Dave and I went into Zushi for lunch and to pick up a couple things.
We went to one of our favorite little restaurants, Blue Moon. They have a very limited lunch menu which is always served with fantastic service. Today, I opted for the Blue Moon Noodle dish. It was a combination of Pho and Green Curry. It was good but didn’t make my top 5 lunch dishes.
After lunch, we walked through a small festival being held at a temple across the street.
And then we went to the local grocery store to pick up tuna to make poke tuna rice bowls for dinner. Dinner was delicious! I could eat a rice bowl every meal. The shrimp and fresh edamame were a bonus.
I also needed to get Japanese toilet paper. The toilet paper holders in the bathrooms are too long for American toilet paper. When the American toilet paper roll is about halfway used, it will slip out and proceed to roll across the floor. You can imagine how annoying that is when your trying to use the restroom. Japanese toilet paper is designed to fit perfectly. It is also sold in a convenient plastic carrying package.
It is very common to see the Japanese walking home from the market with their large package of toilet paper. I felt like a local walking home this afternoon carrying my TP in one hand and sushi in the other.
The final purchase we made at the grocery store was raw / fresh edamame. The produce in Japan is seasonal. When we first arrive last August, I was able to find fresh edamame everywhere. By early Septemeber, I couldn’t find it anywhere. I realized after a few months and looking everywhere, I would have to wait until it was in season again. I mentioned to Dave recently, that we should be seeing it in the stores soon because it was in season when we arrived. Today, I found my first edamame of 2017! Yay! My favorite!
I think carrying your package of toilet paper through the streets needs to be a qualifier to being able to say “I lived in Japan”. Because you truly haven’t lived in Japan until you carried your TP, sushi (with a cute ice pack because it is hot out), and edamame all the way home… When you visit, if you want the true local experience, I will help you buy and carry your TP all the way home!
