← Clotheshorse with Amanda Lee McCarty
Clotheshorse with Amanda Lee McCarty
Episode 217: Clotheshorse in Japan: Konbini, Egg Salad, and A Love for Denny's
01:05:38
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- [00:00]
Amanda Lee McCarty
Foreign. Welcome to Clothes Horse, the podcast that is in Japan right now. I'm your host, Amanda, and This is episode 22 17, recorded in Kyoto, Japan. Literally here in my hotel room. I've got my 711 coffee, I'm in my nightgown, and I'm recording an episode with y'all. And I'll be honest, I had planned on writing and recording this episode last week when I was in the mountains in Hakone, Japan. But I was just too filled with grief and anger about the election in the United States. And I just couldn't get it together. I couldn't focus. I was too upset. I couldn't write. I certainly couldn't get up and talk to you about anything useful other than how upset I was. And to be clear, I'm still going through the stages of grief right now. And I wake up every few hours throughout the night. And after my brain sort of fully turns itself on, I am confronted by this sense of fear and. And despair and overwhelming rage. It makes it really difficult to go back to sleep. And I will say, it is the one thing about my trip where I just wish. I wish so much that Dustin were here with me. I think that would make me feel a lot better. But I also made the plan for this trip knowing that this might happen while I was here. So it's giving me time to think a lot about it. And I'll just say, if you're feeling like I am right now, know that you are not alone. I can't stop thinking about what we do next. I don't have the answers yet. I do know that all of us are an important part of what happens next. That's you, me, that's everyone we love. And we can. We. We can make things okay. I don't know how yet, but I know we can. That's not what this episode is about. And while my antics in Japan feel silly and kinda stupid in comparison to everything else in the world, I promised you some Japan episodes. And I think we need rest, relaxation, and a brain break. So here goes. Let's talk about Japan. So what has happened on my trip so far? I've been here for a couple weeks now. Well, I still work just about every day. I wake up at 5 or 6am I work for my clients until about noon. Then I go out in the world. When I come back to the hotel at night, I work a little bit more. Then I go to bed. I haven't watched a single movie or television show since I got here. I've read six Books. So far I've done a lot of writing and thinking. I've remembered random stories from my life and I reflected on them and of course I've done a lot of exploring. So many steps, so many steps have been gotten in every day here. Usually somewhere in the range of, I don't know, 20,000. So it's been, it's been good actually to just walk around a lot and look at people and look at things and listen to people. I don't wear headphones while I'm out in the world. I want to hear birds, I want to hear cars, I want to hear people, I want to hear all of it. And it's been amazing. It's been good for my brain despite everything else going on in the world right now. And I'm very, very grateful for it. Whenever I start to get really depressed, angry, sad, all of these things, I remind myself that I grew up in a trailer park in rural America and a person like me was gonna be lucky to even leave the state. And here I am half a world away for a whole month. That's amazing. That's amazing. I can't believe it. Yeah, so I just remind myself of that all the time. How incredible this is. I'll tell you that within hours of arriving in Tokyo, I got on the wrong train. I almost ended up in Yokohama. It's a whole thing with special express and regular express and if you've been here you, you know, there's like semi rapid and all this other stuff. And anyway it's like, wow, we haven't stopped on this train for a really long time. Oh shit. I just looked at Google Maps and we are moving very far away from where I need to go. Had to jump off at the next stop, carry my luggage up all these stairs and then back down to the other platform, get another train. And so what would have been an hour long trip from the airport to my hotel turned into close to four by the time I got in. I was proud of myself for staying calm and getting through it all on zero sleep. But I also reminded myself I've learned a very important life lesson here. Pay attention to what train you're getting on. It's not as simple as that's the right direction. It's so much more than that. And knock on wood, haven't gotten on the wrong train again since. What else? I have gone to a lot of art museums. Art to me is so important for our emotional and intellectual well being. And there are a lot of incredible art museums here. I've gone To a ton of them. When I was in Tokyo, I took these long daily walks through Ueno park, which is just this massive park that was established in 1873. It's full of temples and shrines, museums, a big lake. There's a zoo that I'll never visit because I'm not a zoo person. I have a lot of sad feelings about zoos. But I know there are pandas there, and there are always lots of really cute kids in line to go in. There is a lot of great people watching. There are so many birds. On my second day here, I was walking through the park and all these men were surrounding a tree with really elaborate cameras with, like, huge telephoto lenses. And I was like, oh, like, what are these men? What are they photographing? Is there a celebrity around here? Like, what's going on? I followed their eyes up into the tree. Tree. And there was just a really funny, huge, beautiful crow, perhaps raven, up there. And they were just photographing him. And I