Category Archives: Grocery

Reading is Good For You

December 5, 2012 By in Culture Shock, Daily Living, Grocery, Living in Tokyo, Relocating, useful Tags: , , , , , , , 2 Comments

The other day, I had some time, so I found myself on Freshly Pressed perusing a few other blogs. I was drawn to a blog titled “More Strange Book Covers” by Michael Bradley:

“Mom, why are you laughing so hard?”

I don’t want to steal Mr. Bradley’s thunder, so, I’m just gonna highly encourage you all to check it out. Make sure you aren’t drinking any hot liquids. It’s that hilarious.

When we first arrived in Tokyo, I started taking cooking classes. Specifically, Vegan Japanese cooking which has subsequently led to Vegan Indian cooking. My eyes were suddenly open to the world of satisfying, flavorful vegan dishes. Being the primary cook in our home, I soon declared, “You! Carnivores! From now on, we will have at least 1 vegetarian meal a WEEK!”  They groaned and moaned, but no one else was volunteering for the primary cook position.

Must Read

I’ve been deeply entrenched in the Omnivore’s Dilemma (aka Satanic Verses according to Cliff) and it has re-ignited my feelings about the industrial food system in America. After a few chapters, I made another declaration and announced, “You! Omnivores! We will from hence forth, eat salad every other day and intersperse fish & meat dishes on the other!”  Meatless Monday had arrived. Cliff and I had many heated discussions regarding Pastured Animals and I could tell Chase was ripe for picking. I knew then, I needed to get out the big guns.  I rented Forks Over Knives:

Must Watch!

After watching Forks Over Knives (speaking of Chase & myself only, Cliff fell asleep), I informed Cliff I was no longer buying milk for consumption “because it isn’t natural” but, I would buy it for him and cooking purposes. Judging from the whites of Cliff’s eyeballs and his comments, I know he thinks I’ve gone all Nick Nolte on him.

aka Health nut

I don’t want to substitute real food for capsules, powdered shakes and tablets! I love food. But I want to have good food for myself and my family. Moving back to the land of the Golden Arches, I am determined to do my best to support this lifestyle change and “opt out” of the industrialized food system as much as possible. Living in Japan, I have tasted and benefitted from eating fresh produce which has been driven to me and not flown. In Japan, my family eats meat that is pastured, properly massaged and kept inebriated,  as opposed to mutilated and abused. I looked into farmers markets around Sandy Springs, Georgia, but they are a mixed bag and as I recall, seem to be more about buying beaded jewelry than an assortment of fresh produce.

Must Order!

Then I came across Nature’s Garden Delivered. This is an organic food delivery service that will deliver Organic/Natural/Local goods right to your door! They won’t deliver goods from anywhere farther than one day’s drive. The Yelp! reviews for NGD are terrific so I am definitely planning to sign up as soon as we get settled in.

I know I may seem a bit nutty for all of this. Change is always perceived as insanity in the beginning. Not so long ago, I was begging for 1 vegetarian meal a week. Now, we have  “Meat Meals” once or twice a week.  But then I reflect: It wasn’t so long ago when having meat at the table signified a special evening. When everyone didn’t seem so fat. When kids didn’t have to stand in line to take their meds at lunch. When cows ate grass. These are the simple things that get swept away in the world’s attempts to make things easier but in the end they only complicate and make matters worse. I never expected living in Tokyo, I’d experience a simpler way of life, and I like it.

Allow me to encourage you to read more as well:

Another Classic

Until next time…

Birth-Days, Pam! Packing

November 24, 2011 By in Chase, Culture Shock, Daily Living, Family, Grocery, Japan, Kathryn, Living in Tokyo, Transportation, useful Tags: , , , 3 Comments

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I have a few minutes before we go to dinner so I thought I would blog while I could. This past weekend was Chase’s birthday so of course in true Wright-man birthday fashion it continued on for about 3 days. Last blog I mentioned our first stop was at Kiddyland and that was, well, Kiddyland. Next stop was Hakuhinkan. Let me backtrack for a second though to talk about our family tradition. We decided a few years back that we would alternate each birthday with big party or big trip-with-a-buddy. Last year, Chase got a little bit of both because it was a trip year and we went to Atlantis with his BFF Hall, but we also ended up having a going away party at the end of school. Technically, this should have been a party year, but I had a chat with Chase and we talked about doing the party bit next year when he had a better idea who his friends are. He was agreeable and as a compromise, I told him I would take him to 2 great kid stores that he knew about and he could pick out what he wanted.

