"To Costco!" I replied cheerfully. One of the park moms invited me to go with her and the other moms to Costco. To put it simply, I was elated to join in this adventure. Although I was confused as to why there would be a Costco in Japan when I lived here 16 years ago, (the first Costco opened here in 1999), I wanted to go. When we moved to Tokyo, I looked and the closest one was almost an hour away - by car! Since I don't have a car and going to Costco by train isn't very practical (can you get your Costco purchases home in your arms?), I still had not experienced the pleasure of warehouse shopping in Japan.
A couple of times, one of the park moms would go and ask everyone what they wanted. A large package of Bounty would be broken up between several families. The three pack of honey bears would be shared. Other items would be purchased as requested, sometimes divided and sometimes not. As soon as I figured out I could get my hands on jars of dill pickles, that became my regular request. But mostly, I just didn't know what to ask for. Did the Japanese version of my beloved Costco sell my desired items? Who knew?
Despite my husband's wariness of me going, I was eager to embark on this adventure. I dropped my son off at school and rushed home, ready to be picked up. My friend arrived right as scheduled and we, along with another friend and her son, headed out. The three adults chatted merrily about the impending shopping adventure and many other topics as we drove along and listed to the Carpenters. We hardly noticed the traffic that held us up, making the commute an hour and a half instead of the 45 minutes it should have taken.
By the time we arrived, I could hardly contain my excitement. I was bursting at the seams, despite having shopped at Costco in the US less than a week ago. It just felt more exhilarating. What would I find? What would be the same and what would be different? We magically parked next to the other park moms, who were arriving simultaneously. For many of them, it was their first visit as well. We quickly exchanged greetings and headed for the door.
Before we could enter, we had to ride a flat escalator (it is just a moving ramp, it doesn't become stairs) down to the first floor, as we parked on the roof of the building. Carts can magically go on these escalators. The wheels automatically lock when it loads onto the moving sidewalk and release at the other end.
When we reached the doors, I flashed my American Costco card to get in the door. I sucked in my breath and held it as I walked in to little America in giant packages. My, oh, my! I... I... I was star struck. It was JUST like home! Even the large red signs posted around the building indicating the tire center, pharmacy, meat department, and more were EXACTLY like in the US.
Christmas items filled the entrance area and televisions were immediately to the left. There was a small jewelry counter and some fancy purses in a glass case. And there were the giant teddy bears that no one actually buys but everyone snuggles with.
My friend needed to take her son to the bathroom. I was so grateful, because I just stood there like a dork with my mouth wide open, taking it all in.
We only had one hour before we needed to get back on the road. We didn't know if we would hit traffic on the way home and had to be sure to be home in time to pick up my son from school.
After the initial shock started to release, I gathered myself and focused on shopping. I gazed at the items on the shelves, noticing both similarities and differences between what I had seen just a week before. I would estimate that about 2/3 of the merchandise is the same as we have in the states, but 1/3 was unique to Japan. Specifically, snacks had a much different inventory; the alcohol included lots of sake and other Japanese liquors; and there was a very impressive sushi section in the prepared foods area. But there were also just random products that I had not seen in the US before, like Staub pots (my personal favorite brand of cast iron cookware) and hard exterior suitcases.
I noticed all of the signage was in both Japanese and English - making everything that much easier for me. I tossed several items into my cart, including a couple that I had wanted to buy in the states but didn't know how I would transport it to Japan. I was delirious with joy. I rarely get this excited about shopping, but Costco in Japan took me to a land of happiness.
I was pretty surprised by all the huge Christmas decorations for sale. I turned to my friends and asked "where do Japanese people store these things?" I received shrugs for answers because they were just as dumbfounded as I was.
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This is the place to buy turkeys - except most people don't
have ovens that can hold one! Mine definitely isn't big enough.
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There were a few things I noticed that they didn't carry, like my preferred brand of toilet paper. But then again, we can't have everything now can we? I also noted that all of the sample tables had lines, many of which I wasn't willing to wait in.
When I finally made it to the cash register, I knew I could have easily spent hours wandering around. However, I was on a time limit, so I went ahead and checked out. They took my American card and just asked me to fill out a form with my name, Japanese address, and phone number. Then I was able to check out as usual.
My friends and I stopped by the food court, where we had a quick lunch. I ate a hamburger and a salad, while my friends enjoyed pizza, a hot dog, and a salad. I debated getting the bulgogi bake and the matcha (green tea) soft serve, but I had purchased bulgogi to cook for dinner and I didn't have room for soft serve after my filling lunch.
Just like that, our shopping expedition was over. We loaded our treasures in the car and headed home. Since there wasn't any traffic to speak of, we made it in only 45 minutes, giving me time to put everything away before I had to pick up my son from school.
So, was Costco everything I dreamed of? Oh, yes. Do I want to go back? Definitely YES! I'm already making a list.
Ha! When we were going to move to London, one of the first things we checked out was where the closest Costco was. Did you tell your friends you used to live near corporate?
ReplyDeleteIt blows their mind. LOL!
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