Wherever you are from, and whether you eat to live or live to eat, we all have a dish we call comfort food. We all know what the taste of home tastes like. But what do International Supermarkets and an Oasis have to do with anything?
Well, living in a country like Japan, our food options are plentiful and the choices are pretty much endless. Want Japanese food? Sure, we have onigiri (rice balls) that cost just a bit over 100yen. We have sushi that can cost anything from a few hundred yen to tens of thousands of yen. We have street food and we have Michelin Star restaurants. There really is something to suit every wallet and preference.
But let’s start at the beginning
You come to Japan, recognize many of the foods sold here. Some of it you like, and some of it not so much. You get to have a few laughs (and or shocks) when your new local friends and colleagues introduce you to things like Shirako (cod milt), Natto (fermented soy beans) and Umibudou (sea grapes).
You decide to be brave (or not) and discover some new smells and flavours. Maybe even get pats on the back or people clapping their hands and praising you for ‘at least trying it’.
But once the foods that you discovered in that first discovery phase start to feel more familiar, you’ll realize you are actually already in the next phase. The one where you can identify many of these new dishes and have already decided whether you should say “yes please” or “umm..no thank you”.
Hold on hold on hold on…!
Weren’t we just talking about International Supermarkets being some kind of Oasis? Why are we talking about different phases now?
Because this is right about when you are going to want ‘just something simple’, ‘something normal for a change’.
THAT feeling, my friend, has a name. Meet your new unwelcome friend “Food Cravings”. Those sneaky little images that pop into your head like an old stop motion video. The exaggerated visions of steam rising or juices and sauces running down your fingers, or delicious aromas that you can almost taste. Yes, I said taste aromas. Because that’s how badly you can crave it. I know, because I have been there!
I have seen images of my favourite dishes literally floating around, almost like a commercial. Wait wait, no, I don’t hallucinate. But I do have food cravings that make me feel like that.
How do we fix this?
I’m pretty sure you were expecting to hear this. Yes, International Supermarkets! Grocery Stores that sell imported products from different parts of the world. Glorious shops that can satisfy those food cravings in a way no amount of delicious local food can. Ladies and Gentlemen, repeat after me. “International Supermarkets!”
International Supermarkets
Depending on which part of Japan you are in, you might either be able to walk into a brick and mortar store, or might have to do your shopping online.
Some of the more well known ones
The ones mentioned above carry products from different countries, which is great if you want a range of items from different places. But that also means that they generally carry the more popular products from those countries.
Asian Supermarkets
But say you are from an Asian background and your comfort food won’t just let you use ‘just any ol’ soya sauce’ because it won’t taste right. Or if you are looking for something specific like lemon grass leaves, or even things like fresh chilli peppers because you want to make tom yum soup or sambal. You might not find what you are looking for if they don’t have a big selection of products from that country.
Luckily, due to the fact that many immigrants have settled here, there are also smaller Asian grocery stores. Thing is, they may or may not rank high enough on search engines for you to find them easily. They are the ones that are usually more ‘mom and pop’ type shops.
A few examples of non-Japanese/ Asian Supermarkets
The ones in this list are mainly located in Tokyo but many of them also have Online stores.
- Asia Super Store (Thai)
- Toko Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Ambika (Indian)
- Darvish (Iranian)
- Fuji Store (Myanmar)
- Maya Bazaar (Indian)
- Asian Store (Chinese)
- Vietnam Shop (Vietnamese)
- Saigon JP (Vietnamese)
And if you are looking for specific Chinese products and ingredients, you don’t actually have to go all the way to Chinatown if you are in Tokyo, just head over to Ikebukuro. I will let you in on a little secret that the locals already know. There is a side of Ikebukuro that is like a little Chinatown. There are small grocery shops where you can find Chinese products, and the staff there speak Mandarin as well.
Ikebukuro
Ikebukuro station is big and has many exits, but more than that, there are so many people there that walking around and trying to see if you can spot the shops isn’t going to be easy.
I can almost hear the ‘Would you hurry up and tell me where to go?’.
North, my friend. Go North. *wink* Exiting from the North Exit, you might even feel like you have stepped out of Japan for the duration that you are there. That’s what it felt like for me. The realization that I was in Japan only hit me on my way back to the station after my shopping trip.
I think a big reason for that is due to the fact that you hear people speaking Mandarin on the streets and in the stores. The stores are set up in a way that just looks different from the way local Japanese stores are set up. The products on the shelves and the smells combined have a way of transporting you to a place where you forget where you are.
The Oasis
Whichever International Supermarket or Asian Grocery Store you step into, you will be greeted by many familiar brands, labels and colours – old friends that you haven’t seen in a while.
However well you read and understand Japanese, there is nothing like reading something in your own language. And there is definitely something special about seeing those familiar brands you used to buy back home.
I know I get excited and lots of “Wow, I haven’t had this in a while” and “Oh, I can make ___ with this!” come tumbling out of my mouth. No effort needed, no deciphering necessary. It’s almost like a small safe place where you know almost everything around you.
Welcome to your Oasis in Japan. Welcome home, even if it’s only for a while.
If you know any other good International Supermarkets, please share them in the comments.
Star
Related Post: How to pay for things in Japan when you live here
Photo credit:
Photo by Oleg Magni from Pexels
Restaurant photo created by jcomp – www.freepik.com