Hakuhinkan is Tokyo’s version of FAO Schwartz. It is packed with everything and anything kid related. Here are some pics:

 In case you can’t tell, I’m holding the Japanese version of Settlers. Who knew?!?

Every year, we also plan a “fancy dinner” night where he has to get properly dressed and show “nice restaurant” manners. This year Cliff picked a Kurosawa restaurant. Kurosawa is a famous movie director but evidently he also restauranteurs.

Super cool inside. The outside looks like such a throwback to old Japan, but literally the streets and skyscrapers are right next door, but as soon as you walk into the door you are transported to another time. We did a shabu shabu course there and it was delicious. The chef accommodated my flexitarianism and I had other course options. All in all, Chase was happy and that’s all that mattered. The night we went out for fancy dinner night, of course it rained torrentially and one of our umbrellas ended up getting tossed, but that’s just part of the adventure. Living in the city and in an apartment continues to have its challenges. But with every negative some glorious unexpected nugget of positiveness will show itself and you just have to smile and go with it. The funny thing is Chase and I are so single-family-home oriented, I’ve caught Chase referring to the apartment as “going back to the hotel” and I feel like that every time I’m getting ready in the morning.

The other day I went grocery shopping and I finally put PAM on my grocery list. Cliff has been nagging me to get cooking spray forever (probably because cleaning pots and pans are “Man-job” in Kathryn World (note: no quotation marks). One, I realized that even here, the foreigners are ransacking the shelves for their Thanksgiving feasts so the shelves were a bit bare. I found the Pam and I have to say, I nearly fell over:

 I know I already did my grocery blog, but I just had to throw this at you. Mental note: If I see anyone using Pam in Tokyo they are too rich to be friends of mine. After I told Cliff about the price, he said he would be happy to incorporate pot scrubbing into his upper body workout.

Since my ADD medication seems to not be working and I am all over the place with this blog, I am going to talk about packing. I know it seems late in the game to be talking about this, but it probably has something to do with the holidays. We put up Christmas decorations after Chase’s birthday and to be honest, I think I actually felt worse seeing the little tree we brought and the VERY FEW decorations. Compared to our home in the States it was quite a pitiful sight. To top it all off, a few days ago I woke up from a terrible dream which was my subconscious telling me I forgot to pack for winter. Now that I am facing Tokyo Winter having packed for the move during Atlanta Summer I completely forgot to pull winter items from the house! I had visions of me walking around with 3 short sleeve shirts and blue veiny legs in shorts. Despite the practicality of seasonal packing, call it nostalgia, or comfort, the first Thanksgiving/Christmas away is tough. I am now forced to turn to retail therapy and the last couple of days I have spent a small fortune for 3 pairs of shoes.

My note to you, fellow future expat, don’t forget the other season when you pack and pack everything that makes you feel good. I wish I had brought my China. I wish I had brought my cold-weather clothes. I wish I had brought more Christmas decorations. I think last summer all I could think of was down-sizing: “what if it breaks?” “what if there’s not enough space/storage?” maybe you’re feeling resentful (like it did) and pouting. I let my emotions control me a bit and my mind completely underestimated our square footage, and I didn’t realize we wouldn’t be with family over the holidays. When in doubt, bring it out. Now I’m paying $13 for a pine cone.

Until next time…

Grocery Prices & Coffee

November 15, 2011 By in Chase, Cliff, Daily Living, Grocery, Japan, Kathryn, Pearls of wisdom Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

Pictures are worth 1000 words, so here are 1000 yen worth to give you a glimpse into the world of grocery shopping here in Tokyo. Probably one of the more common questions I get revolve around cost of living from people planning to move here and I think the grocery store is a great place to start. In my gallery of pictures I have also included some menus from local coffee shops as well as the nearby Starbucks for all you Starbuckies.

I am also trying to pull together a similar gallery of fashion pictures so stay tuned.

