A month ago the Vivre in town was remodeled and opened to the public. At the time I was so happy to see so many gourmet foods on the shelves. There was (and still is) a shop selling imported foods, and other shops carried some pretty rare items. At the time Kuniko and I both wondered aloud if Okubo was ready for this kind of thing.
As it turns out, the answer seems to be “not quite yet”. Gradually over the past couple of weeks the shelves have quietly shifted away from imported items, and bit by bit are moving back to “normal” Japanese items. The change is gradual, but enough that I really noticed yesterday.
One of the big differences is in the bakery. The first week of opening they had lots of rolls and breads that were made for sandwiches and things – but now most of the breads are sweet and more popular with kids. I asked if they would make some of the breads from the opening for me if I special ordered, but they flat out said “no”.
Luckily the import food store seems to be holding up, and the booze corner is still stocking lots of imported and craft beers, so we should be OK for the time being. Still, it is a little sad to see things starting to return to the products that every other supermarket in Japan sells.
