Apparently, it is a popular activity, written in CNNGo.com in an article titled "Yakatabune: Party Boats Ply the Bay" by Julian Ryall. There are many companies operating a similar dinner cruise, serving different types of food. All of them are all-you-can-eat-and-drink (beer/cocktails) for a set price for a 2 - 2.5 hour boat ride. Many operations charge around ¥10,000 ($125/pp), depending on the type of food served. Ours was a steal at ¥4900 ($60/pp) through a company called Edo-Mae Kisen, operating near the Shin-Kiba train station.
Our boat served what is called monjayaki. It is a communal food that usually includes cabbage, meat, and a loose batter; where everyone cooks and eats monja off of a hot plate; and is a native dish to Tokyo. Here was our menu (provided in English). They even gave us cooking instructions in English.
Our first monja course was a little strange for some of us. It included fish roe and mochi (glutinous rice). The second monja was a little more palatable with cheese and eggplant as the main items in the batter. We also ordered a similar dish called okonomiyaki, which is very similar to monjayaki but it is cooked until the batter is firmer. It is sometimes referred to as a savory Japanese pancake. We also had yakisoba, or fried noodles.
Everyone's favorite was the shrimp doria, which is a rice dish that tasted like a very creamy, cheesy, risotto! We ended the night with the chocolate banana dessert cooked on the hot plate, starting with butter, then chopped up bananas, coconut, chocolate, and cornflakes!