I haven’t blogged in a few days because I managed to wipe out on my bicycle in Azabu-Juban. I think having sex that morning must have upset my sense of balance thus I have added a new pearl to my string of wisdoms. I know what you are all thinking, “How can you have such wisdoms already at such a young age Kathryn?” and I cannot answer that grasshoppers. All I know is what I know. SUCH AS:

  • Sex and biking will end in burning knees
  • If you eat tofu too fast tongue turn to fire
  • Eating ice cream in convertible = angry driver
  • Trying to drink hot coffee driving a bicycle will get you burned
  • Don’t wear white pants on a bike
  • Try to look fresher, not younger
  • If you can’t look fresher, try to look richer
  • If your cleavage is looking like crepe paper. Cover it, I don’t care how much they cost.
  • Don’t host a party and then call “potluck”. There’s no partial credit after college.
  • Don’t wear baggy shorts or short shorts to work out. It is mortifying for everyone.
  • Unless you are a teenager, don’t wear words on your butt.
  • No matter how tired you are, you can’t ask your son to help you take your skinny jeans off (signal crickets)
  • Sons can be trained to take boots off of you indefinitely
  • Don’t wear a long dangly scarf to the toilet (this also applies to belts)
  • Don’t wear fake eyelashes to massage. You’ll walk out looking like the 3rd wife in a Morman family.
  • Don’t wear fake eyelashes on a fast moving bike
  • Don’t own a home until you can afford a housekeeper
  • Don’t have a baby until you can afford a nanny
  • Don’t have a yard until you can afford a yardman (you can substitute “pool”)
  • Don’t wipe yourself with a gloved hand in the winter
  • If you find something bad tempting, run as hard as you can in the opposite direction.
  • Don’t try to establish friendships with people if you have to “work at it”
  • Married women, Don’t go into a single man’s apartment no matter where you are or how nice he seems.

I know I have a lot of really smart friends out there, so please share whatever wisdoms you think someone might benefit from.

As you all know, I am already assistant den leader for Chase’s Cub Scout den. In the last few days I have also managed to become assistant director to St. Mary’s International School’s theater department. I just started really missing the craft of acting (Stage direction: roll eyes here, I know) but I really consider it a craft and I started worrying that if I didn’t do something I might just lose “it”. So, I sent an email to the head of theater and said I would be interested in helping out if he needed any. Well he responded within 10 minutes and soon I was appointed 1st AD. I have to admit, theater is not my thing, but it should be interesting. Our Spring production is opening in April and they are producing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I have no experience with singing or dancing, but I like power, so I’m hoping it all evens out in the end. I did start to explain that maybe this was a bad fit, but you know what volunteering is like. Once they know you are available, it’s like they stop hearing all your excuses. Next Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday are auditions and Chase wants to sit in with me. I told him that it might be like American Idol except he’s not allowed to laugh out loud.

Speaking of laughing out loud, I know I have mentioned how Cliff is starting to evolve here. His elevated “status” is something he really seems to enjoy. For instance, the other day we were talking and he was telling me how people at the office are just RIVETED by his stories. Like he is the Billy Graham of recruiting or something. Of course, I’ve heard all these stories more times than I can count so I just look at him with dead eyes and then he tells me one guy actually says (in broken English) “Cliff-San, you stories are so good, make me want to learn better English.” Can you believe this shit? I know he does. ;)

One last observation about Japan before I say sayonara. My watch battery died a few weeks ago and I have a new battery but both Cliff and I can’t seem to get the back open to change it. I’m scared to damage it anymore, but every time we go to a watch place the sales people all turn us away because they are afraid of damaging it or the liability. I find it so ironic that in a place where they allow zip-lines in playgrounds they are too paranoid about changing someone’s battery. Go figure. Oh, well. I’ll just have to settle for being on time twice a day.

Until next time…

Stuck at the Apartment. So I’m Blogging

September 5, 2011 By in Chase, Cliff, Daily Living, Grocery, Radiation, Tokyo Tags: , 3 Comments

I am sitting at my computer while the piano tuner is working on the piano in the Living Dining room. This weekend there was a little drama because Chase and Cliff were going to play catch in the nearby field so they biked over there (1st time going and 1st time on bike for Chase). Anyhow, after they got to the baseball field they were informed that they couldn’t use it unless they had “rented the field” for that time…. That’s right, rented the field.WTH?!?!? Anyhow, Chase and Cliff have to return to the apartment but of course Chase has gotten his dad’s bicycle gene evidently because just as he turned a corner, Chase clipped a sports car and wiped the car’s hood with his body. He’s alright, just a few bruises and scratches. Cliff of course was very concerned about the car. :) They get home and Cliff is trying to discourage me from being sympathetic because he feels like Chase was guilty of reckless driving. Whatever. I’m a mom. I can’t hear Chase and car accident in the same sentence and not be sympathetic. Of course they had to go back together and leave a note on the window. When they came back it started to rain, so they had to go back to the car and come back with a soggy note that was of course illegible and return to the scene with a new note in a ziplock bag. Anyhow, Cliff managed to bump into the  owner and the guy was extremely cool about it and just started pointing out other scratches on his car and whipped out some solution that we’ve all seen the infomercial for that “makes scratches DISAPPEAR!” so Cliff took the rag and tried to buff this guy’s car. He said it made it better but if it were his car Cliff probably would have submitted a claim. This guy was letting it go in the name of “livin in the city”. Cliff noticed the guy had golf clubs in his car, so he’s making Chase buy 2 dozen balls and give them to the guy for being so cool.

