The differences in food between Michigan and Japan

I wrote that I was very confused about the difference of units between the US and Japan in my previous post.

Today, I would like to write about the differences of food between Michigan and Japan.

I am going to mention what I was surprised by when I went shopping, in Michigan.


1. VERY large!

Some of the supermarkets are very large!

It sometimes takes time to find what I want.

And it's like walking exercise when I am exploring in the supermarket!



2. Various kinds of products

I sometimes can't choose between products because there are too many choices.
For example, milk.

There are so many sizes and kinds.

I think if I could try some, it would be easier to choose.

When I bought a gallon of milk, it wasn't good.

I had to drink all of it even though I didn't like it.



3. Various kinds of potato

I was surprised to see a lot of kinds of potato!

I used to buy Danshaku potatos or May Queen in Japan.

I still don't know what the difference is between yellow potato, red potato, and white potato!

I was also surprised that they were very cheap!

My children love French fries, and I often buy frozen French fries.

They are very cheap, so I often put them into their lunch boxes.

They love them very much and I just heat them in the oven.

Very easy and they are happy.

This is exactly "killing two birds with one stone"!



4. Various kinds of cheese

I often bought a pack of sliced processed cheese when I was in Japan.

I was surprised to see a lot of kinds of cheese at the supermarket.

When I went to the sandwich store with my children, I didn't know how to order.

I observed how other people were ordering and found out that I should write down my order on the bag of the sandwich!

The bag was on the counter, so I took it and read what was written on it.

There were several options on it, and what I had to do was just check what I wanted.

I understood the options of bread, ham, vegetables and sauce, but I had no idea about the kinds of cheese.

I asked the staff,

"What cheese do children usually like the most?

He answered,

"American."

"American? Is that the name of the cheese?"

I thought in my mind, I didn't know about the names of cheese at all.

"OK, I'll have that."

I said to the staff.

My children asked me anxiously,

"What kind of sandwich are we going to eat? "

"I am not sure, but it would be nice!"

I answered.



5. Cabbage is very hard!

I don't know why but I feel that American cabbage is harder than the Japanese ones.

I try to simmer cabbage when I cook it.



6. Cucumber is very thick and big!

My 8-year-old daughter loved cucumber when she was in Japan.

But after we moved, she doesn't like it, very much anymore.

Because they are very thick and big!

They are not prickly.

I was taught by my mother that prickly cucumbers are very fresh.

I wonder how I will be able to know that they are fresh or not without prickles.



7. Meats are very cheap!

I was surprised that meats are very cheap!

A pack of meat is usually very big, our family couldn't eat up one pack of beef for steak.

Meats are usually sliced into thin pieces and sold in Japan.

If I want shaved meat here, I have to ask the staff to shave them or cut them by myself.

I am getting used to cutting the meat by myself little by little.



8. The colors of cake decorations are very vivid!

I was surprised to see the very big cakes at the supermarket.

But what made me more surprised was the colors.

Blue? Pink? Orange???

I have never seen such colors used for cakes in Japan.

I agree that they look colorful, fun, and cheerful.

I would like to try it someday.



9. There are few options for fish.

It might be only in Michigan, but unfortunately, I couldn't find a lot of kinds of fish here.

Most of them are salmon and tilapia.

I have never tried tilapia, but I like it very much.

The taste is like a cod.



10. Japanese food sold in Michigan is way too expensive!

When we first started living here, we often went to the Japanese supermarkets.

The prices were too expensive!

I understand it is costly to import them from Japan.

But I feel like I pay too much in unnecessary charges for them.



I enjoy finding such differences.

I will never know unless I try!

Thank you(^o^) for reading this article!

An ordinary Japanese mom in the US!

After a long interval, I have finally come back here!

Our family moved to Michigan in the US at the end of July because of my husband's job transfer.

We will be living here for about three years.

The first time we came here, we suffered from the terrible jet lag, especially my children!

My children fell asleep in the early afternoon because it was night time in Japan, and they woke up at night and stayed up all night!

Since I was able to sleep well on the flight, it was terrible that they interrupted my sleep every day.

I had to take a nap every day to compensate for the lack of sleep.

I would like to write about what differences I was surprised by between the US and Japan, after I started living here.

1. The different units of mesure

When I went shopping at the supermarket, I was confused the different units of mesure.

What is lb?

What is oz??

What is gal???

When I bought a bag of cherries, it was $3.99.

I thought it was very cheap because I believed that the price was for a bag of cherries.

But, it wasn't.

The price was per lb.

I ended up buying a bag of cherries for more than 9 dollars!

I don't understand Fahrenheit and mile well, either

They are still confusing to me.

2. The differences in traffic rules

I already passed the American driver's license test, but I was very scared of driving when I started practicing driving.

Because cars drive on the left side in Japan, but it's totally opposite in the US.

I often opened the right side door by mistake to sit on the driver's seat because the driver seat is usually on the right side of a Japanese car.

I often turned on the wiper by mistake when I wanted to turn on the blinkers because their places were totally opposite from Japanese one.

I was always saying "keep right, keep right!" while driving.

I was surprised that we still can turn right even the traffic light is red, if there is no car in the way.

We must wait until traffic lights turn to green in Japan.

I like this rule, it's very efficient.

I also like that highways are free!

But I was surprised and scared that cars drive so fast!

The speed limit on the highway in Michigan is faster than the Japanese one.

3. The days are longer

In summer, the sun sets around 9pm in Michigan.

It's about 7pm in Japan.

My children assumed that they could stay up late during summer.

I understood their feelings, it was too bright to go to bed at 9pm in summer.

But at a result, they couldn't wake up in the morning until after 9am.

I don't think it is a good for them.

4. Various diverse groups of peole

Needless to say, the majority of people living in Japan are Japanese.

Of course, some people are from other countries, but they are still very few, especially in rural areas.

Various kinds of people are living around here.

I realized that the US is a multicultural and ethnically diverse country.

People who live here are used to people who are from other countries.

They never seem to think that I may not be able to speak English.

They talk to me very fast and cheerfully.

Such kinds of small talk don't happen so often in Japan.

I can speak English, but it is often hard for me to catch what they say because they speak too fast.

I would like to improve my English more during our stay.

I would like to write more about the differences, but it would be too long to read.

I will write more about this over time.

Thank you(^o^) for reading this article!