Ryan has grown about six inches since we arrived in Japan six months ago. He can eat continuously. So, for his 14th birthday a little over a week ago, it wasn’t a big surprise when he said he wanted to eat at Shakey’s Pizza.

“All-you-can-eat” in Japan was referred to as tabehodai (食べ放題). It still is called this, but, increasingly, all-you-can-eat buffets are referred to as “viking” or “viking lunch” so we went to eat like vikings at Shakey’s. I don’t think the vikings ever imagined the toppings that would be found on pizza in Japan. Seeing what is created in the Shakey’s oven is as fun as eating there. Nearly everything placed on the buffet is different and unusual, even if you visit Shakey’s frequently. They must have a hundred toppings to choose from in the back, which they seemingly throw together randomly.

On this day some of the toppings I remember included mango, BBQ chicken, corn, cabbage, potato, anko (red bean paste), strawberries, marshmallows, corn flakes, onions, squid, shrimp, brownies, hot fudge, cheese, mayonnaise, nuts, beans, pineapple, ham, peppers, and seaweed. I meant to take pictures of some of these pieces of pizza, but I was so hungry for the first plate (having skipped breakfast) that I forgot. My plate looked a little too gross for photography after several helpings when I remembered I had a camera in my possession.

You’ll be quite sick of pizza for a week, or more, after eating here. (This is a picture of the Takadanobaba store; there are many others including Shinjuku, Harajuku, Kichijoji, and Ikebukuro.) Give it time and you’ll be ready to go back.

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Posted on February 7th, 2010 under Japan • Tags: food, takadanobaba. • RSS 2.0 feed • You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed