>>>>>>I do recall being a bit amused hearing this from one of my relatives from Japan when visiting the USA back in the 1990s... Looking at the current number of stores worldwide, perhaps such a statement might not be so weird today...
>>>>>>http://www.sej.co.jp/company/en/g_stores.html
>>>>>
>>>>>No surprise from me. While living in Memphis, Tn, we had a 7-Eleven with a Sushi kiosk indoors. Never took the chance to try any of it.
>>>>
>>>>Fresh pineapple at the ones in Hawaii -- they even give you a cup of fresh pineapple with every combo meal at the McDonalds lol.
>>>
>>>At least the pineapple there is fresh. The only fresh fish in Memphis is Catfish and Crawdads (Crayfish). Neither I would attempt to eat raw.
>>
>>of course, "sushi" doesn't always mean raw fish (despite the usage of the term in American English). There are things like "maki sushi" (rolled sushi) and "inari sushi" (rice in fired tofu pouch) that often does not contain fish.
>>Speaking of Hawaii and food -- Spam musubi (a rather common item in Hawaii) is a relatively new thing to folks on the mainland
>
>Hawaii is the biggest consumer of Spam in the world -- we even have an giant annual 'spam festival' in Waikiki every year -- it's one of (if the) biggest events of the year lol. Apparently during WWII the only thing to eat on the islands was pineapples and spam and that's how it gained popularity.. Personally I hate the stuff and never ever eat it. Probably not to healthy either lol.
>
>>And on topic of fish and Hawaii -- it's been only a few years since poki restaurants have been popping up almost everywhere in SoCal.

I've heard about stats that would seem to refute the claim that Hawaii is the top consumer of Spam (in terms of absolute amount consumed) -- on the other hand, those stats would support the claim in terms of *per capita* consumption. Another place where apparently Spam consumption is high on a per-capita basis -- Okinawa. Apparently this is connected to food culture (i.e. consumption of pork). Speaking of Okinawa... some of the items served up at JEF ( http://www.yonabaru.jp/kigyo/jef.htm ), a fast food restaurant in Okinawa, sounds interesting ( like the nuuyaruburger -- a burger with spam, egg and bittermelon -- the name is supposedly a pun -- it sounds like the phrase "what the heck is this?" in Okinawan ).

My family is *not* from Okinawa, though I do on occasionally have the irresistible urge to consume Spam. I do have a dislike of Treet -- which I see as a Spam wannabe. One thing I sometimes do that seems to bewilder most "Americans" 'round here -- eat hot dogs (the wieners themselves, not in the bun) with soy sauce, with a bowl of rice. Apparently such a thing isn't so unusual in Hawaii. Consuming soy sauce shouldn't be too strange for me -- my mom is from Yuasa -- a place well-known for soy sauce in Japan..