コストコ (Costco)

There is a place in Japan you can go when you need some staple items.

Like cheese.

Scattered about the country there are Costco stores.  When we first got to Japan almost a year ago, we heard murmurings of the supposed Costco and the magical items to be found within. 

Like cheese.

Finally, we went.  As many of you are aware, Costco is a member only store.  Karl and I like to buy as organic and local as we can manage…but we sold out to the big corporation in the name of…cheese.  We bought a membership.

As you might imagine, Japan doesn’t really do cheese… You can buy cheese in the regular grocery store.  But it's pretty gross.  (Says the girl who lived in Wisconsin half her life.)

Costco also sells other things that are imported.  Salsa, tortilla chips, breakfast cereal, bagels…the types of things that you really miss from home and can’t find in a typical Japanese supermarket.  They also have household cleaners, laundry detergent and the like. 

It’s comforting to the homesick…in a massive, corporate sort of way.  Once in a while, a trip to Costco is a definite plus when living in Japan. 

If, that is, you can stand weaving the gigantic American sized shopping carts in and out of the massive aisles…amongst huge amounts of people who are used to driving tiny carts. 

Patience is a necessity when it comes to shopping at Costco in Japan.  It just is. 

But it is soooooo worth the cheese.