how do i survive as a gaijin?!

[essex]

yeah... i'm most definitely already here.
wow... some of you are quite defensive, aren't you? i'm asking how to get along here, inside advice. i was trying not to get too specific because i didn't want to exclude any advice anyone might have.

fortunately enough i'm only 5'8", so i don't think finding clothes will be that much of an issue. i've been to uniqlo. that place is pretty cool and reasonably priced from what i saw. more advice on cool clothing stores would be nice, i need to buy shirts.

hopefully i brought a enough deodorant with me from overseas (i'm attached to old spice red zone soft solid) to get me through the time i'm staying here. i don't THINK i'll need any other toiletries from home, but i'm not sure. again, this is a place where someone living here would have more advice.

the costco advice was good. that's probably going to be the biggest thing for me, trying to adjust my diet and survive without western foods. also there's only so much ramen, rice, or pasta with fake red sauce i can eat before i start to lose my mind.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by essex

yeah... i'm most definitely already here.
wow... some of you are quite defensive, aren't you? i'm asking how to get along here, inside advice. i was trying not to get too specific because i didn't want to exclude any advice anyone might have.

fortunately enough i'm only 5'8", so i don't think finding clothes will be that much of an issue. i've been to uniqlo. that place is pretty cool and reasonably priced from what i saw. more advice on cool clothing stores would be nice, i need to buy shirts.

hopefully i brought a enough deodorant with me from overseas (i'm attached to old spice red zone soft solid) to get me through the time i'm staying here. i don't THINK i'll need any other toiletries from home, but i'm not sure. again, this is a place where someone living here would have more advice.

the costco advice was good. that's probably going to be the biggest thing for me, trying to adjust my diet and survive without western foods. also there's only so much ramen, rice, or pasta with fake red sauce i can eat before i start to lose my mind.

Defensive? I would watch my words if you really want help.

Really, be specific, or you are going to get advice like "do your best!", "make new friends!", "don't be afraid!".

Besides deodorant, I would also make sure you have enough toothpaste w/ fluoride from your home.

I am not sure where you live, but even McDonald's seems to be just about everywhere. I am not saying you need to go every day, but sometimes a cheeseburger and fries is what I need to get me through a rough patch.

[Nyororin]

I wasn`t meaning to be defensive... You just simply can`t imagine the number of extremely detailed questions that are asked by people who have never been to Japan. A lot of people assume things are very different from reality. and some people will debate about issues they have only heard about somewhere online.

When it comes to food - make your own. Seriously. Learn to cook the dishes you enjoy and break any prepackaged/processed food habits you have. I don`t mean that to sound harsh - it`s something you should try to do wherever you are. Processed food isn`t good for you, regardless of whether you like it or not.

I am usually really stumped when people say they cannot adjust to the Japanese diet because all the ingredients are available to make whatever it is you like to eat, or at the very least something passably similar. I honestly cannot think of any western dish that I could not make if I felt the desire, and all with ingredients from the local grocery stores. Vegetables are vegetables. Meat is meat.

Japan isn`t really a frozen/prepackaged meal country anyway - even the combini stuff is fresh and most of it isn`t "processed". I think that even a regular Japanese person would go crazy trying to survive on that type of stuff.

For clothes - you`re 5'8". I don`t think you`ll have problems finding clothes in any shop that will fit you height wise. Unless you are very large (either overweight or extremely muscular) you are not a specialty size at all and should be able to pretty much shop anywhere. Go to a mall, walk around and see what shops have the type of clothes you want, and buy.

Anyway - more detailed info about where you are will certainly help get better answers. If you are anywhere someone is familiar with, you may even be able to get more "insider" advice. Japan is a big country.

[essex]

i personally live west of sendai in miyagi. i'm 10-15 minutes from sendai station by train.

Originally Posted by MMM

Besides deodorant, I would also make sure you have enough toothpaste w/ fluoride from your home.