will say the crows here, I think they probably are ravens. I really should look this up. They have these huge beaks that look very dangerous. They're huge. And they make this sound that is not dissimilar to American crows, but sounds a little bit more like a seal barking. And they are really funny. Every time I see one, I just have to watch them for a while and they are so cool. I love birds. I really love all of the birds in the corvid family. So I get excited about the crows here. So, yeah, lots of great birds in Wayno Park. And here's what's really cool. At night, the crickets in Wayno park are really, really loud. And so it's just so beautiful and dreamy to walk through the park at night. The evenings here have been very warm. And you hear the crickets. And there are people just quietly walking around or hanging out on benches, speaking to one another quietly, or just laying down, looking at the sky. And you hear these crickets. And the lights from the shrines are just sort of warm. And it. I don't know, it reminds me, actually. Deep cut, deep nerd cut here. There's this video game that I love called We Love Katamari. It's, you know, it takes place in Japan. You roll around this ball, rolling things up. I just made it sound so boring, but it's actually so fun. And there's a level where you roll up, roll up fireflies. And it has that sort of vibe to it. I can't explain it. It's just very cozy and Dreamy. And I love walking around there at night. So I've been doing a lot of that for a few days. Like I mentioned at the beginning, I was up in the mountains in Hakone and I stayed in this very fancy hotel where I had my own onsen tub, like mineral bath, hot spring tub on the balcony overlooking the river. Which was incredible because here in Japan in most onsen you can't go in if you have tattoos and I'm covered with them. So I've never been to an onsen. So I got to have a look. My own little personal experience. Pulling down the blinds, filling up the tub, laying down and hearing the river rushing by outside. It was so nice. And when I checked in, they gave me these little chunks of fragrant wood to put in the water and it was just amazing. I don't normally have the opportunity to stay in hotels like this, but I used my credit card points and it was amazing. No regrets, very cozy, super nice bed, good food. I'm glad I did it. But I will tell you that Google Maps, I think maybe tried to have me killed when I was in Hakone and maybe it was because of my episode about AI. I'm joking guys, I don't believe that. But it was the epic Google Map fail which happens when you're traveling for sure. It's not the last one I experienced, certainly wasn't the first. So when I booked this hotel I was like, okay, it's an 11 minute walk from the station. It's nice and flat. It looks really easy. Cool. This is the one I'm gonna choose. As we are ascending the mountain, getting closer and closer to Hakone and we stop at stations. I'm starting to feel like. And I'm like telling myself this just could be the perspective of what it looks like from the train tracks. It might be different, but I'm starting to feel like the river, which is where I know I need to go because I know that my room is overlooking the river and kind of the rest of these towns, they seem to be all down the mountain from the station. I'm starting to get nervous about how I'm going to get my big old suitcase and my backpack full of electrical electronics down the side of a mountain like this. But I'm like, okay, well you know, Google maps said it's 11 minute walk, can't be that bad, blah, blah, blah. I get off the train and Google Maps takes me on the most terrifying hair raising, heart pounding journey down this mountain, winding mountain road with about 2ft of shoulder on each side. And there I am with my suitcase and talking steep, steep road. So I have to use all of my physical strength to prevent my suitcase from just pulling me down the mountain. I kind of messed up my knee a little bit in the process of this, and I'm just winding down this road. There are multiple terrifying times where I have to try to cross this road. There's gravel, there's hills. It's scary as shit. I finally make it to the bottom. I realized that there was actually, and I'm not saying this would have necessarily been better because it was stairs, but there are stairs that go the whole way through the town that take you from the station down to the river that I could have taken, but Google Maps seem to not know about those. Thanks, Google Maps. I survived. But I will tell you, if any of you tell me you are pushing a suitcase down a windy mountain road with no shoulder, or I find out that Dylan is doing this, I'm going to be really angry. So that was Hakone. It was beautiful. I wish I wouldn't have been so sad. I saw some great art there. I like I said, soaked in a tub. That saved me, I think. I think that kept me going. After that, I went to Nagoya, where I met Christine of Lady Hog Vintage. And we took some epic day trips, all via a complex series of trains, usually three trains each way, to see art, to make fake food. The next episode from Japan will be about fake food. Don't worry. It was so fun. Obviously a big day for me. And we also visited an awesome pair of retro museums way up in the mountains in a beautiful town called Yakohama. I really want to go back there again with Dustin because it was awesome. Now I'm in Kyoto here in my hotel room talking to all of you. One thing that has been a constant of my trip, no matter where I've been, is is visiting the convenience store known as Konbini here in Japan. That's K o n B I n I Kunbini. And it's a good time to tell you that I low key feel like I kind of grew up in convenience stores back