Costco in Japan!

As my sister Natalie so lovingly pointed out, I have all sorts of time on my hands right now. William and June were up at 4, so they are napping right now, and Ivy is occupied, so I will write a little post about our jaunt to Costco last night, or as the locals call it, "Cost-tu-co."

Now, I love Costco. Finding out there was one a mere 11 minutes from us was a thing of beauty and a joy forever. Luke came home with our new car and new phones! I am now the proud owner of a weird little van and an iPhone 5 SE, which I love because it is smaller than a 6, but seems pretty comparable. So we loaded up and took our first real outing.

When we found Costco, we circled it for a while trying to figure out parking before we were ushered into a large, multi-level parking lot by an elderly man wearing a little vest and holding what appeared to be a small light saber. These parking attendants are everywhere and actually do help clear things up for us foreigners. We parked and then loaded some sleeping children into the cart. Ivy was particularly sad about that.

 So it looks like Ivy is terrified and maybe like I am choking her, but really, she's just super tired and I think I was comforting her? Definitely not assaulting. More importantly, though, the cart wheels are somehow sticking to this little moving sidewalk and going on a pretty steep downhill. It was a little terrifying for me to see this cart and believing with all my heart that it would careen down the hill and maim my small children. But the rubber grips on the track held fast and down we went.

 Next we made a beeline for the food court, hoping that a "silky drink" as Ivy calls it would help make the trip easier. It didn't, but we tried. They don't have the berry smoothie and the acai didn't go over quite as well with the girls. The pizza and hot dog were good, though! 180 yen for a hot dog and drink was awesome.

Almost $17 for a watermelon?! Nooooooo! 

6 different varieties of mushrooms! When I have a real kitchen again, I am going to go back and buy them all and make soup! They also have about 15 varieties of rice. Ivy and I counted. 

I really can't imagine eating a potato smiling up at me with those large, dead eyes. 

I can't decide whether I am grossed out or intrigued. 

These look like something my dad might eat. Dried squid on a stick. 

Overall, we may not frequent Costco as much as we used to in the states. We got a big thing of good sushi for $10 and eggs were pretty cheap, but everything else was like pulling teeth. The commissary seems to have better prices and more variety, but I will consult with some people before giving it up entirely. Either way, it was an adventure and we made it home safely. Ivy and I ate sushi for breakfast this morning and felt especially Japanese.