I am not sure where you live, but even McDonald's seems to be just about everywhere. I am not saying you need to go every day, but sometimes a cheeseburger and fries is what I need to get me through a rough patch.

yeah, thankfully i brought a ton of toothpaste too. at least i got that right. i was thinking of stopping in at mcDonalds or KFC soon. i also saw a burger place in sendai station... great burger or something? i think i remember reading it was a japanese chain.

as far as restaurants, i'm trying not to eat out much, but i'm going to need to find a pizza place that makes actual pizza. there are a couple of local chains i've seen, but they tend to be super expensive and make nonpizza.

Originally Posted by Nyororin

I wasn`t meaning to be defensive... You just simply can`t imagine the number of extremely detailed questions that are asked by people who have never been to Japan. A lot of people assume things are very different from reality. and some people will debate about issues they have only heard about somewhere online.

yea... i didn't come here expecting much. and most of what i've found is that things i've read tend to be either blown out of proportion, or largely ignored. for example how expensive it is supposed to be. granted, i don't live in tokyo, but i've found some things are more expensive, and some things are cheaper. or the assumption that electronics are so much cheaper here when in fact they tend to be much more expensive. not too bothered by most of that though.

Originally Posted by Nyororin

When it comes to food - make your own. Seriously. Learn to cook the dishes you enjoy and break any prepackaged/processed food habits you have. I don`t mean that to sound harsh - it`s something you should try to do wherever you are. Processed food isn`t good for you, regardless of whether you like it or not.

I am usually really stumped when people say they cannot adjust to the Japanese diet because all the ingredients are available to make whatever it is you like to eat, or at the very least something passably similar. I honestly cannot think of any western dish that I could not make if I felt the desire, and all with ingredients from the local grocery stores. Vegetables are vegetables. Meat is meat.

well, i'm not attached to processed foods. an example is that pancake mix isn't too hard to find or that expensive... syrup, on the other hand, comes in small bottles and it's INSANELY expensive. so unless i can find some cheap syrup or non-"pure maple" type syrup, pancakes are out of the question.

my diet right now consists of chicken (or beef if it's on sale), pasta/rice/ramen noodles, bananas, eggs for breakfast, and the occasional sandwich. that's fine for right now, but if i don't add some sort of variance, it will eventually slowly drive me nuts.

i've tried the native curry and it's not exactly up my alley, but i don't know how to find english curry. even if i were to make the curry paste from scratch, some of the ingredients aren't something i've been able to find. i was also thinking of trying to track down some mexican ingredients, but i can't find tortillas (thankfully i brought a boatload of cumin with me from the states).

i also located a couple of vendors who sell the cheese powder you'd find in a box of mac and cheese. as i haven't been able to find boxes of that anywhere, i was thinking maybe getting a bunch of that shipped would be an easy cheapish way to do mac and cheese (just buy pasta from the store).

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by essex

yeah, thankfully i brought a ton of toothpaste too.

A note, more to MMM than you - in the past year or two, I have seen more and more toothpastes adding fluoride. Now it`s harder to find one without than with - so fluoride toothpaste is no longer one of the "virtually impossible" items it used to be. Even the weird salt and herb stuff grandmother-in-law uses now has fluoride.

there are a couple of local chains i've seen, but they tend to be super expensive and make nonpizza.

If you avoid Aoki`s and Pizza-La, you can usually find fairly decent pizza. Really good pizza takes some more looking around. I have never had Dominos in Japan but hear they are pretty close to the same as the US if you order one with the toppings you want. Pizza Hut in Japan is also pretty close to what it is in the US. It just depends on the toppings. I am almost tempted to say that if you ordered an Aoki or Pizza-la pizza with normal toppings (no mayonnaise, no corn, etc) that you could probably get something tolerable, but I kind of doubt that.

I find it`s a lot easier to get Italian style pizza in Japan than US style. Tons of restaurants have stone ovens and will make a fairly good Italian pizza - but not many delivery places. The refrigerated pizzas sold are also quite good if you add a little extra cheese and bake them.

well, i'm not attached to processed foods. an example is that pancake mix isn't too hard to find or that expensive... syrup, on the other hand, comes in small bottles and it's INSANELY expensive. so unless i can find some cheap syrup or non-"pure maple" type syrup, pancakes are out of the question.