home. My mom worked in them for a really long time when she was in school in college and I was in early elementary school. She would work the overnight shift while she was going to school, and my brother and I would usually sleep in the car while she worked later. She, you know, after she graduated from college, she went on to work as an accountant for a few years. It turned out she hated Working in an office, hated working at a desk, perhaps hated accounting. So she went back to working in convenience stores and worked as a manager and, you know, moved kind of up the ranks a little bit there. So we were always, we were always at the store with her. She would let us stay, stock the milk in the cooler, put out the new shipments of candy. Sometimes we would just be sitting in the back doing our homework or reading. My first actual, like, paying job as a teenager, like legit with a W too, not just babysitting, was in a convenience store. And I rang up cigarettes and gas. I made to go sandwiches. I actually cut my finger on the meat slicer while, interestingly enough, slicing iceberg lettuce. And I had to go get stitches. Baby's first workman's comp claim. I suppose. I would place the orders every week for the grocery and health and beauty aisles. I. I actually really liked working in the convenience store. It was busy. You felt like you were doing something useful like that, maybe helped people a little bit, but at least, you know, you were providing a service that people needed. And the days went really, really fast. It was predictable. It was nice. There was comfort in it. I actually liked it more, I think, than working at Urban Outfitters folding T shirts, to be completely honest. So I have, I have spent a lot of time in these convenience stores, but as an adult, I don't, I don't spend a lot of time at convenience stores because they just aren't a part of my life in the same way, I think part of them. I associate them way too much with my mom, which is kind of traumatic, as you know. And to be honest, spending all that time in convenience stores as a kid and for my first job, it left a bad taste in my mouth regarding convenience stores like they have. They feel so predatory to me. The surcharge for convenience is very expensive for necessary items like medicine, diapers and tampons, and okay, fine, convenience, whatever, it costs more. But when it's your only option for getting those things because of access, geography, income level, all of these things, those prices are brutal, right? And in a food desert, the ridiculous prices of the grocery items, well, they. That feels like an extra tax on poor people. It's. It's really expensive, as they say, to be poor. And it's very, very true. My convenience store job was in Steelton, Pennsylvania, which is a little town right outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and it was once a thriving steel mill town. Seriously, the steel mill runs the entire length of the town. It's like on one side of the road and then the, up the hill on the other side of the road, like the whole way up are the houses, the churches, the, the schools, all that stuff. And it's like the, literally the houses and everything, they align with the length of the steel mill and then the town ends where the steel mill ends. By the time I started working at a convenience store in the middle of town in high school, only a small portion of the mill was still in use. And that meant the rest of the town was beyond poor now, because the best and only job in town, here's a town that exists solely for workers to live in who go to work at the steel mill. And then those jobs are gone. People were so poor because there was nothing left. There was no supermarket. The closest one that I can picture in my memory here would have been at least a 30 minute bus ride away, if not longer. Probably you'd have to take a bus into Harrisburg and then switch at the bus mall and take another bus. If you have kids, if you don't have a lot of time because you work a lot, if you're disabled, this is just not an option. And that means that most of the people in Steelton had to get their groceries at Rite Aid, which is a drugstore, or the Family dollar or the convenience store where I worked. And that meant that they didn't have access to fresh fruits and vegetables. At least my employers sold bananas and we would sell a lot of them. But all the groceries we sold were super expensive, way more expensive than getting them even at the family dollar, but probably not more expensive than getting them at Rite Aid. And even at the family dollar, those groceries are more expensive than if you could go to a real grocery store. And you know, I, I have experienced this level of poverty and excess myself in my adult life. And believe it or not, it was in the first year few years that I was working as a buyer for Urban Outfitters in Philadelphia. I was being paid so little that after rent and other bills, I had no money for groceries and I didn't have a car. So what I would do is I would take the subway into Center City where there was a dollar tree, where everything was a dollar. And I would get my groceries there. I would get a can of vegetables, I would get a box of pasta. This is before I knew I had celiac disease. And I would get a can of tuna and I would go home and mix that all up, maybe put some. I can't believe it's not butter on it or whatever. The fake butter at Dollar Tree was called. And that meal would have to last me for at least two meals, if not three, you know, total cost there, $3. And I can say there at least, and this is by no means me standing for the Dollar Tree, because I have a lot of issues with the dollar store industry, but I could say at least the prices felt