how do i survive as a gaijin?!

[Columbine]

Not sure what you mean by 'english curry', but curry is dead easy to make in Japan with a little investment in some spices.

Your average curry-from-scratch is simply

meat,
onion (diced)
chili (chopped)
garlic (crushed)
other veg (diced)
tomato paste

and maybe lentils or something for bulk.

if you take yourself off to the su-pa and hunt around you can usually get enough to make up a garam masala; cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamon, black pepper, cloves, coriander seed and bay leaves. if powdered, mix up each time you make a curry, if whole-spices you can measure out the proportions and shove it in a jar. Or make up your own dry mix by adding and taking what you like and don't like. You can also make wet spice pastes with the onion etc already incorporated and freeze them in portions.

But seriously, Japan is much better situated for getting hold of fresh spices than the UK is. I have never seen fresh galangal in a british supermarket (that wasn't a specialist). It was frequently on sale in both Sanko and Topworld in Osaka.

[essex]

Originally Posted by SSJup81

IMO, I think it all depends on what you specifically need. You might can find a good alternative for said products you would get back in your home country. In my case, I don't import anything, 'cept for hair-related stuff since I'm "African-American" and have my hair braided. I might get a food from home every once in a while (my aunt sent me some grits. lol), but that's about it. My folks are sending me certain seasonings I can't seem to find here, and I miss my Wishbone Italian dressing. I just can't find any here (yet) that tastes as good to me as that...yet. So, yeah. I like using that particular dressing for pasta salads. Everything else I put in it I can find here.

Edit: Oh, forgot to mention that I do get deodorant and lotion from home. I have very dry skin, so Japanese lotion doesn't do anything for me.

i am also partial to wishbone. good for pretty much anything. i've even used it on a sandwich

Originally Posted by Columbine

Not sure what you mean by 'english curry', but curry is dead easy to make in Japan with a little investment in some spices.

Your average curry-from-scratch is simply

meat,
onion (diced)
chili (chopped)
garlic (crushed)
other veg (diced)
tomato paste

and maybe lentils or something for bulk.

if you take yourself off to the su-pa and hunt around you can usually get enough to make up a garam masala; cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamon, black pepper, cloves, coriander seed and bay leaves. if powdered, mix up each time you make a curry, if whole-spices you can measure out the proportions and shove it in a jar. Or make up your own dry mix by adding and taking what you like and don't like. You can also make wet spice pastes with the onion etc already incorporated and freeze them in portions.

But seriously, Japan is much better situated for getting hold of fresh spices than the UK is. I have never seen fresh galangal in a british supermarket (that wasn't a specialist). It was frequently on sale in both Sanko and Topworld in Osaka.

awesome! thanks for the advice!

[Columbine]

Originally Posted by essex

i am also partial to wishbone. good for pretty much anything. i've even used it on a sandwich

awesome! thanks for the advice!

No problem, let me know if you want actual quantities/proportions.

[essex]

Originally Posted by Columbine

No problem, let me know if you want actual quantities/proportions.

that would be awesome! busy for a couple days... but i'll probably bother you for them in a lil bit!

[Sangetsu]

Originally Posted by essex

any other english speakers living in japan have any tips on where to get foreign stuff on the cheap, or how to generally not go insane living in such a different place?

... or especially anything to reduce the cost of living.

As Japan is a western nation by any definition but it's location, I don't find it all that different from America or Europe. The people look different, and they speak a different language, but Japan shares a great many things with the rest of western society.

I actually have no problem keeping my sanity here, provided I keep myself busy and live an active life.

As for the cost of living, there are two ways to deal with it; either spend less money, or try to earn more of it. After limited success with the former, I chose the latter, it's better to prosper than to merely survive.

Being a foreigner is difficult as it's pretty much impossible to fit in with the normal routine of things in Japanese life. The salaryman's life is all but an impossibility, but that's not a bad thing, who wants to be one of those "soshoku" wimps anyway? Being a foreigner, you live outside the box, and you can see things in ways that most Japanese cannot. There are opportunities available to foreigners that are not available (or simply aren't visible) to many Japanese. Find a niche and work in it.

I started a small export business a few months ago, and it has added a lot to my income. It started as a hobby, and has grown to the point that it has make me less dependent on my teaching job (which I still like). I hope to go into business for myself full-time after another year or two.

If I need American goods, I can get them online at the Foreign Buyers Club, or I can simply go to Costco. Costco is the only place in Japan which has decent pizza, it's twice as big as the pizzas you get from Japanese "pizza" restaurants, and costs half as much. The annual Costco membership is 4000 yen, but you'll save that much money if you buy 3 pizzas in a year instead of buying them from Pizza-la. Costco also sells quite a few foreign food products, such as beef, pork, and chicken from America, and the other goods usually cost 40% less than what Japanese stores charge for the same items.

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by Sangetsu

The annual Costco membership is 4000 yen, but you'll save that much money if you buy 3 pizzas in a year instead of buying them from Pizza-la. Costco also sells quite a few foreign food products, such as beef, pork, and chicken from America, and the other goods usually cost 40% less than what Japanese stores charge for the same items.

You don`t have to have a membership to shop at Costco. You can buy gift certificates and use them for one day entry - saving you the yearly membership costs... Which are really high if you only go a few times a year (ie. You don`t live anywhere near one)

[Polar]

Originally Posted by MMM

Where I live now in the US is one of the few places in our area (if not the only place) where the water is not fluoridated. It means we are careful about toothpaste and mouthwash and our local dentist recommends kids up to 12 take fluoride pills.

Someone take the movie Dr Strangelove too seriously there ?

[dirtyroboto]

Just a quick tip on tortillas, Kobe Busan has a 12 pack for 198 yen. In Kaldi they are 498.
Also Kobe Busan does pizza bases 7 pack for 198.

[Misericordias]

One of the best things I found out just recently is that the markets around where I live have usually 20-50% off on their bentos when it's time for them to close. So instead of buying a lunch the next day for 500 yen, I just buy a 250 yen bento the night before. Of course, I am not too sure if all markets have this deal, but if you can find one, it'll help save a lot of money.