What I Miss After Two Weeks

    It's been over two weeks since we arrived, and we are finally released from quarantine. Freedom is especially sweet because the weather is already springlike, but without rain.

    I read about Chicago's blizzards and subzero temperatures. It feels surreal that I am reading about it and not living it. I do miss a little bit the feeling you get returning to a warm home after a brutal winter trek outdoors. I don't miss the black slushy snow of the city, the buried cars, my dog's poor paws hurting from the salt, and taking the wet and dirty city trains. 

What I do miss are these: 

Peanut Butter & Nut Butters

    I miss the price and accessibility of peanut butter. Not every grocery store sells it, and when they do, it is triple, four times, the price of what it might be in the States. I could buy a 462 g container from Mariano's for about $2. It is $8 for the same size in Tokyo.

    While peanut butter was not a personal staple, it was a household staple because it is cheap, convenient, somewhat nutritious, and filling. Its rarity in Japan makes me crave it more. Right now I am still comparing things against American prices. I'm sure I will eventually buy the eight dollar peanut butter. 

Muesli

    Oats sold in Japan are imported and thus very expensive. Price is the theme. You will probably find anything in a city like Tokyo - it just depends on how much you want to pay. I paid about $2/lb in Chicago. At my neighborhood grocery in Tokyo, oats cost $5/lb. and packaged oat products cost even more. The cheapest - by far - is a one pound bag of muesli for $4. A bag that size more typically costs $8-12. Nature's Path granola is about $12 for a (small) 312g bag. Yikes.

Kerrygold Butter

    I miss it so much. Maybe it is somewhere, but I have not yet found it. I started using Kerrygold a few years ago for table butter. It is rich and flavorful and makes me want to eat bread all day long. After a while, I started using Kerrygold butter for everything. Then I was hooked. And now I am longing for this high fat content butter. If you know where I can buy this in Tokyo, let me know. I am willing to pay an arm and a leg for it. 

Organic Things

    The supply for organic dairy and produce is limited. In Chicago we bought mostly organic dairy and produce: milk, yogurt, eggs, sliced cheese, fruits and veggies. We also bought organic chicken most of the time, but sometimes not if the chicken looked good and fresh. Whole Foods labels their seafood in degrees of sustainability, so my criteria for shopping was based on that and price. 

    Things in Japan are different. Some groceries stores don't carry organic dairy. Even the nicest ones, located at basement level of department stores, carry only a smattering of organic items. The thing though is, the quality and freshness of food is undoubtedly higher. Some are fresher than farmer's market produce. We had asparagus that was so tender, buttery, and sweet that it was a pleasure to eat raw. When the food tastes this good, it is easy to let go. 

Taller Counters

    Standard Japanese counters are low in old and new homes. My kitchen counter falls below my hipbone and bathroom counters are nearly mid-thigh. I am 5 feet 5 inches tall. In Japan, I am on the tall side but I don't stand out. 

    Personally, the bending down to cook or brush my teeth is the least of my worries. The bigger headache is how one year old M (who landed in the 90th percentile for height) can reach anything. Nothing is safe. 

Big Dogs and Especially My Dog

    Are you a dog person or a cat person? I am a large dog person. In Japan, most dogs are tiny toy dogs, carried around in purses, pouches, and pockets. They are dressed up, dolled up, and pampered like canine royalty. The dog buggy industry is big. I saw a man dressed in a dapper suit pushing a Mercedes-Benz dog buggy with his dog inside wearing a matching outfit. I didn't have the courage to take a photo of that, but here is one of a couple of fancy buggies on sale for about $700 each. The concept of a "pet dog" is totally different in Japan. 

    I miss my border collie. He was sweet, annoying, energetic, persistent, and incredibly intelligent (99% of that intelligence was used to find more food). We had to leave him behind with my brother in law's family because an existence in Tokyo would have been difficult. 

    We live in a building that requests owners to wash their dog's paws before coming inside. It's not a problem if your dog is 5 lbs, but our dog is 40 lbs, hates getting picked up, and hates getting washed even more. Everything is designed for smaller dogs, from dog parks to dog food. Border collies love sprinting in open areas and chasing things, both of which would have been difficult. Most importantly, we were worried about him spending 15 hours alone in the plane's cargohold. He is 6 years old and has never been on a plane. It was hard to justify putting him through that. 

    My brother in law's family know and love my dog. They spend lots of times outdoors and have tons of open space. Because their oldest kids are 12 and 9 years old, they had been thinking about adopting a dog. It seemed like the best decision for everyone. So my dog is a Colorado dog enjoying life in the mountains.