Distractions, reflections

The Ginza is famous for luxury shopping. Since I travel so much, it’s not the luxuries that attract me. Almost a week into a 3-week trip in Japan, I was looking for the basics: more fruits and vegetables in my diet, and laundry facilities to freshen up a suitcase of clothes. Some detective work on the Internet suggested Hanamasa as a good place for groceries. Since we were staying in a hotel without cooking facilities, Diana and I bought veggies we could eat raw: tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and carrots.

The vegetables and fruit were, of course, more expensive than in North America. The Hanamasa prices seemed reasonable, though, when compared to shopping in department store basements. We might have bought bananas, except that huge bunches were by a sign to not break them up. Plums and peaches were in season and probably local, so they were a better choice.

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When I visit at someone’s home for more than a day, I inevitability offer to cook at least a few meals. Since my family had a restaurant in Gravenhurst — I think that my grandfather and father sold the Queen’s Cafe circa 1966 — I’ve always cooked. When I was a student at Northwestern University in the early 1980s, I started cooking for myself pretty well every day. It was there that I hosted my first ten-course meal with my foster relatives. Even after getting married, I still do more than the average share of cooking, because I’m faster than Diana, and it’s more constructive for me to cook than criticize. Cooking while travelling has turned out to be more than a habit; it’s now a reputation. When I go to Finland, I’ve had a habit of packing more than a few distinct Chinese ingredients in my suitcase, because (a) I can only find brands that I prefer less in the K Citymarket or Prisma hypermarkets at the Iso Omena mall at much higher prices, or (b) I can’t find them all in Finland.  Read more... (679 words, estimated 2:43 mins reading time)