An outsider's looks at grocery shopping in Tokyo

• Round trip train fare from Azamino to Tamasakai: 1,220 yen
• Japanese phrasebook: $.50 at a used bookstore in the States
• Buying peanut butter in a country where the people never eat it? Priceless.

Let's face it. Anyone who lived with me at college knows exactly how much I like peanut butter. The thought of going without it for a year or possibly paying atrocious amounts of money to have it was heart-breaking. One trip to Costco was all I needed. All I have to say is that I left the building with a smile on my face, my head held high, and a 4-pound jar of PB. Before, Japanese people just ignored me on the trains. But for this one particular day, I became a one-woman show, it seems. I got the "once-over" from pretty much everyone. I don't think they'd ever seen that much peanut butter in their entire lives...combined.

The rest of the pics that follow are a small example of my grocery-shopping successes here in Tokyo. Just looking at the labels will give you a small idea of how I feel at the store. I finally got in the habit of bringing pictures of a cow, chicken and pig so I can ask the clerk what kind of meat I'm buying. But enough chatter...let me show you what I mean.

I should also take this opportunity to introduce you all to Winston. He's a sheep. Wearing a Santa hat with a frown on his face. But I love him anyways. For today, I have given him the job title of "Vanna White of Japanese Groceries." Here, you see him with a can of what I think might be tuna. I still haven't worked up enough nerve to open the can, though.

In this photo, you see Winston with a typical loaf of Japanese bread. The biggest size they come in (that I've found) is 8 slices. You can also get loaves that are identical in size but with only 4 or 6 slices, they just cut the bread thicker. Almost like Texas Toast. Still costs over a dollar, too.

No Winston in this pic. He was on a lunch break. But this is one of my favorite things about beverages in Japan. Not only are there vending machines and convenience stores everywhere you look, but the aluminum cans of Coke come with screw-top lids. Tell me, why don't we have this in America?

And last but certainly not least. Here's a pack of saltine crackers. They don't come in long packages like at home. To my surprise, Winston and I found that inside the box there are actually only 9 individually-wrapped packages, each with 6 crackers inside. Nice for packing lunches.