Farewell Japan!

This is our 29th and final post on our fantastic Japan trip. What made the trip so special and unforgettable are the Nihonjin, or Japanese people. You impressed us by your welcome, discipline, respect, cleanliness, politeness, willingness to help and the pride you took in doing whatever job well. Where else in the world would store employees bow twice when you leave the store after purchasing something, even after you have turned you back and left the store?

So special thanks to you, Nihonjin (日本人), in particular to the strangers who approached us and offered to help when we were staring at street signs and maps, to the guy who accompanied us to the exit we were looking for in Shibuya station, and the gentleman who walked with us for more than five minutes under heavy rain to show us the way to Tsukiji market before retracing his steps to his office in Ginza. And how could we ever forget the lady in Kyoto who guided us for more than ten minutes to a vegetarian ramen place that turned out to be closed that evening? She genuinely felt so bad that she started to apologize!

To all of you, we say Arigatō ありがとう

Random shopping in Japan

This post is about some of our random shopping experiences in Japan. Let's start with the ubiquitous vending machines. At times more than 10 can be found in a row, like here is Kamakura:

The real joy about these machines is their capacity for both cold and hold drinks. That's right, the coffee cans at top right come out of the machine at the perfect temperature for drinking.

Seeing Tommy Lee Jones on this Suntory vending machine, we could not help thinking of Bill Murray in Lost in Translation.

Now let's move to the the grocery stores found in the basement of every department store. We noticed these beautifully wrapped fruits sold at mind-boggling prices.

This mango (yes, one piece) cost 105 Euros...

while the melon on the left had a price tag of 210 Euros!

Our understanding is that such absolutely perfect fruits are purchased only for gifts on special occasions.

As we moved on, we reached the butchers section with some wagyu beef.

Here's the priciest piece at 78 Euros for one portion of steak. Notice how the fat is marbled into the meat. Apparently the cow lived the life of a princess, drinking beer while enjoying a massage and listening to Mozart...

 

In electronics stores we discovered all sorts of  appliances and gadgets. Needless to say, in a country where rice is the main staple, rice cookers were prominently on display...

with the most expensive one by Mitsubishi costing 930 Euros!

Special mention to the washlets for toilets...

where Panasonic stole the show with a 750 Euros model!

We were also pleasantly surprised by the prestige of the 'Made in Belgium' brand in Japan. Besides Marcolini, Neuhaus and Wittamer chocolate shops in various department stores, we came across this café in a food court:

And a Leonidas store in Kamakura ("the famous Belgian pralines") - if only the Japanese knew that Leonidas sells low-end pralines in Brussels metro stations...

And finally, a "Manneken Belgian Waffle" in Kyoto which was doing some good business.

Their uji matcha (green tea from Uji region) waffle was delicious. If only these could be found in Belgium!

Japanese Kit Kat

Here's a post dedicated to the venerable Kit Kat. The Rowntree Kit Kat made in the UK used to be so delicious, and it was always fun slicing through the thin aluminium foil with one's nail before breaking away a Kit Kat finger. My appreciation for Kit Kat has declined since Nestle purchased the brand from Rowntree in the late 1980s. The recipe was modified several times (to the worst), the thin foil was replaced and most of the production was moved to several countries.

During our trip to Japan I was surprised by the popularity of Kit Kat and the various flavors available. In Japanese Kit Kat is called Kitto Katsu (きっとかつ), which means "certain victory". No wonder then that in one of the world's most competitive societies, Kitto Katsu became the ideal gift before an exam, thanks to a brilliant collaboration between Nestle and Japan Post (watch this short video clip to learn more).

Kit Kat has dedicated stores, like this one in Osaka:

Various flavours: the regular one and dark chocolate

Cookies & cream

Maccha (green tea)

Kobe pudding

Blueberry cheesecake

And finally, here's the holy grail that we saw in Osaka, from top to bottom: Sakura and Green Tea, Uji-Maccha Green Tea, Japanese style strawberry.

Even within Japan, there are region-specific flavours. For example, the mango flavour can be found in Kyushu and Okinawa only, while yakimorokoshi (roasted corn) flavor is sold in Hokkaido. Intrigued by yakimorokoshi Kit Kat? What about Wasabi and Red-bean soup Kit Kat flavors, both of which apparently exist somewhere in Japan ? Do check out my previous post on Japanese ice cream flavors.

Japan train food - Shinkansen eats

In Japan, eating and drinking in public is frowned upon and the chances of seeing a Japanese drinking a sip of water on the metro are almost none. Even after purchasing a drink from a vending machine, the Japanese will drink the beverage by the vending machine, throw away the container then walk away. 

On the Shinkansen high-speed train, however, the rules are totally different. Many passengers can be seen eating from bento boxes and some bring real feasts with them! Oh well, when in Japan, one should behave like a Japanese... Here are some snapshots of our foodie adventures on board various Shinkansens.

Even before boarding the shinkansen, ramen (noodle) bars can be found on the platform...

with customers gulping their ramen while standing:

On the Shinkansen, an employee makes several rounds with trolleys filled with all sorts of drinks and snacks.

One can even buy a special "train edition" iced green tea.

The train stations are filled with all sorts of shops selling food for the train ride such as onigiri (rice balls)...

and bento boxes:

These are 2 bento boxes that we tried:

And the second one:

This is one light dinner we bought in Hiroshima before heading to Kyoto:

Some macarons from Family Mart: yuzu and maccha flavors.

Breakfast one morning as we headed out of Kyoto, with three types of baked doughnuts: dried apple, Earl Grey, strawberry.

And finally, some Club Harie baumkuchen bought from the Takashimaya in JR Nagoya. Surprisingly,  this German cake is immensely popular in Japan, where it is known as baumukūhen.