Cute and Expensive

We are staying in Sakai, about 20 minutes by train away from the center of Osaka. Sakai might be considered a small city within the greater Osaka area. Like many things in Japan, there is a certain dualism at play around here. On one side, Sakai might be considered suburban when compared to the tight and extremely busy streets of main Osaka. On the other hand, despite some mini gardens, rice fields, and numerous ponds, there are plenty of urban amenities within easy reach.

Still, one way to determine how urban you are is by your proximity to the train station. For example, above is the view from the last station on the train line that we use if we want to go to the main city. Any further travels from this station would have to be done by car, bus, bicycle, or... walking. In other words, if you are close to a train station you are easily connected to all things urban.

 

 

 

Whether in a big urban shopping mall or in a small local grocery store, you won't have to look hard to find things that were made to look cute. As in the above picture, just a couple of stickers was all that was needed to make watermelons stand out. However, it is not all about looks. I've eaten plenty of Japanese watermelons and they tasted just great, but some Japanese people are really eager for high-quality taste. The smaller watermelons of different types and perhaps from different regions are all reasonably priced, between 1200 and 1500 yen ($12 - $15). The watermelons on the right are fairly big in size and even larger in price. For each large one be prepared to pay 5000 yen (about $50). In the past, I also saw some small watermelons that were 15000 yen (about $150) each! Cute or not, it might be awhile before I try those.

 

 

 

Upon selecting your cute watermelons, or whatever else, you can proceed to one of the cash registers that are differentiated not by a number but by a cute stuffed toy animal. Of course, many stores still use numbers for their cash registers, but these stuffed toys are a good example of pervasive cuteness so prevalent in Japanese society. When done paying for the groceries (or in my case staring at the stuffed animals) you are expected to take a basket with your groceries to one of the tables behind cash registers. Typically, in Japanese grocery stores customers do their own bagging. Also, the cashiers don't ask if you prefer paper or plastic; you are expected to either use plastic bags or bring your own reusable bag... probably with some cute design.