As I currently live in temporary housing, I only have the bare minimum of kitchen supplies. I brought my two favorite knives; several spices that I use all the time; two tea infusers (we drink a lot of loose leaf tea); a Costco case of Annie's mac & cheese for emergencies; 3 jars of CB's peanut butter (the BEST!); a couple jars of homemade jam/relishes; and that's about it. The "stocked" kitchen has a rice cooker, toaster, coffee pot, electric tea kettle, 3 skillets, 3 pots, dishes and silverware for six, and an incredible amount of glassware.
Shopping everyday is a part of Japanese culture. This can be a difficult adjustment, as I tend to buy in bulk to have a well stocked pantry. In the US, I can easily go a couple weeks without going to the store (especially in the summer when my garden is providing 90% of my veggie intake and the chickens are providing tons of eggs). I like grocery shopping and filling my cart as I dream about all the things I will cook. But there aren't big freezers and pantries to store the food here. I have to wait until I'm almost out of butter before I buy more. Of course, I can't make things on a whim these days. I have to decide, go to the store, buy the items I need, and then go home an make it. So far, this isn't too much of a pain. The painful part is putting that butter back on the shelf and saying "Not today. Maybe tomorrow."
There are small grocery stores everywhere here. While some are mom and pop type stores, others are chains of little stores. Of course, there are also huge stores with amazing variety and sometimes even imported stuff, but these tend to be much more expensive. So, I only go to the big stores as a special treat for myself. I try to stop by the produce stand to buy my produce, but I can get sucked into the one stop shopping pretty easily. When I lived in Osaka, I had a favorite tofu vender that still brings a smile to my face when I think of their delicious tofu.
Since arriving in Tokyo, I have found the local grocery store (1 block away from my apartment), the larger grocery store (3 blocks away), several produce shops, an organic grocer (be still my heart!), and two import stores. My son often allows me to peruse the aisles, especially if I tell him he can help me in the kitchen later. He loves to pick out produce and help me decide which products to purchase. In Japan a checker checks you out, but then you bag your own groceries. This is another fun part of shopping for him - especially if I let him pay AND bag the groceries!
Since I have such a limited kitchen, I've been cooking very simple foods. Several times we have dined on marinated meat stir-fried with a variety of veggies served with rice. Tonight was pasta with salmon and mushrooms in a white sauce; plus a salad of lettuce, gobo (burdock root), and renkon (lotus root) in a creamy dressing. The fridge was stocked with a couple ingredients when we first arrived, and I wanted to use up the milk before it went bad. Salmon and mushrooms were on sale. The menu practically planned itself! Dinner was delicious.
I haven't made any Japanese food since moving in two weeks ago. My husband is one of those amazing cooks that doesn't use a recipe and uses whatever is in the fridge to produce amazing meals. He's always been in charge of cooking Japanese food in our house. Only recently have I been "allowed" to cook the rice (it's almost a joke in our family). I often help him make meals, but I've never actually learned to cook Japanese food. So, I have a friend who is going to teach me to cook more Japanese homestyle meals after we've settled in a bit.
For now I will remain happy that I even have access to a kitchen at all! If we were in a hotel, I'd probably loose it from lack of cooking for my family.
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