accessible. Is a dollar for a can of vegetables too high? Perhaps. But it was something that I could afford, and I think a lot about that desperation and how I couldn't afford the grocery stores that were in town and how I didn't have access to any food outside of town. And it takes me back to Steelton, the people who live there and who had to go to the drugstore or the dollar store or the convenience store to get all the food they ate in a regular day. And so not only were the options not great, but they were paying so much more for that food. And it just. It makes me so angry. And so I guess I do. I have a lot of negative feelings about convenience stores, but here in Japan, I eat a lot of food from Konbini, the convenience stores, often at least one meal a day. I do worry about the plastic waste of takeout food. So I'm trying to eat in restaurants more often now. I prefer coffee shops, which are not like. I mean, yes, there's Starbucks here, but coffee shops here, you actually sit down, someone takes your order, It's. There's table service. You're not going there to get like a Frappuccino or something. They don't even usually have. Have a takeout counter. But what I like is a lot of these coffee shops will have, like a set meal where you get, like an entree and a little tiny salad and a coffee. It's usually under $10, and it's pretty solid. So if I'm gonna go to a restaurant alone especially, and just read a book and eat, I like that. But eating in a restaurant a lot is a massive adjustment for me as a person who almost never eats in restaurants back home. In fact, I can afford to come to Japan because I don't eat out, I don't drink. I believe I buy most of my groceries at discount grocery outlets. And I do a lot of cooking. So eating in a lot of restaurants starts to feel really uncomfortable for me after a while. And sometimes I just want to eat in my hotel room while I read a book. Like, I'm overstimulated. I just need some chill vibes. The convenience foods are great for this. I get my food, I come back to my hotel room. I sit down, I read a book. It's nice.
- [21:28]
Dustin Travis White
Let's take a moment to thank some of the incredible small businesses who keep clothes horse going via their generous Patreon support. Selena Sanders A social impact brand that specializes in upcycle clothing using only reclaimed, vintage or thrifted materials from tea towels, linens, blankets and quilts. Sustainably crafted in Los Angeles, each piece is designed to last in one's closet for generations to come. Maximum style Minimal carbon footprint. Shift clothing out of beautiful Astoria, Oregon with a focus on natural fibers, simple hard working designs and putting fat people first. Discover more@shiftwheeler.com late to the party Creating one of a kind statement clothing from vintage salvaged and thrifted textiles. They hope to tap into the dreamy memories we all hold. Floral curtains, a childhood dress, the wallpaper in your best friend's rec room. All while creating modern, sustainable garments that you'll love wearing and have for years to come. Late to the Party is passionate about celebrating and preserving textiles, the memories they hold and the stories they have yet to tell. Check them out on Instagram 8 to the party people vino vintage based just outside of LA, we love the hunt of shopping secondhand because you never know what you might find. Catch us at flea markets around Southern Californ by following us on Instagram. Vino Vintage so you don't miss our next event. Dylan Paige is an online clothing and lifestyle brand based out of St. Louis, Missouri. Our products are chosen with intention for the conscious community. Everything we carry is animal friendly, ethically made, sustainably sourced and cruelty free. Dylan Paige is for those who never stop questioning where something comes from. We know that personal experience dictates what's sustainable for you and we are here to help, guide and support you to make choices that fit your needs. Check us out@dylanpage.com and find us on Instagram ylanpage life and style Salt Hats Purveyors of truly sustainable hats, hand blocked, sewn and embellished in Detroit, Michigan. Find us on Instagram at Salt Hats Gentle Vibes Vintage we are purveyors of polyester and psychedelic relics. We encourage experimentation and play not only in your wardrobe but in your home too. We have thousands of killer vintage pieces ready for their next adventure. See them all on Instagram. Entlevibesvintage Thumbprint is Detroit's only fair trade marketplace. Located in the historic Eastern market. Our small business specializes in products handmade by empowered women in South Africa making a living wage creating things they love like hand painted candles and ceramics. We also carry a curated assortment of sustainable and natural locally made goods. Thumbprint is a great gift destination for both the special people in your life and for yourself. Browse our online store@thumbprintdetroit.com and find us on Instagram thumbprintdetroit. Vagabond Vintage DTLV is a vintage clothing, accessories and decor reselling business based in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. Not only do we sell in Las Vegas, but we're also located throughout resale markets in San Francisco as well as at a curated boutique called Lux and Ivy located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Jessica, the founder and owner of Vagabond Vintage DTLV recently opened the first IRL location located in the Arts District of downtown Las Vegas on August 5th. The shop has a strong emphasis on 60s and 70s garments, single stitch tees and dreamy loungewear. Follow them on Instagram vagabondvintagedtlv and keep an eye out for their website. Coming fall of 2022.
