Nikko FTW.

As for the “saki,” your guess is as good as mine. It definitely was not “sake,” and I don’t recall any particular dish or food in Japan called “saki.” Salmon was sometimes called “sake” (different written characters). My guess is that Bro. Kirk was referring to something else — maybe sushi.

I was president of the LDS Servicemen’s branch in Tokyo during most of that period. I had gone to Japan with my parents right after my own mission (1947-49) and ended up staying in Japan more than four years (1949-53). I began as a student at Sophia University there (and eventually graduated). Meanwhile, though, since I had barely missed the draft in WWII, my number came up in 1951, while I was in Japan, which was still formally occupied by the U. S. military, so it was easy for me to find a USAF recruiting office. I enlisted in the air force to avoid a draft into the army, and I was able to stay right on in Japan without returning to the U. S. for induction. While in Japan I also met and married an Idaho girl in uniform, whom I met at church (LDS Servicemen’s branch), and our first two kids were “made in Japan.”
During those years, of course I met hundreds of servicemen stationed in (or passing through) Japan, few of whom I can still remember now these 60+ years later. Bro. Kirk, I’m sorry to say, is among those whom I can’t recall, but I’m glad that I was able to drive him back to his camp after his enjoyable visit with all of us.

I wondered if “saki” might be some version of “sukiyaki,” maybe the way Bro. Kirk heard the word, or the way it was abbreviated by servicemen newly introduced to an unfamiliar dish?