Yakiniku: a social style of cooking and eating beloved in Japan.
Historically, Japanese homes were equipped with an irori, a hearth dug into the floor that families gathered around to grill meat and vegetables. As Japanese cities grew, more people moved into apartments, and grilling was not always possible. To fill that gap, some restaurants specialized in yakitori (grilled chicken), yakiton (grilled pork), or thinly sliced beef and fish to give neighborhoods access to the social act of cooking and eating around a grill with family and friends.