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What's up with Japanese Vegetables?
One… I just recently got back from my second long stay in Japan. I've spent time in Tokyo, Kyoto, and all around Oita Prefecture as well as Hokkaido. There are so many things I love about the culture!
One thing I've noticed everywhere I've visited l is that in every grocery store, no matter what, there is the exact same set of vegetables available. They are all very homogeneous in size/shape, especially the carrots. They are even all in the same packaging and quantities.
I'm from the US and for the most part, there is a good amount of variation in what produce is available and how it looks depending on where you live and what kind of store you're at.
Does anyone know anything about the farming industry in Japan? Are these vegetables even grown in Japan or are they imported from China? Why do they all look the same? And is there anywhere in Japan to get more 'farmers market' type local produce that is more natural looking.
oh yeah the homogeneity thing is real. japanese carrots especially are like clones lol. most regular supermarket veg is domestic actually, not from china, but it's all contract farmed for JA (Japan Agricultural Cooperatives) so they have strict size and shape standards. anything ugly gets rejected or sold cheap as "b-grade" at places like gyomu super or yamaya.
for the weird looking stuff you gotta hit up a local shotengai early morning or a proper farmers market. there's one at uniqlo's old hq in harajuku on weekends, also a good one at the tokyo farmers market in aoyama. if you're near oita again the direct-sale stands (jikuhanjo) outside farms are the best bet for wonky shaped daikon and bent carrots.
the whole system is basically efficient but kinda sad because it creates a ton of food waste. japanese consumers expect perfect produce so farmers grow for that, but the misshapen stuff tastes just as good if not better.
yeah the contract farming thing is spot on but another layer is that japan's vegetable distribution system is basically built around the central wholesale markets. everything goes through places like toyosu or ota market first, gets sorted by quality, then trickles down to stores. the supermarkets don't want to deal with sorting through a box of 20 different looking carrots so they just order the standardized stuff. the national chain stores like seiyu or life are especially bad about this.
for the funky stuff, try your local co-op if you can find one. places like pal system or green coop do direct farmer delivery boxes and you get way more variety, sometimes with dirt still on the roots. also the fruit & veg shops in shitamachi areas, like the ones along yanaka ginza, still buy from small farmers who don't go through the major wholesale routes. the produce looks different and changes with what's actually in season rather than the year-round identical stuff at the supermarket.
Where can I find crispy, pan-fried bacon similar to a certain international style?
if u have a costco membership the kirkland thick cut is the move, 4 packs of 500g for around 2500 yen and it crisps up proper in a cold pan. for smaller runs, precce in azabudai hills & the basement at isetan shinjuku both carry imported US & danish brands in the chilled case, just read the label for "thick cut" or "smoked" and not "loin". also worth knowing japanese bacon is often wet-cured so pat it dry before frying or it steams instead of crisping
kaldi coffee farm is hit or miss but their smoked bacon from denmark shows up pretty regular, the 200g pack runs about 600 yen. what actually works better for me is asking the butcher counter at peacock or life to slice the block bacon thick, like 5mm, they do it for free and it crisps way better than the pre-packed stuff. also fwiw cheap bacon crisps faster, the fatty supermarket kind at 300 yen a pack works fine if u cook it from cold in a dry pan and pour off the fat as it renders.
tbh the gyomu super store brand bacon is surprisingly decent for crisping up, its not thick cut but if you cook it low and slow it gets pretty crunchy. the key is the dry cure vs wet cure thing, wet cure steams. also check hanamasa if you have one nearby, they sell big packs of american style bacon thats actually smoked and firm.
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