Back to my morning. I take Chase to the bus stop, return home for a little cardio. Get ready to go to TAC for my Aqua Aerobics Class at 9am. That’s right girlfriends from Atlanta…. I wrote Aqua Aerobics. It is being taught by a former ballroom dancer name Ronny. Need I say more? Anyhow, it was surprisingly vigorous and I had fun. Because you don’t necessarily sweat during the class it is hard to know if you are doing any work, but it was fun. I think I have decided to fool myself into thinking I’m in really good shape by hanging out with really old people. BTW, I was in no way the best in the aqua aerobics class, but I am smoking the mall walkers…. (just kidding). Afterwards I cleaned up and decided to sign up for a couple of “newcomers” classes and at 11:35 took a kickboxing class. I know some of you will think I am crazy and then there are my Atlantan girlfriends who understand the crazy. It was a lot like sparring which I hated in the US, but here, I actually enjoyed it.

There goes the alarm for me to go to the bus stop!

Until Next Time…

Meat Labels, Bus Stops and Moving Day!

August 25, 2011 By in Daily Living, Grocery, Transportation, Uncategorized Leave a comment

Today is the day our stuff finally arrives! Bess, my sister is Skyping with me so it is really cool seeig her on her couch as I tick off items on my inventory. More on this as we get through it.

In the mean time I thought I would talk about some daily living issues:

So this is what you will see on a package of meat. Btw, the meats here are beautifully displayed albeit in small portions, but nevertheless beautiful arrangements of carefully cut meats are at your disposal. This label came off a package of meat that looked like ground hamburger. I was thinking I would make tacos for dinner but then realized I had no shredded cheese and no real cooking utensils so that was enough to let it go for now. I did think I should photo this label and have my front desk man translate it. Japanese is one thing, but there is a LOT of Kanji/Chinese writing so I needed an interpreter. From left to right, this label indicates that the meat is from a cow and pig and is considered “Mix Meat”. The second line tells your where the meat is from. I think this is from Japan as well as Australia. This can be important because a lot of people around here feel that meat from certain regions of Japan are not safe. If you are a flexetarian such as myself, not a worry. The dates are indicating packaging date and “Best By Date”. It seems somewhat anachronistic to me that they even have Chinese characters to represent words like “Best by”. I guess they just keep making up new words like the Urban Dictionary…

The numbers 138 and 268 represent weights. This label was the inspiration for me to acquire a unit of measure converter for my iPhone. As a side note, just moving here, you may be tempted to also get the currency converter, but I find this is only depressing and keeps you from really just getting on with it although it is nice to shock friends and family with stories of, “Hey, I just spent $6 bucks for a regular coffee the size of an espresso cup!”  So 138 is how much they charge per 100gm. 268 is the weight of the meat you are holding and 369 is the total cost for what you got.

The other thing about grocery shopping you should know is after check out you need to find a station and start bagging your own  groceries and if you are the crazy expat like me then you’re hauling all your shit up a hill for 2 miles. Like I said, I may start joining the other ladies in the apartment in just hailing a cab.  Of course when you do the Tide 300, Tide’s pretty much all you can get without your own sherpa. There is an option to have your groceries delivered from places like Nissin & National Azabu. I have not opted for this quite yet. I think this is yet another level of Tokyo living my frugality has not allowed me to go, but if I do I will let you all know. You basically make a list, pay for your items and people just magically bring them to your apartment at appointed time.

Thus far I have ridden taxis, Trains, Subways, and Buses. Today I will touch upon buses.

These are the signs for Bus Noriba (Bus Stop). The first line says in Japanese the name of the bus line. Fortunately there is also Emglish written underneath and these will tell you the direction you are going to. The line at the bottom of the green area lets you know where you are standing and in this case it is the Aiku Byoin Mae (literally: in front of Aiku Hospital) stop.

The top section in the white indicates the cost of fare: 200 yen for adults and 100 yen for children. You should know that when boarding the bus there is the door by the driver which will have a little ticket machine and you can use your PASMO card too. There is an exit door somewhere towards the back middle of the bus for exiting travelers. It’s all very civilized.

Well, the movers are here,

Until next time…

 

 

 

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