is that most of the restaurants deliver their dishes on real plates & even provide forks when necessary. People eat, wash their plates, and put them in a special cabinet and someone from the restaurant comes round to collect them. Very eco-friendly. I'll see if I can get a stealthy shot of one of the people engaged in a delivery and pick up later...


Got it :)
Here's one of the ladies - she brings the plates wrapped in a big cloth so they're easy to carry. Most people who bring their bento (lunch box) wrap it up in a cloth, too. I think it's called furoshiki. This is the side of the teacher's room - notice the sinks for easy access to wash your hands or brush your teeth. :) Sorry, Cara, still haven't been stealthy enough to catch one of them brushing their teeth yet!
You can also see the blue trash bins there - they're for recycling cans, bottles, unburnable trash, and the foam lunch boxes from the only restaurant that doesn't deliver their meals in bento boxes or plates.