Jan. 16, 2012 - Nissin

On Sunday, Whitney pointed out Nissin World Delicatessen to us, and we walked inside for a brief look around.  Nissin is an international grocery store with groceries from around the world.  I decided to return on Monday to spend a little longer looking around the store and to do a little shopping.  I don't think I'll be a frequent shopper there since it's a little on the expensive side compared to the regular grocery stores (which already seem expensive to me), and it's not the most convenient for me in terms of the subway - I needed three trains to get there.  However, I do think I'll shop there occasionally.

Nissin did carry items I haven't seen in other stores, such as a Betty Crocker brownie mix!  I bought one of those to tuck away for later.  Shh - don't tell the kids.  Then I needed oil for the brownies.  (Didn't want to make the mistake of a friend of Whitney's who accidentally used some kind of vinegar in her expensive cake mix.)  The only oil I've been able to buy so far has been olive oil because it had a few English words on the bottle (and it's a brand I've seen in the States).  The nice thing about Nissin is that even if the packaging is in Japanese, the label on the shelf with the price usually has the English name (usually, not always).  I saw a big bottle of Wesson canola oil, but I went with some Japanese brand.  That way (hopefully) I can look for that same bottle in my neighborhood grocery store next time I need to buy some.

I'm having a little trouble with buying fish.  I like to buy fish that has no parts (even the skin) that I will need to detach.  I like all my meat in neat packages that are far removed from what they originally looked like.  Well, I have resigned myself to the fact that I will not be able to do that with fish.  I will, at the least, have to buy fish that still has its skin.  However, I will have to be in Japan a LOT longer before I purchase this (yes, it's octopus):

Many of the grocery stores around here deliver, handy when you don't have a car.  I haven't yet taken advantage of that service, but I did this time.  I was buying some heavy items, and the thought of the three subway rides and all the walking made me decide that 800 yen was not too high a price, after all.