Pancake mix is a processed food. It`s a prepackaged mix. As is the cheese powder for mac and cheese. A lot of things you don`t really think of as processed, in fact are.

even if i were to make the curry paste from scratch, some of the ingredients aren't something i've been able to find.

This is actually a lot easier than you would think. The ingredients are easily available, as are ready to go spice mixes. One of my favorite spice mixes is sold at Muji, which is pretty much everywhere.

i was also thinking of trying to track down some mexican ingredients, but i can't find tortillas (thankfully i brought a boatload of cumin with me from the states).

Mexican food isn`t big in Japan, so tortillas are pretty much limited to specialty shops. I would check out Kaldi`s - they tend to stock that sort of thing and have shops over most of the country. Looks like they have a couple near you. (Which reminds me, I need to head there in the next couple days. The local one has some great Thai curry soup on sale for 88 yen a pack. Bought one just to try it and it was almost as good as made from scratch stuff.)

I would say that to add variety to your meals, you should really just learn to cook some different things. Spices are really not hard to come by in Japan, nor are raw ingredients. It`s just knowing how to put them together to make something different.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

A note, more to MMM than you - in the past year or two, I have seen more and more toothpastes adding fluoride. Now it`s harder to find one without than with - so fluoride toothpaste is no longer one of the "virtually impossible" items it used to be. Even the weird salt and herb stuff grandmother-in-law uses now has fluoride.

I do know this is true, but after coming home after a year (in the mid-90s) with over a dozen cavities, I have a slight reflexive reaction. The fact there is still toothpaste without fluoride makes me want to play it better safe then sorry...but point well taken, and I am glad to see the progress in that direction.

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by MMM

I do know this is true, but after coming home after a year (in the mid-90s) with over a dozen cavities, I have a slight reflexive reaction. The fact there is still toothpaste without fluoride makes me want to play it better safe then sorry...but point well taken, and I am glad to see the progress in that direction.

Trust me - I know far too well and used to warn people about this myself. Tap water in Japan is not fluoridated, so cavities pop up like CRAZY if you don`t use fluoride toothpaste.

This is actually something that kind of put me off the fluoridation of water in general as it seems your teeth sort of lose the ability to preserve themselves after a while and develop a dependence upon fluoride. (Kind of like how using lip gloss all the time reduces your lips ability to keep themselves from chapping.)

Of course, if you`ve had fluoride in all your water from childhood - there isn`t much you can do other than just make sure you keep getting that fluoride.

[essex]

i'd personally prefer to not have it in my tap water. having it in mouthwash and toothpaste is enough.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

Trust me - I know far too well and used to warn people about this myself. Tap water in Japan is not fluoridated, so cavities pop up like CRAZY if you don`t use fluoride toothpaste.

This is actually something that kind of put me off the fluoridation of water in general as it seems your teeth sort of lose the ability to preserve themselves after a while and develop a dependence upon fluoride. (Kind of like how using lip gloss all the time reduces your lips ability to keep themselves from chapping.)

Of course, if you`ve had fluoride in all your water from childhood - there isn`t much you can do other than just make sure you keep getting that fluoride.

Where I live now in the US is one of the few places in our area (if not the only place) where the water is not fluoridated. It means we are careful about toothpaste and mouthwash and our local dentist recommends kids up to 12 take fluoride pills.

[SSJup81]

IMO, I think it all depends on what you specifically need. You might can find a good alternative for said products you would get back in your home country. In my case, I don't import anything, 'cept for hair-related stuff since I'm "African-American" and have my hair braided. I might get a food from home every once in a while (my aunt sent me some grits. lol), but that's about it. My folks are sending me certain seasonings I can't seem to find here, and I miss my Wishbone Italian dressing. I just can't find any here (yet) that tastes as good to me as that...yet. So, yeah. I like using that particular dressing for pasta salads. Everything else I put in it I can find here.

Edit: Oh, forgot to mention that I do get deodorant and lotion from home. I have very dry skin, so Japanese lotion doesn't do anything for me.