The First Week

The First Week- Learning How to Shop

We have been in Japan for one week now but it feels like much longer.  Steve has been at work for 5 days now, Tristan has been at day camp for 5 days, and Alyvia and I have been shopping up a storm for the last 5 days. Our shipment comes in on Wednesday but we moved from the hotel to the house on Friday and our now living with rental cots, a fridge from the staffroom, a kitchen table and chairs that we purchased from Ikea, and 2 pots and 2 towels that we borrowed from another teacher- it kind of feels like camping.

Shopping here has been interesting to say the least.  There is not much in the grocery store that we recognize and so we find ourselves wandering the isles and looking at pictures on labels to see if we can find something familiar.  In the cereal isle you can only find 3 different types, Special K, Frosted Flakes, and Bran, and if you are looking for peanut butter and jam, the jars are mini size (but then again so are most things here).  Tristan and Alyvia may have to change their morning eating routine.   What you can find a lot of is fish (I really need to learn how to cook this), seaweed snacks, white bread (the Japanese love the stuff), noodles (that I do not recognize) and beer (Steve is happy about this one).  I guess the good thing about this is that our grocery cart will be the bare essentials and this should result in a lower grocery cost (I hope).  There is a COSTCO 1.5 hours away that I will be checking out on Monday and I hear that there are more English labels so I will have to stock up on our family favorites. Since we will not have a car I will have to try and bum a ride to COSTCO every now and then.

The Japanese tend to grocery shop each day to ensure that food is fresh.  The carts in the grocery store only fit 2 baskets and so you cannot by more than this amount at one time.  The reason for the 2 baskets is that a large number of Japanese opt to cycle rather than drive, and so, only 2 baskets will fit on a bike, one on the front and one on the back.

I bought a “shopping bike” today.  It has a big basket on the front and baby carrier on the back so Alyvia can come along.  Since most Japanese ride bikes, every store will have a bike “parking lot”.  You simply find a parking stall, put down your kickstand, and leave your bike.  There are very low incidents of theft here because there are police EVERYWHERE!  If I end up buying a mountain bike I will need to lock it up, but for now I am safe with my $200 shopping bike.

Shopping for other items other than food has also been challenging.  Most store clerks do not speak English and so I am forced to look up a few words and try my luck at speaking some Japanese.  (Once we are settled I really need to begin language study).   Because it is SO busy here, shopping can be time consuming.  Who would of thought that trip to Ikea would have taken 9 hours!  It took 1.5 hours to drive out there, and the next 6 hours were spent battling the crowds.  At one point I felt like hiding in a corner.  Even Alyvia could not get into the play area as when we got there I had to take a number and she was 148- they were only on 90.  Needless to say, Ikea will not be a regular trip!

Eating out here is generally expensive.  We learned this when a meal at a Japanese restaurant cost $75 and most of the food we were not able to stomach- liver (thought it was beef), fishy noodles, and other mystery meat on skewers.  The cheapest place to eat here would be a Raman Noodle House (Japanese noodle soup).  For $7-8 you can get a big bowl of soup, but again, you never really know what you are ordering as no one in these places speaks Japanese.  Our first experience was getting pork instead of chicken- it was pretty good though.

What I have noticed during my shopping trips is that everyone working in a store takes pride in what they do.  There is always a Japanese welcome and people will do their best to help you out.  When paying for a purchase, money is placed in a small tray and the receipt is always passed back with 2 hands and a small bow.  The receiver also receives with 2 hands and bows as well.  This old custom is a nice way to personalize a money transaction.

I think that most of our major shopping is now done.  Now it will be the little things that we will need to live the day to day.  I am sure I will be making lots of trips back and forth to the grocery store- just like tonight when I realized that I had no dish soap.

I look forward to getting our shipment in one Wednesday and getting settled into our new home.  Hopefully by this time next week we will be ready to focus on getting to know the surrounding area.