This is our local grocery store:
I took that picture from our balcony. The store is just over the canal right behind our house. It makes for great people watching. (And I'm sure the people I am watching are watching us back since the boys like to run around in underwear on the balcony.)
Anyway, it's small, but it is just as delightful as the other grocery stores I have been to around here. Of course everything is written in Japanese on the packaging, but thanks to translation apps on my phone and lots of pictures, I can usually figure out what I'm looking at.
Here are things I miss about grocery shopping in the states: big aisles to push your stroller or cart down, Whole Foods, variety of choices, Target.
Here are the fun things you can find in the grocery store in Japan:
Sake. Lots of sake:
A lot of fish:
Gyoza (!):
Thinly sliced beef so you can try to make those sesame beef bowls. (It's better if you just get it cooked already at the convenience store, but worth a try!):
Here are new products from the Japanese grocery store that we LOVE:
Rice crackers - these are sweet and salty all at once, and the boys love to take them in their lunches to school. Note: you can also get these at the 100yen store, but in smaller amounts:
Chu-hi. Sparkling, not too sweet, fruity alcoholic goodness. Comes in all flavors depending on season. Right now I'm loving the lemon and lime. Watch out for the "strong" chu-hi - it's got 8% alcohol!
Canned coffee. These are really popular in vending machines. Note: vending machines come with "hot" and "cold" sections, and you can get the canned coffee in either version. Adam likes to get these by the case and take them to work with him:
And here are things that I'm slightly disturbed by:
Why are the eggs kept outside of the refrigerated section?
I have heard from many people that they are delicious, but I can't get on board yet!
And no trip to the grocery store would be complete without a trip down the sweets aisle:
The ice cream here is also really cool. Not only are there really interesting flavors:
But even the familiar brands have a twist: these haagen-daaz come in tiny 1/2 cup servings. So cute, and convenient! Please note that this particular box of flavors is called "Lover's Collection." LOL!
And that concludes our tour of the local grocery store. It's completely fun everytime we go! Even the boys don't mind shopping when they know they can get the rice crackers at the end of the journey. YAY!
What about wine? Or do you go to the BEX for that? Great post!
ReplyDeleteI want some rice crackers real bad. This is a sensational post & I can't wait for the next one.
ReplyDeleteI learned something new yesterday! My neighbor raises chickens and brought over a half dozen eggs. She said I do not have to refrigerate them and they'll be fine for quite a while. She said that eggs only need to be refrigerated AFTER they've been in a refrigerator the first time. From this, I'm inferring that the eggs in Japan are fresher than in the U.S. They must get delivered from farm to grocer quickly enough that they also can sit on the shelves, whereas in the U.S. the eggs from the egg factory likely get refrigerated and then sit for who knows how long before they get transported, also in a refrigerated truck, to the store. Mystery solved! My eggs are sitting on my counter, and I cooked one today. It was totally fine.
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