Japan XV: Q&A Part 1

I recently posted on some of my favorite social networking sites for people to ask me any questions they had about Japan. These next few posts will be devoted to answering those questions the best I can! I've also been told that I have students from Huber Heights reading this blog. I was very shocked and surprised to hear that students are reading this blog for school. I only expected my friends and family to be reading! So, students of Huber Heights, please continue to enjoy reading my blog! I'm happy to hear you are reading! If you have any questions you would like answered about Japan, please post your questions in the comment box below the post.

Keep in mind when reading that I have lived in Okayama, Japan for almost 4 months. I live within a 5 minute drive of Okayama City.

"Food, typical everyday life Japanese food. What is it, and where do I get some?"

There's many neat aspects to Japanese food. I'll start out with where you can buy food.

First off, Japan is full of convenience stores (kombini in Japanese)! These stores are absolutely everywhere. Unlike grocery stores, the staff typically say welcome (irashaimase!) when you enter the store and thank you as you leave (arigatou gozaimasu). A convenience store in Japan carries candy, snacks, milk, water, alcohol, juice, hot and cold coffee or tea drinks, energy drinks, house slippers, over-the-counter medicine, DVDs, manga (Japanese comics), basic clothing items, bento style meals, rice balls, breakfast pastries, small anime toys, ice cream, copy machines...You can find many helpful things at Japanese convenience stores which is why I guess they call them convenient! Here are some pictures of typical convenience stores:

This is the Daily Yamakazi. This convenience store is at the end of my street. Daily Yamakazi is probably the cheapest of all the convenience stores is Japan. Their selection is a bit smaller and they are also a 24 hour store. The writing on the left of the sign says they carry tobacco. This particular Daily Yamakazi has a sliding, automatic glass door to enter the store. In order to exit the store, there is a rectangular button that says "PUSH" on it in Japanese and English. All it takes is a light tap on this gray button to make the glass door slide open.  

This is a Lawson. This particular Lawson is also just few minutes away from where I live. At Lawson, not only can you buy bus tickets but you can also sometimes pick up fresh fruit and vegetables! The clerks at Lawson all wear blue stripped shirts. Believe it or not, Lawson actually started in America. I didn't know this until I came to Japan.

7/11s are also a typical convenience store in Japan. The 7/11 store is just to my left in this picture. Of all the convenience stores I've seen in Japan, I think that 7/11 seems to be the most common. 7/11's seem to have the best selection of goods but are usually a tad more expensive. There is also a chain of convenience stores called FamilyMart that are not pictured in this post.

This is Love Drug. No, it does not sell what you think it sells. Love Drug is very similar to a CVS or Walgreens in the USA. Food here is particularly cheap but the selection of toiletries and medicine is much larger. Unlike the convenience stores, Love Drug typically has some items on shelves outside of the store that are discounted. The medicine section even seems bigger than the medicine section in grocery stores. At Love Drug I've also noticed that the staff doesn't wear full uniforms unlike most service workers in Japan.

Happy Town is the largest grocery store where I live. There is also another Happy Town located near Okayama Station in Okayama City. Happy Town has the best selection of fresh food and also hosts several small stores inside it. For example, there is a McDonalds inside Happy Town as well as some clothing boutiques,a special bakery, an arcade and a Daiso (the equivalent to a dollar store in the USA). Happy Town also always plays synthesizer versions of American hit songs from the 80s which I find amusing. Today's songs I recognized were "Black Or White" by Michael Jackson and "Land Down Under" by Men At Work.

This is a grocery store called Marunaka. I think this chain of grocery stores is more common than Happy Town. At least, I see Marunakas on my train rides more frequently than Happy Towns! Marunaka has a smaller and cheaper selection than Happy Town. Lately, this Marunaka has started to play synthesizer Christmas tunes. The parking lot (very small!) is to my left and the bike parking is pictured in front of the store. Sometimes it's a pain trying to finding parking spot for your bike or pulling your bike out of the parking lot. Marunaka occasionally sells garden plants outside its doors too.

