[chiuchimu]

^ Thanks, amazon Japan, why didn't I think of that!

I live in the U.S. but want a Japanese grill. The US Vs Japan Coleman grills are a perfect example. The US-Coleman looks more stylish, but looks doesn't make a grill barbecue better. What it comes down to is what you want the grill to do. Here is how I compare them. Please remember that this is the same company(Coleman) that has design two entirely different grills to meet the different needs of barbecuing in Japan and America.

Japanese -Coleman:
Pros:
Charcoals close to food -use less charcoals
Grill is rectangular and covers entire top - no wasted cooking space.
Grill mesh is small so food doesn't slide down into charcoals.
Legs detach making it very compact and easy to transport in a car.
Light weight build -easy to carry for even a girl.
Inexpensive in Japan around $30 to $100 for a decent grill

Cons:
No cover - can't turn into oven for turkey, chicken or roasts
grill to frail for heavy meats like a roast
Can't be left outside or it will rust out in a few years


US Coleman
Pros:
Designed to be left outdoors. Lasts decades
Designed to handle big peaces of meat like a whole turkey

cons:
Even small BBQ grills cost $50+ unless you buy a made in China junk.
too much trouble to take with you in a car.
Lot of wasted space. anything designed to do it all like hamburgers to turkeys well not be designed efficiently for one task; for me, that would be cooking peaces of meat and vegetables Japanese style.
Charcoal chambers are huge and way below the grill even on lowest setting - waste a lot of charcoal if you want just barbecue for two.


So, The US Coleman is perfectly design to meet the needs of American barbecue. From the guy that wants to do burgers all the way to BBQ ribs. Most BBQ is done in the backyard so it was built to stay in the backyard year after year. The Japanese-Coleman was designed to be taken to a park since most Japanese don't have a backyard. It has to be light weight and compact. Japanese BBQ or Yakiniku is thin small slivers of meats and vegetables in mouthful size portion. This requires a hot grill with fine mesh. Since I do mostly Yakiniku and I own a Canadian built Smoker to do ribs and roasts, a Japanese grill would be my best choice for a general grill.