A Bit Of Fun Shopping

 Recently, the only shopping I do is grocery shopping. It's turned into a rather stressful chore that needs to be done!  The main stress is from the price of everyday things. I'm spending more now to feed four of us than when there were six of us!  I know that when we were a family of six, the kids were little, but I would buy things that I now consider luxury items, fresh fruit or ice cream, come to mind. My shopping now is very basic things, a bit of meat, chicken, maybe fish sometimes. Basic vegetables, always seasonal, as they are cheaper. Then the daily necessities, like milk, bread, eggs, and sausages. Nothing fancy. I can pick up 20 items and pay over 7,000 yen, about £35, that would be for three days!  Also, I go to two or three different supermarkets, one has cheap meat but the fish is expensive and never looks or smells very fresh, another has good deals on vegetables but milk and eggs are expensive, and then another for all the things I couldn't get at the first two shops! It is exhausting and rather frustrating!

Today we went to a shopping mall. I usually don't bother with these places, too much walking, and the supermarkets there are a lot more expensive than the other places. But I saw on Facebook that there's a coffee/ import shop that had English brand tea!  I buy cheap tea, it's okay, but I really wanted something a bit special. Also, these stores are good for Christmas food, and yes, I know it's only August, but this is one way I survive the summer, by planning Christmas!

The mall was a 30-minute drive from here. We had to cross the river, I was shocked at how low the water was.

I think we need some rain.

Since those awful thunderstorms the other week, we haven't had any rain. The forecast is for some this week. I hope it rains as it does cool things down a bit!

The first thing I noticed at the mall was the flood barrier. This mall is close to a river, not the one in the photo!  The problem is that the river is higher than the mall. Christopher worked at this mall. During the rainy season that year, the river burst its banks and flooded the mall; the water came up to Christopher's knees. He was working at the bookstore and said that all the books on the lower shelves were damaged. Because of this, Christopher lost his job!  He had only just started to work there. This was the second year in a row that the mall had flooded, so I think that the insurance couldn't cover the damage. The store had to find a way to save money, so maybe that is why Christopher lost his job!

Now the mall has these barriers at the entrance.

These barriers pull across the entrance during floods.

I wonder if they work!

I managed to find the store that I wanted to go to. It was smaller than I thought, but they had the tea.

English tea

I'm looking forward to a cup of real English tea.

We had a little wander around and found Muji. This is a lovely store that has a minimalistic design philosophy. They sell a wide range of goods. I'm always drawn to stationery goods and kitchen goods. I bought myself a couple of nice pens.

Nice pens

I also bought Christopher a new T-shirt.

Of course, green.

I had a look at a few things for David's birthday. I think I'll have to go back there to get him something.

I had a look in the supermarket, it was expensive, but I came across a small corner of plant-based items. This is something that is only just catching on in Japan. I saw these noodles.

Vegan

Somehow, they don't look very appetizing!

On the way out, I caught the back end of a train that goes around the mall. The kids love it!

Train ride around the mall.

I tried to get some video on the way back, but Mikey was driving very fast! I really liked the trees that have been planted along the road. The red flowers were very beautiful!

As you can see, the mall is in the middle of the countryside!

I had a nice afternoon, but I was so tired after!