Adventures in Grocery Shopping, and a Sunday Swim

Grocery Shopping


What to do on a rainy Saturday in Tokyo? Tackle that grocery list- simple, right? Well, it should be, if you can identify anything in the store. I was conscious there might be some challenge here, but I have to admit I underestimated the situation. Below are two pictures- one shows items I purchased at the local grocery store. The other shows items I purchased after I wised up and went to an international (read: designed for expats with labels in English) store.

Local Store purchases

Expat Store purchases

Below is a picture of YOGURT.

Pretty darn good Yogurt

Wait, is it full fat, reduced fat or fat free? Flavored? Fruit on the bottom? Organic? Greek, Australian creamy or regular? Honestly, I couldn’t have cared less by the time I left the store. It’s amazing how quickly perspective changes in the face of everyday challenges. I spent an hour and a half buying a total of about 15 items. And I shamelessly admit I felt triumphant when I opened the tub the next morning and found that it was actually yogurt. Still not sure of fat content or organic nature. And I still don’t care. :)

One saving grace is that the produce section and wine aisle were blissfully easy to navigate, as you can imagine. Oh, and another thing. At the local stores, you’re on your own for bagging, though in typical helpful and accommodating Japanese style, the clerk will give you plenty of plastic bags with your cart and there are bagging counters set up post-check-out so you can quietly and calmly bag your own items before leaving. It sounds strange but I kind of liked bagging my own things- it was therapeutic in a way to create order among my things after the mind-chaos of the shopping itself.

Swimming

On Sunday I decided it was time to see about a swim. As most of you know, I love the water and grew up as a swimmer but gave up competitive swimming around high school. I was fortunate enough to have a close friend introduce me to US Master’s Swimming a few years ago and since then I have been swimming regularly with the Stanford team. I adore (adore adore) my lane-mates, my coach, the pool, and the fact that Palo Alto’s gorgeous weather graces us with outdoor swimming year-round. There’s something cathartic about moving through the water with the sounds of the world completely drowned out. Nothing matters except this set, this interval, this moment, and how focused you are on your own rhythm. I feel like swimming has given me back a part of myself I didn’t know was missing for a long time, and I was constantly inspired by the challenge of the workouts and the camaraderie of being part of a team. Needless to say, I was more than a bit heartbroken over leaving Stanford Masters and equally determined to find a place to swim in Tokyo.

Well, I found it! There is a coach from the San Francisco Bay area who runs an English speaking program here in Tokyo on Thursday evenings (stay tuned for that report on Friday!), but outside of Thursdays I needed to find a pool to use on my own. I’ll try not to be too detailed here, but the short story is…..First, I arrived at the pool to find that the entry system operates via vending machine ticket. In Japan, it seems to me if you can get it from a vending machine, you will. Why would you talk to a human when a machine can dispense everything from pool passes to pantyhose? I couldn't figure out said machine because it didn't have an English setting, but luckily one of the front desk staff was a super helpful European guy who came over and made the transaction for me.  Next, I ended up abandoning my flip flops outside the locker room door where a few others had done the same, because the number and nature of the many signs instructing me how to handle my shoes were just too much for me to handle. Upon walking out onto the pool deck, (after removing every piece of jewelry including my sports watch and taking a full shower before getting into the pool…yeah, more hyper-hygiene-sensitive requirements!) I was stunned to find every long course lane packed with swimmers. There were signs marking low, medium, and hi speed lanes. In the US most facilities that offer lap swimming are largely deserted. Japan must be bigger on swimming that I realized. I quickly abandoned the idea of doing the workout I had brought and got into the routine of just swimming at a good pace lap after lap for about an hour. 

True to form, I couldn’t escape this experience (or many others thus far in Japan!) without committing some faux pas that can only be a faux pas in a country with rules that defy logic. Tons of pool gear littered the deck so I assumed it was OK to put my water bottle at the end of my lane. We do this all the time at home. After ten minutes of swimming the lifeguard/attendant told me “please, no drink the pool water.” I told him I wasn't drinking the pool water (What the F is going on here?) and looked around at my 8 male Japanese lane-mates waiting for someone to help save me. What is this guy trying to tell me? No such help arrived. Finally the guy picked up my water bottle and said “I take” and pointed behind him. OOOOHHHHHH!!!! Lightbulb! It’s Ok for dirty pool gear that's been molding in a swim bag to sit at the end of the lane, but my dishwasher cleaned water bottle can’t be there. Right. *Sigh* Oh man. I’m just glad he didnt kick me out of the pool. 

There were even more blunders in my pool experience such as allowing water to drip off my body on the wood floor of the locker room (you’re supposed to dry off in the shower room or something) and not putting my ticket back in the machine when leaving (who cares? I’m LEAVING!) but I think you've gotten the highlights at this point. I’ve told the story in a cheeky manner hoping it would entertain you, but the truth is the swim was worth the embarrassment and struggle of navigating the procedures to support it. And now I know how to handle myself next time!    

My only regret over the whole pool experience is that I didn’t buy a monthly pass, because now I have to operate that darn vending machine again J

Stay tuned for my mid-week post on my first days of work. Too exhausted now to stay up any later!

Gorgeous roses in Yoyogi Park

Sushi For Expats tip: I know it’s only been six days since I started my so-called Japanese life, but it is already abundantly clear that this society values conformity. Do not question the logic behind a rule or the authority that created it. To simply survive in Japan is very easy. But to thrive, one must conform.