I saved it entirely because of this picture, which I think pretty much encapsulates our feelings about curry.

(The photo, by the way, is advertising CoCoIchi's "low allergy curry," which has only spices that don't affect people with food allergies. Hence the tiny child's rapturous expression: Now she, too, can eat curry. わーい。)

A friend of Americurry has passed along these pics from a branch of Curry House CoCo Ichibanya located in Thailand, and it doesn't seem like there's that much difference between this and what you'd get in Japan.

An Americurry reader just disparagingly referred to CoCoIchi as "the McDonald's of Japanese curry." This is not a bad comparison, all things considered -- it's certainly higher quality food than McDonald's, but it's also just as ubiquitous. If you're looking for curry in Japan, chances are that the first thing you'll come across is CoCo Ichibanya's bright yellow-and-brown signs.

They're known for their absurd variety of toppings, which the Thailand branch pictured here also features. At top, we have curry with mixed veggies, hamburger, and pork katsu. Below, there's katsu and chicken karaage, small pieces of fried chicken. And yes, of course there is cheese.

CoCoIchi's customization options don't just stop with the toppings, though. You can order as much rice as you want, in increments of 50 grams. During my time as a CoCoIchi devotee in Japan, I never ate more than 400 grams of rice in one sitting. Our friend, not knowing this, ordered 450 and couldn't do it. (CoCo used to run a contest whereby you could eat for free if you polished off 1,300 grams of rice in 20 minutes.)

And to top it all off, you can make your curry as spicy as you damn well please.

CoCoIchi also has branches in China, Taiwan, Korea, and Hawaii. Perhaps the continental U.S. is next? One can only dream.

Americurry readers! Do you have pictures of Japanese curry that you've eaten recently? Anything you want to share with the world? Let us know on the Contact Page!