People often ask or post about creative bento boxes found in Japan. I have seen these however they are usually expensive and not for a typical, everyday lunch. Here's an advertisement for some fancy bento boxes in Happy Town. The average USD equivalent of these bento boxes is about $150.

Here is another advertisement inside Happy Town. This advertisement is for decorative cakes. Cute cakes can be found all over Japan and are often great gifts.

 [A box of Christmas chocolates]

People also always ask me about Japanese McDonalds. Here is a McDonalds inside Happy Town. The pronunciation of McDonalds is a little different in Japanese. Trying saying "Ma-ku-do-na-ru-do!" I have only ate at a McDonalds in Japan once; This was when my boyfriend was visiting me. A Japanese McDonalds typically has a little better service but for the most part, a Japanese McDonalds sells the same things as an American McDonalds. I haven't seen any super-sized drinks though. The McDonalds in Okayama Station features a fancy sliding glass door which puts a bit of an exquisite dash on your visit!

 [Japanese Happy Meal toys]

Now on to candy. Like anywhere, candy comes in all different shapes and sizes in Japan. Some candy can be overwhelmingly sweet but Japanese people actually prefer their food to have a subtle taste. One of my Japanese teachers told me this and I was surprised because Westerners often stereotype Japanese people as people who love ridiculously sweet candy. She then told me that a Snickers bar or Milky Way bar were examples of candy that are way too sweet! 

 [This anime is very popular now; I see it everywhere! Can you also see the Thomas the Train candy in the background?] 

As to be expected, the seafood section in Japanese grocery stores is more expansive than those found in American grocery stores. You can often find whole fish, crab, shrimp, prawns, squid and octopus. I always find it unnerving to see my food returning my gaze but I guess the Japanese are used to it. You can also find a wide variety of shellfish and crustaceans in Japanese grocery stores. Once I found prawns on a styrofoam plate packed with plastic wrap. The special thing about these prawns is that their little legs were moving every so slightly as if they were trying to escape...Riveting! 

 [Shells!]

 [These drinks are very common in Japan. They are energy or vitamin drinks. They are in a form of a jelly that you drink available in a wide spectrum of colors! You twist off the white cap at the top in order to 

drink.] 

 [A sports drink. I was first repulsed by this drink because it was called Sweat and also looked like sweat...]

 [A chocolate pudding dessert]

 [Typical, cheap, pre-made bento boxes]

 [Any kind of pre-made sandwich usually looks like this]

I've mentioned this before but vending machines are EVERYWHERE in Japan. Most of them usually only sell drinks.The only other thing I have seen sold in a vending machine were Calorie Blocks or simple energy/protein blocks. Sometimes these vending machines will be in the middle of nowhere which makes me wonder how people refill them.

Here's a close up of a vending machine. If you look close, you'll notice that some drinks have a blue label under them and some have a red label. A blue label indicates a cold drink and a red label indicates a warm drink. Warm drinks are usually only different kinds of coffee and tea. If you look REALLY close you'll also notice Orangina being sold at the bottom of the vending machine, Pepsi being sold at the top and Fanta on the far side. These particular vending machines are outside Happy Town.

Japan has the same kind of fruits and vegetables as America. However, the produce sections are usually a bit smaller than what you would see in a Kroger or Meijer. Citrus is often very pricey and corn is very popular! The following pictures are some things I picked up at the grocery last week.

 [Dango, one of my favorite snacks! These balls are made of rice dough and are a little sweet.]

 [A typical package of bread]

 [Eggs! Eggs come in special sealed containers so they can endure bike rides home without being cracked. I've found them very effective!]

 [A soda drink I picked up for fun. This bottle advertises a TV show and there were several different designs you could buy.]

Some other notes about Japanese food include Japanese food usually being in smaller proportions in comparison to American food and a decent meal is more easily accessible due to convenience stores. Another food I didn't picture is rice balls! Rice balls are sold in all convenience stores (I haven't seen them at the grocery...) and come with a variety of fillings such as tuna. In my personal opinion, the Japanese are better at packaging their food to make it look attractive or just simply cute!

Hang on for part 2! I'll be answering questions about how Japanese people view America, what American shows Japanese people like to watch, religion in Japan and gender roles.