This will probably be the first of many posts on this subject since it's one of my favorites and since I know that I have only scratched the surface of all there is to eat and buy in this country.
First, shopping! OK, so one of my favorite stores EVER is H&M. Bargain shopping, yet totally on trend at any given moment. It is the best of all worlds. I first discovered it when I lived in Germany after college and was SO excited when I moved to NYC and found that they inhabited many street corners there as well. I loved shopping there so much and have missed it ever since I left. Well, about 6 months before I moved from NYC, there opened in SoHo something almost equally as marvelous as H&M - a store called Uniqlo. I had no idea what this new, wonderful place was, but I was smitten at once. Soft t-shirts in every color and cut, adorable rain coats, trendy purses, even sleepwear... and just as inexpensive as H&M. Well, guess what? Uniqlo, as it turns out, is the JAPANESE version of H&M. Holla! And guess what else? There is one within walking distance of this base here in Yokosuka. It's in the main train station.
Check out below the tiny white square with a red square in it. That's it!
Holla once more!!! While this might not be the best news Adam has ever heard, it is definitely making me do some cheers of glee. I haven't been inside yet because I feel that I might lose my mind immediately if I did. I am going to wait until A & J are in school before I head in there. I need total concentration for that experience!
Next up: 100 Yen stores. Adam tried to tell me about how glorious these places are, but I didn't really believe it till I saw it. These are, in theory, the same thing as the "dollar stores" in the US. However! The stuff you can get there is WAY more exciting than what you can get at the Dollar Tree, let me tell you... dishes, utensils, stationary, gift wrap, household items, snacks, organizational tools... and it's all packaged up so cute. And the stores, themselves, are delightful mazes of brightly colored adorable things that I feel I must have immediately:
Below is one of two lunchbox and utensil sets I got at the 100yen store for the boys to take with them to preschool (they start October 16th!!!). How is it that it is all so cute?! And I am so sure there are chopsticks in there!
All right... FOOD! I love Japanese food in general. I love sushi, I love gyoza, I love udon, ramen, yakisoba... etc. So I have been really excited to try any and everything here. We have discovered 2 great places so far that have totally hit the spot for us.
The most important one is the belt sushi place within walking distance of base! Belt sushi is always great because of the instant gratification of taking what you want as soon as you see it. But the place we have been going to has 2 added bonuses: 1) it's super cheap - about 120 yen (less than $2) per plate; AND it has a ridiculously high-tech digital screen where you can special order things. You press what you want and how many plates. When it comes out, a song plays, lights flash, and it arrives on a special boat on the belt. Do you have any idea how much fun this is for 3 year old boys (and me)?!
(You can also order ice cream, obviously.)
The other place we have gone to more than once is a restaurant with a giant menu - you can get grilled stuff, sushi, yakiniku (korean bbq), etc. And it has pictures so you can just point to things rather than trying to actually communicate. Of course we had to get something from every single page:
And finally, a few things that have been great to see here because they bring familiarity to what is otherwise basically an alien planet:
1) Starbucks! They have menus in English, and there is one AROUND THE CORNER from our new place. YES!!! That, alone, might have been reason enough to rent that place.
2) I should have expected this one, considering the huge mutual love between Hawaii and Japan, but it was definitely a surprise when I noticed the storefront: there is a Leonard's malasada place here. Malasadas are, from what I can tell, a specialty of Hawaii, even though they are originally Portuguese. (???) They are somewhere between a donut and a beignet, and Leonard's is the main seller of them in Hawaii. They are so good that one time I made Adam cross 4 lanes of traffic to get off the interstate in order to force my parents and brother to eat them from the Leonard's truck in a shopping mall parking lot. At 10 PM. Anyway, they are here, and that is dangerous!
Now that I'm hungry, I am going to go see what is in the fridge. Then off to sleep so I can face tomorrow....
I feel like the blog might need its own special food section as a subset ... I could read about this all day. Also, I can't wait to come eat all of it with you. I'm now going to look up Yen/USD conversions because I am obsessed. Also: Thank God for Starbucks. Also, does it have American-style seasonal drinks like pumpkin spice lattes, peppermint mochas, etc?
ReplyDeleteOMG if you don't have a malasada or 15, i might have to fly over there and kick your okole. don't fear the pillowy blobs of fried dough, my friend!!!!
ReplyDelete(and hello, RANDOM? leonard's is international? who knew...)
xoxoxoxoxoxo
Simon would like to verify the awesomeness of the 100 Yen stores, and says that all of his souvenirs for his family may or may not have come from there. Good luck with the rest of the settling in stuff, it sounds like it's amazing so far! -Ives
ReplyDeleteIt is sooooo good to be able to,share all of this. You are a great blogger. Miss you tons!
ReplyDeleteAnd I so love that the kiddos love the food too. Not just Mac and cheese heads!
ReplyDeleteThis is endless entertainment. I may need to place an order for party supplies from the 100 yen store. And Charlie now wants to eat his daily hot dog with chopsticks.
ReplyDelete