- [25:32]
Amanda Lee McCarty
Now if we were back home and I said I ate at 7:11 every day, you would be worried because a 7:11 diet in the United States would be nachos and to be fair they are delicious. It would be hot dogs and it would be chips. I can't decide if I am more nervous about my blood pressure in that situation or my digestive tract because I have a sensit tummy. Okay, my friends and I'd probably be pooping my pants. But the good news is I'm not pooping my pants because Konbini are different here in Japan. And I'm here to tell you that I love konbini food. From the ubiquitous and beloved egg salad sandwiches, the rice balls known as onigiri, the tiny little parfaits, the seasonal hot items, noodle bowls, salads, iced coffee machine, canned highball cocktails. So much more. You kind of never run out of things to eat at the Conbini. Whether you're in the big city or out in a rural area, it always seems like you can find one. It's the first place I go after I check into my hotel. Seriously. It's like a tradition that Dustin and I have gotten into. We always stay at the same hotel in Tokyo. It's called the Hotel Graphi Neizu. Five stars. Highly recommended. It's not expensive, it's got a cool vibe, really good breakfast and it's in this quiet old neighborhood near the park and There is a 711 just a 5 minute walk away so we will always get in take check into the hotel Drop off our stuff and immediately. Because if we sit down, we might fall asleep. At that point. We walk over to 711 and we load up. We get egg salad sandwiches because we've been pining away for them, right? Dustin always gets a canned highball. We get onigiri to put in the refrigerator to eat later. Dustin really loves the cold noodles. I immediately get a salad. I just love salad, guys. Okay. I like a mixture of textures. We'll stock up and go back to our hotel room and kind of chill out, eat food and try to stay awake until at least 8pm, take a shower, all that stuff. It's great. And of course, as soon as I got in on this trip, that's what I did. I got myself a little dessert. I got myself an egg salad sandwich. I got myself an onigiri. I got myself some coffee because I make pour over coffee every morning. I have this great fold up, it's like metal snow, peak travel coffee filter thing. And I just get some 711 coffee and I make it every morning. And I do that because I have a lot of rage about disposable coffee cups. You know, we do what we can, right? So I get all this stuff and like I got all that stuff and I came back to my hotel and it wasn't as fun without Dustin, but it was still pretty great to eat an egg salad sandwich and just be like, ah, I'm here. I also love these rice crackers that you can get at all the conbini that are both salty and sweet. And I'm almost out and as we're talking about it, I'm like, okay, I gotta go get some of those today. Yeah, so conbini are great. The western tourists love konbini for sure, right? We all rave about it. Ask any friend who's been to Japan. And they will gush about the sandwiches, the canned cocktails, the smoothies, and the bread filled with mayonnaise, corn and cheese. Yes, it is delicious. They'll tell you that that's where you need to go. You need to go to 711 because the ATMs accept international debit cards. True story. They'll talk about the fried chicken and little bento boxes and all of the snacks that feel novel to us back home like Pocky and Pretz. But the reality is that the Japanese love their konbini too. There are about 56,000 convenience stor in Japan and they have become such an intrinsic part of Japanese life, it's kind of hard to imagine it without them. The Japanese call them reizoko no Kowari, meaning substitute fridges. And like I said, they are everywhere. I've been to super tiny tiny towns here and there's one maybe in town and everyone goes there. There was one one trip where we were on Naoshima, which is an island in the Saito Inland Sea. You get there via ferry and we've been there a few times now because we love it so much. You like get in on the ferry, you rent a bike for just a few yen, and you ride around the island all day. And people live there. It's a real town, it's a small town. And there's one 711 on the island. And on one particular trip we just had to happen to time it not well. Perhaps because there are certain days of the week where all the restaurants in town are closed. And to be honest, the restaurants aren't open that late anyway. So we ended up having to eat at 7:11 more than I maybe would have cared for. And because it was the only 711 on the island. And there are lots of other people there too who wanted food. And all the food came via truck on the ferry once a day we saw it be delivered and unloaded. It was so interesting to see it all go down. If you waited too late in the day, there was nothing left to eat. And the first day we definitely learned that lesson the hard way. I found myself eating, I'll just say pushing my experimentation a little bit more than I normally would. I have a lot of weird issues with food textures, but there I was saying, sure, I'll eat this chicken in a tartar sauce mixed with bonito over rice with some unidentified other object in there with it. I'll just eat that. So definitely tried some new things. Did learn some new favorites while I was there. But you would have to go in there and be really decisive. Like no hemming