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Food I Miss The Most

March 9, 2009 Living in Japan

Food.  Arguably one of the most enjoyable things on the planet. People often travel to distant lands on holiday with plans to attend specific restaurants.  Many have an idea of what local foods they wish to try.  Some people even go so far as to plan their entire vacations around food. In Japan, there are countless dishes that have earned a place in my heart.  Not only because they’re so visually appealing, but because they are typically healthier and more tasty than the foods I had become accustomed to while living in Canada.  Foods like たこ焼き (takoyaki), 焼きそば (yakisoba), お好み焼き (okonomiyaki), メロンパン (melon bread), and 牛肉どんぶり (beef donburi) are just some of the foods that I could eat every day for a year and never tire of them.  But, despite the seemingly endless amounts of amazing food in Japan, there are some things that you just can’t find in this country, and these are the foods that I miss from home.

Fig Newtons

I have been craving some fig newtons for the better part of a year, now.  Although this was a treat that I would enjoy maybe twice a year while living in Canada, the absence of these fig-flavored cookies from the stores has not gone unnoticed.  After scouring several of the international grocers at various shopping centers around Gifu and Aichi, I’ve come to see that these sumptuously simple square delights are probably not going to be found for a price I’m willing to pay.  My only consolation is the knowledge that I could (probably) successfully beg my wife to try her hand at making some … assuming we could find some figs.

Real Canadian Cheese

Like many people of European decent, I love cheese.  It doesn’t matter if the cheese is old, marble, cheddar, gouda, feta, swiss, blue, or cottage … the simple act of sniffing a pungent brick of coagulated animal milk can bring a smile to my face.  There are a number of places that we can buy imported cheese in Japan, however, it seems that finding Canadian cheese is something of a challenge.  The next time Reiko and I visit that country, we’ll be sure to bring an empty suitcase just for all the cheese that we plan on bringing back, regardless of what the customs or airline officials might think.

Of course, Japanese cheese can be enjoyable.  Heck, I have some every day with lunch and just had a slice while typing up this post.  That said, most of the cheeses here seem to be of the processed variety.  While this does satisfy some of the flavor factor, it does not carry the same tang or odor that I had enjoyed while living in Vancouver or Hamilton.

Oatmeal Rasin Cookies

There are so many treats and snacks in Japan, including a few that are called “Oatmeal Rasin Cookies.”  But nothing compares to the super soft, plump, and ridiculously large oatmeal rasin cookies that I could find back home.  For $2 I could buy 7 cookies that tipped the scales at just over 800g.  Those were some good cookies.  Unfortunately, oatmeal just doesn’t seem to be something that people in Japan enjoy eating.

Luckily, there are plenty of melon breads and Chococo cookies to make up for this.

Making Due

So there we have it … three foods that I miss terribly from time to time while living in Japan.  Sure, there are a lot of great snacks and other foods that we can enjoy, but sometimes we just want that taste of home.  For the moment, I can take comfort in the fact that I’m lucky enough to be married to a woman who loves to make food, and she could undoubtedly make up a batch of really amazing oatmeal rasin cookies or fig newtons if I asked nicely enough.

Ah … I think I’ll do just that, too!

Are you living away from home and missing some food?  Is there anything you’d step over an old lady to grab from the grocery store shelves if it became available?

Tags: cheese, fig newton, food