Any Brits?
 

Hi,

I'm from Scotland and might be moving to Osaka pretty soon... just wondering if there are any Brits who would care to share their experience of Japan?

Of course, I'd be happy to hear from anyone else as well!

Cheers,

Dan

There's a few of us knocking around. Generally living in Japan is the same for anyone, British or no, although, there are a few stereotypes for British people you may infrequently come across, like being noble and quiet, and possibly still being upset over Diana. Oh yes, and confusing British with specifically 'English'.

I've encountered a few of these before on holiday lol, not in Japan either. Doesn't sound like anything to worry about!

So you live in Japan, yeah? What would you say are the main differences from the UK (aside from the obvious language/culture things)?

That isn't a stereotype I necessarily saw fulfilled in Japan.

Actually i'm in the UK. I lived in Osaka a couple of years ago.

Trains are clean and run on time, the tube in Japan is an air-conditioned heaven. Distinct lack of mangy pigeons.

Total unavailability of cheap wine or cheese that isn't rubbish plastic cheese. No cider to be seen. Beer on tap tends to be pale ale or larger.

Most people seem to actually uses the pajamas they own.

In winter you will never be more grateful for a heated toilet seat.

Eating out is cheap compared to here.

Buses you often pay getting off, not getting on, so be sure to check you have the fare!

They don't call time in bars some places. They just wait for you to go home before they shut.

You really have to be more aware of how noisy you are, especially walking around at night, because it's easier to disturb people, and lots of working people go to bed early in the 'burbs.

hence I said 'infrequently', and with all due respect, you're not British.

It was just an observation of my experience of in Japan.

Great, this is the kind of non-obvious thing I'm trying to find out about! Things that you only find out by being there.

Cheers

No worries. If have any more specific questions about Osaka, feel free. Several people on here have lived there, and for much longer than I have *points up at MMM*, so we can probably answer most things.

Oh! No decent black tea. You can get liptons (which is cheap and foul) or twinnings (which is over priced) so if you're like me and can't compromise on a cuppa, BYO tea bags.

And if you're a sausage fan, steel yourself, they're nothing like British bangers. I'm sure I'll think of more things later.

Great shout about the tea, that's a must have. I can survive without most other things, lol.

Yeah, I really assumed i'd be able to get something, as, you know, it's Japan. They have a whole tea culture! So I was really surprised when the options were so limited. It's not impossible, it's just not that convenient or as cheap as in the UK to get good black tea. you might find it easier, actually, to get a few bags of loose-leaf tea and then just get a tea-ball or an immersion strainer when you're out there. Save yourself some packing space!

Non-lager beers are gaining popularity, and I remember a place called The Beer Company in Umeda next to Dee Dee House that had a real variety of beers, but you are right the vast majority of on-tap beers are lagers.

You can find a variety of cheeses at the larger food shopping areas, usually on the bottom floor of large shopping malls like Hanshin and Hankyu, again in Umeda. You can also find things like bread, bagels, salami, etc that may not be found in local supermarkets, so it can be worth the trip.

Haha oh wow, I agree with everything that's been said so far. Speaking of differences though, don't forget in Japan there's no large groups of Chavs outside every offie fighting over the last drags of a cig someone stole off their Mum while asking every passer by to buy them a 4 pack of Special Brew or White Lightning.

Yeah, it's just a bit different from the UK, is all. Like the tiny local bar I serve in sometimes has 8 beers on tap and 2 ciders, and only 2 are larger. This isn't even counting what's on sale in bottle, either.
My local weekly market (not even the supermarket) alone has over 20 types of cheese, all pretty reasonably priced, and that's not really unusual. The sheer variety and availability here is staggering so it's a bit of a shock to discover a 4oz block of bog-standard blue cheese on sale for 600yen or more.

Thanks for all the tips guys.

Sounds like lager is readily available, that's a plus - I'm not much of an ale drinker anyway!

About the larger supermarkets/shopping malls which are better stocked, how common are they? Will I typically have to travel far to get to them, say from Osaka city centre?

Cheers

In Osaka? They're common enough for you not to need to worry. There were two within a 20min walk in the small suburb I lived in. There's also lots of smaller specialist shops like butchers, bakers, candlestick makers dotted about, and convenience stores are dime-a-dozen so you can always nip out for something at short notice. The really huge department-style ones are all mostly IN the city already.

Where will you be located?

From the map the company gave me, it's a place called Kounoike Shinden - they have an apartment block there. Apparently it's 20 mins commute by train to Osaka Business Park.

That's Higashi Osaka I think, and a bigger area than I was, so you should have all the facilities I had, and then some more. Ok, I just googled, there is at least one supermarket near Kounoike Shinden Station. Plus a handful of others and conbini dotted around the local area.

Tesco have started invading Japan, so you can get some home style tea at a fair price. They also have custard creams and borbons and real mayonase. Also spotted some brown sauce www.tesco-japan.com

Cider is a soft drink here but you can get 1 liter cartons of apple juice, add some yeast and have some english cider in about 10 days.

The idea Japanese have of cheese is the same as American, so lame as a55! Sure you can get plastic cheese, soft white stuff and Italian/French offerings. But chedder is expensive and comes in amounts that will only make a sad version of a plowman's.

Baked beans are like 300 yen a tin but I recently found some pale imitations for 100 yen. A good squirt of katsup gets them in order quickly.