and hauling. Just if you see something you like, grab it. Because a minute later someone else might grab it. It was intense that trip. I got a little burned out on conbini food because it was our only option for so many days. But in general, the convenience is there for you and there is almost always something that you can eat and will enjoy eating. Before we understand how convenience stores became such a big deal here, we have to go all the way back to 1920 when Ito Yokado opened its stores. Ito Yokado makes all of the department stores and big box stores in the United States look like amateur hour because they are a combination of a Target style big big box store and a Grocery store, fine, we see this a lot. But they are also a shopping center and they're massive. They tend to be located near rail stations like most department stores here in Japan. In fact, in the cities, the train stations are often surrounded by and connected to several malls. Sometimes there's even one in the basement and another mall in the floors above the train station. These are malls, department stores, large food courts, grocery stores, drugstores, and even hotels. Some of the big train lines here even own their own chain of department stores. It makes sense because the train system here is sophisticated, it's reliable and it's expansive. You can get just about anywhere via train and it's also reasonably affordable and comfortable. I've probably taken 50 trains since I arrived here a few weeks ago. From tiny rural trains with just two cars to subways in the big city, regional rail lines within the city and the suburbs, and of course the hyper fast bullet train called the Shinkansen. Most people are taking the train most of the time here. So it just makes sense to surround these transportation hubs with shopping because it's easy, it's convenient for everyone. So anyway, back to Edo Yokado. A visit to its website shows the sheer expanse of products and services it offers. It's got elaborate Christmas cakes that are available for pre order and they are very cute. They look delicious. Even from the photos I can tell they have a new collection of takeout food, interestingly enough called York Deli. As a person born in York, Pennsylvania, I feel really seen here. They have a new fashion line called Found Good and they have their own chain of fast food restaurants called Papo. You'll find these in every Ito Yokado store. And the papa menu is exciting to me as an American. They have seasonal desserts filled with sweet potatoes. They have ramen fried rice, takoyaki. They have french fries. They also have grape soft serve which is a hard pass for me. I have issues with grape artificial grape flavoring and kind of artificial fruit flavoring in general, but grape is way too diamond tap cold medicine adjacent for me. They also another end of the artificial fruit flavoring spectrum. They have their the classic green melon ice cream soda, which I know I just complained about artificial fruit flavoring, but I love the green melon soda with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It's not as sweet and weird as it sounds. It really hits the spot and it's not surprising that it's like the iconic dessert ice cream dessert kind of treat here in Japan. I highly recommend a melon soda ice cream float. There are 126 Edo Yokado stores in Japan, along with 12 in China. And here's a little fun, interesting tidbit about the stores. Rather than making announcements over the loudspeaker, the register staff play instrumental versions of famous songs as a code to the rest of the workers in the store. For example, help by the Beatles means, hey, we need more people to work the registers. Rhythm of the Rain by the Cascades tells everyone that there is heavy rain outside. Carmen tells everyone that there is a robbery or other criminal activities happening in the store right now. Symphony number first, movement by Beethoven. Anyone have a guess here? It means there's a bomb threat. This is just the beginning of the list of the songs that they play to send messages to one another. And I love it. This is like, super random, but it makes me think of in the Virgin Suicides, when the boys would call the girls and play records and vice versa to send each other messages. I just love it. Music is so awesome. Tell stories, right? If you've ever made a mixtape for someone, you know, everything means something. Okay, well, in the 1970s, Ito Yokado bought the franchise rights for two very American brands. Seven Eleven, the chain of convenience stores based in Texas, and Denny's, the, like, 24 hour quote family restaurant that you can find all over the United States. A place where I, as a teenager would go and feel very cool, sitting with my friends, drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes that I have no idea how we got them, but somehow they were there. And I remember one year in high school, this group of older boys who I thought were very cool, they were in college. They came home to see me in the school play. And then we went to Denny's and we hung out there all night drinking coffee. And I seriously was, like, hungover from all that coffee for, like, two days. But I still am basking in the afterglow of older college people thinking that I was cool, like, coming to see me in the play. And that was a long time ago. So let's talk about Denny's here in Japan.
