If you want a good book to do Kanji-lookup in I strongly recommend:
The Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary, ISBN 4-7700-2855-5
Hmm.. about the pancakes, since I've only been to USA one time (and ate the fattest hamburger in my life) and the milk in USA can't beat "Arla L?ttmj?lk" by any chance so I think the pancakes you eat are different from our elite "pannkakor"
