Supermarket package of boiled firefly squid

Little snack… big adventure??

There are relatively few things that I won’t eat (or at least try)–just ask my closest friend Claire, who I once dragged to Miya’s Sushi in Stamford, Connecticut just so we could eat their “invasive species” sushi dinner–so when, the other day, I was wandering around Life Supermarket and came across a little package of what looked like tiny purple squid in the seafood section, I was immediately intrigued.

Yakitori chicken stand in Japan at street food vendor market

Little differences, part 3

So many little surprises that keep popping up, almost every day. It’s a delight. (Continued from last time…)

  • Japanese people are exceedingly polite. You will hear arigato gozaimasu (which, to my untrained ear, typically sounds more like “are-EE-gah-toh-DYE-mass-soo”) many times daily. I still need to learn how to say “I’m sorry”/”excuse me” since my copious and corpulent Western body is certain to cause some disasters that have yet to occur.
Street view of Maruzen in Nihonbashi

Nihonbashi: Maruzen & Takashimaya

Back in the United States, I’m one of the owners of Huxley & Hiro, an independent bookstore in Wilmington, Delaware, where I also live. So, I have a vested curiosity in bookstores of all kinds, since it’s crucial for business owners to constantly innovate, pivot, and update their practices. I’m sure I’ll be visiting a lot of bookstores while I’m here in Japan, but I started by seeking out Maruzen, which I had read had a large selection of books in English.