No Eat Japan Food
This is the way it was in Sendai in 1954

fish in pans outdoors
The flies buzzed about and landed on the fish.

I had never seen small shops open on neighborhood streets like those in Sendai. I took pictures of them. The shops sold everything from fresh fruits and vegetables to fish and rice. The fish smelled like fish and it surprised me that they were placed in pans outside the shop. I had to think that the fish would be eaten by some Japanese family and I wondered if they would get sick.

horses, cows, oxen and people pulled honey bucket wagons
Japanese used human waste on their fields as fertilizer.

American soldiers were not permitted to eat fruit or vegetables grown on Japanese farms because the Japanese used human waste on their fields as fertilizer. The only way an American could taste Japanese food was to buy it at a Japanese restaurant.

We were also encouraged not to drink the local water, but if we got thirsty, we should buy soda pop or beer. My favorite beer was "Sapporo" beer and I got it when I could. The National drink was Sake and I liked it but didn't drink it often as it was powerful and would make me drunk.

The Army did have farmers grow vegetables for servicemen but those farms were not permitted to use human waste for fertilizer.

I did eat my first pizza in Sendai. Not at camp but at the service club for soldiers what was in downtown Sendai. It was the only pizza they offered and was a Cheese Pizza.