Friday means Norwegian homework! After both girls made quick work of their language class this morning, we get ready and eat a quick lunch before heading out. We have a long way to go today! To get there, we get to ride on the Nara deer train! Check out the hand holds:
I had gotten an idea from all the travel influencers we are following at the moment, they all say a visit to Costco is required, and because I wanted to check it out, that’s where we’re headed. It’s a good hour and 15 minutes travel, three subways and a bit of a walk both before and after.
Costco memberships work around the world, and each store has some familiar favourites, and a lot of local delicacies. And yes of course this Costco has bike parking! The car parking garage is actually layered on top of the store, which would be a grand improvement to the stores I’m used to in Ontario.
The first thing that hits me when we enter the store, is that it is so quiet! Can you even imagine the word quiet being used in conjuction with “Costco”? In North America, Costco is a large, hectic and loud store, where people aggressively elbow their way to samples and their favourite products. In Japan, I’d call Costco orderly, calm, well organized and serene. I’d happily shop here again!
The first sample we come upon is a green grape. Seedless, sweet, juicy… The next is a yellow kiwi. Delicious! We did not get to sample the pumpkin pie, and it was a very small section of cooler dedicated to the pies, and I think it’s quite a bit more expensive than in Canada? Comment below if you know what the pies are selling for at home, please! This one is equivalent to $15CA.
I could eat nothing but Costco sushi for life and be a very happy girl! The packages are large, fresh, look delicious and cost SO LITTLE!
The least familiar sample we came across, was the achovies. Maylin and Joe tried them first, and when she came to tell Téa and I, she could not stop grinning and proudly shouting “I ate a fish head, I ate a fish head”! I, on the other hand, got the body, sans head.
I don’t remember all the samples, but there were plenty! By the time we walk (empty handed) through the stillness of efficient tills, we’re “not really hungry”, but the food court is also a good place to test local flavours, so we had to get just a little something…
For once, Joe was not hungry enough for a $1.50CA hot dog, so he had an iced latte. Téa wanted the Hokkaido milk soft serve, and Maylin got the mix with half milk and half chestnut flavour. Maylin’s won the flavour contest, in my mind, but the ice creams came in cups as large as their heads! There was SO MUCH ice cream! Joe ate half of Maylin’s, 1/3 of Téa’s, and helped me out with my Salmon Poke Roll. It was as big as a sub sandwich, 8 thick slices of sushi roll with large portions of seasoned salmon in the middle. It was delicious but HUGE!
When we announced our defeat and pulled Joe away from the rest of the ice cream before he burst, we had only a few steps to walk from Costco to the outlet mall, where we browsed all sorts of fun and cute stores, and Maylin got a second pair of pants. The girls found an old friend on the lower floor!
What do you expect to find in a shopping mall? A Nissan dealership? Yeah, me neither…
Or, were you hoping for more of a … companion?
We walked and we walked and we walked and we walked, trying to get hungry enough to grab a snack before heading home. The girls hadn’t had real food, just bites of Costco samples and a litre of ice cream, since lunch, and it was already past 5pm. We sat down at KFC for a snack for a while, and then walked some more. We decided to wait for a later subway so we could meet up with a direct bus to replace the two last subways and the longer walk home, so the girls laid down in the middle of the mall for a bit:
At 6.15pm we exit the mall and head for the subway. But first, I have to show you the bike parking, and it makes me think if it can fit just as many bikes as cars? It sure looks that way!
I also found you another fire hydrant manhole cover:
The stairs up and down from the underground passageways have bike/stroller lanes!
The way home was another hour and 15-ish, in the dark and new-to-us bus routes. It’s all an adventure with the Cheng family these days! We were all pretty exhausted, and collapsed into bed to await another day.
I recently bought my yearly Thanksgiving pumpkin pie at Costco, to eat a little and give away a lot. It cost $7.99.
I also bought sushi on the recommendation of a friend. She said it would last over a few days so I could manage the gargantuan size. Well, I did manage but mostly because of all the rice I wasted (good use of our new compost bag).
I’m loving your travels within your travels.
Thanks for the price comparison, I thought for sure it would be much cheaper at home!
I’m glad you enjoyed your sashimi, and I’m glad to hear that you’re enjoying the blog!