Bring gravy granules, or learn how to make it from scratch. The beef here is awesome but sometimes I want some gravy on it :)

Use Kobe-Busan 食品業として日本最大の製販一体企業 神戸物産 for frozen veg, pizza bases and tortilla breads. Also they have a good selection of imported foods.

Lastly (for now) you can always hit Kaldi KALDI COFFEE FARM
If you really need a jar of patak's curry paste or some other obscure food item.

And I just remembered. Hit a local indo curry house (normally english speaking) and ask where they buy their lamb. The will usually point you to a local supplier who can not only hit you with lamb (2 kilo for 1,500 yen) but naan bread, pappadoms and other currie goodness.

Oh they finally managed to open?

Make gravy from scratch i'd say; it's dead easy and will always taste better than granules. Plus all then you really need is flour and stock to make it, which are universal.

Although I like a tsp of marmite in mine XD

Yea! It looks like Tesco took over a Japanese chain for the most, but they have some new stores that have a better selection of UK food.
As for the tea, they have a 40 bag for 289 yen line that is of really good quality. The wife now gives these out as gifts to her friends with very good feedback.
Hellmans mayo is about 149 for 400g although I have seen it go as high as 189.

The gravy is a problem, I do like to make it fresh but the granules are so convenient when you need a large amount. I had to gravy up for 8 people and the small amount I managed to make hardly covered 3 people, let alone when they got a taste of it and wanted more. I also like to use the granules to make a base for shepherds pie (as an English party dish), that serves about 6-8 people. So it is hard to make a fresh portion for these types of things.

Oh! and oven cooking has not caught on in Japan. You wil need to recalculate your oven skills to fit in with oven toasters or microwave combi's.

Cool, the stuff about Tesco sounds very promising! Good to know it's there if I need it. Oven cooking... I noticed my potential apartment doesn't have one, could be troublesome for dinner parties. It'll spur me on to find some new recipes I suppose.

Cheers

Hmm, that's odd, we always make too much! I'd say conserve your cooking fat then, over time so when you need to do gravy for 8 you have more fat than just what's been produced in the cooking of the meat for that meal. When my mum does it for large parties, she actually just goes down to the butcher and gets the fat trimmings off of the kidneys, which is usually free as they discard it. Then use a denser stock to conserve the flavor; that should stretch your gravy. Also if you make it the day before and let it sit, it'll usually thicken again, and you can bulk it up a second time with another dose of stock.

This. Although I have discovered you can roast small chicken joints and potatoes in a fish grill!

Any more info on the bars/clubs and how they compare to the UK? Osaka in particular would be great to hear about.

Dinner parties aren't especially a Japanese thing. People tend to go out to eat as a group, so you might actually find not having an oven isn't a problem. You can easily cook a number of things on top of the stove though, and the oven-microwave things aren't too bad, although they don't make cakes that well.

Bars tend to fall into several categories; there are izukaya, which are sort of like pubs with a selection of bar snacks and then maybe a small selection of main dishes. There are what I call hidden bars, which tend to be exclusive and expensive and lurk in the city; the sort that come with a bartender in vest and bowtie. Then there are standard prop bars which might serve peanuts and things, and where you go to drink, and any number of mom-and-pop establishments in-between them and Izukaya. There's also chains of all-you-can eat, and bell-service bar/restaurant type things, but they're more about the food than the drinks.

The main difference between bars in the UK and Japan is that in Japan sometimes you get sa-bisu (service), which is basically an amuse-bouche or free dish/drink. Other places, you get a dish that you didn't order, but which you are still expected to pay for. If it so happens to be the latter, just swallow your pride, pay up (it's only about 200y usually) and make a mental note. The next time you go there, you'll know and can politely turn the dish back before they put it on the table. Making a scene over it will just cause embarrassment and aggravation, so it's not worth it.

Lots of places have picture menus, but some off the beaten track won't, and won't have hiragana either, so try and check a menu outside to ensure you can read it. Otherwise if you're feeling bold a key phrase is おすすめは何ですか or おすすめの〜〜料理はなんですか. I've gone into places where I haven't a hope in hell of reading the all-kanji menu and had some cracking dinners by just getting the waiting staff to choose for me. And of course, carry enough cash as cards still aren't accepted everywhere, and remember tipping isn't common in Japan, so if you leave a tip, they might just chase you down the street thinking you forgot your change!

Clubs, in Osaka the two most infamous are Pure and Sam n Dave's; they are seedy dives aimed at foreigners and most people have found them a miserable night out, especially Pure. There's any number of night clubs around Amemura and right across the city, especially on the South side but be aware entrance fees can be kind of steep. Also trains and buses don't run all night, of course, so bank on being out all night, or budget for a taxi home. Like most clubs, drinks vary from reasonable prices to extortionate, so consider tuning up before going out. I guess it depends on what your tastes are and what you're looking for in a night club.

I think one of the obvious huge differences between Scotland and Kansai is the weather, especially the warmer months. To put it very mildly it is incredibly hot and humid in Osaka from around May to October. If you haven't spent much time in tropical like climates previously your first August will be a killer. This August just gone by the average temperature in Osaka was 30.4 degrees!! (close to 87 F for the metrically challenged). I personally couldn't live down there because of the long, hot and humid summers. That's one reason I'm up in Hokkaido instead!