Alex Quinn's Japan Journal
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10/24/2004, Costco, Kangaku (university)I took a trip out to Costco. There are several in Japan. The closest one requires an hour and a half train ride and a mile walk (or cab ride) from the station to the Costco. The round-trip train fair is about $37. So, it's not exactly convenient, but it's awful nice to have around. The peculiar thing is that it feels almost exactly like a Costco from Washington State. It's like they picked up the one near Safeco Field (in Seattle) and dropped it in Japan. Same brands, same pizza, same hot dogs, same signs (in English and Japanese). When you come here, your Costco card will work there. I got a Costco card yesterday for $46. It will work in the US, too. But it's really weird, walking around. I felt like I was back in the US. For a minute, I started getting chills. It was weird. Then, I realized it was reminding me of the time just before I came to Japan when I was moving and everything was crazy. Just then, I walked by a stack of the exact same crates I used to store my stuff. Really eery. I think about 70% of the merchandise is the same American stuff you find in Washington state. Then, about 30% is Japanese stuff. It seems like a good balance. And the prices are roughly comparable. It's maybe 10 or 15% higher here, but I can live with that. It sure beats the rest of the prices for foreign goods. That's for sure! Sorry, no pictures of the Costco. However, I did see some decent pictures on the web. Try this one at globalcompassion.com. After that, I went out to Kangaku, a university in Osaka. I just walked around. Basically sightseeing. I went with my friend, Akemi. She studied economics there. Rachel (a friend back home in Seattle) also studied economics there, so it was a neat coincidence to have two friends in different countries who studied in the same department at the same university.
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