- [37:30]
Dustin Travis White
Just for a minute.
- [37:32]
Amanda Lee McCarty
First things first. I'm just going to tell you I love Japanese Denny's. There's no moon over my hammy, which, to be fair, I've never had, but it's a good place to get a cheap and pretty solid meal. They have good salads, a nice onreisa, which is like a. And I probably pronounced that incorrectly. It's rice mixed with, like, a tomato sauce, and if it's bougie, some vegetables wrapped in a very thin omelette. And it is delicious. They have lots of classic Japanese coffee shop food. And once again, when we say coffee shop, we don't mean Starbucks. We mean like these sit down cafes. And they also, they have this all you can drink beverage bar full of coffee, iced and hot teas, also iced in hot, and all of the sodas you can imagine. I'm currently in the midst of a complex love affair with Calpico, which is the soda that is basically a mixture of yogurt, just a hint of yogurt, a splash of yogurt if you will. Lactic acid and soda water. Sounds good, right? It's tart and refreshing. Okay. And it's not very sweet. And yes, it is available on the Denny's beverage bar in plain and lemon flavor. I opt for plain. And also you order your, your like entire meal using a tablet at your table. And that's very chill when there is a language barrier. Also had an awesome seasonal parfait at Denny's earlier this week. So anyway, what I'm saying is Denny's is awesome. So 711 at first, 711 was kind of a flop here in Japan. It just wasn't appealing to customers who had plenty of other places to shop and get food. And people weren't really excited about hot dogs and the other American convenience store offerings because initially it was basically a copy of what 711 was selling in the US and no one was biting on it here. It just wasn't appealing. But Ido Yokado decided to take on an aggressive expansion approach, just opening tons of stores in hopes that it would catch on. They sort of forced the issue, I guess. In 1978, 711 in Japan tried a new product. Okay, it wasn't a new idea, but it was certainly new to convenience stores. And that was the introduction of the onigiri, the triangle rice ball wrapped in seaweed. They're filled with a variety of different ingredients. My personal favorite is tuna salad and apparently this is the best seller for the chain. But you can also find them filled with beef, teriyaki chicken, different kinds of fish and seafood, pickled plum, fried chicken, vegetables, or not filled with anything at all. And they are delicious like a great lunch or snack. I gotta say, when I'm talking about onigiri, I have to tell you two things that are really important. One is that if you live in Austin, Texas or are passing through there, you should check out Asahi Imports, which has honestly the best onigiri I've ever had, even compared to onigiri. I've had here in Japan, and they have an onigiri hotline where you can text in your order for pickup. It makes you feel really cool to just sail right in and grab your bag. And they have really good vegetarian options for the onigiri as well. 2. Another thing about onigiri is that here in Japan, they are packaged in a really clever way where the seaweed is separated from the rice by a thin layer of this wax paper ish film. And it's done that way to prevent the seaweed from getting soggy. So if you follow the, like, if you look at the packaging, you know it's a triangle on each corner, there are these numbers and arrows. And if you follow them and do them on in order, you can remove both the outer packaging and that inner film. And yet the seaweed will remain wrapped around the rice ball. It's genius. And when I see things like this, I know that humans can solve climate change. Like, seriously, can we just, like, take our genius, our innovation and turn it in a more positive direction? If we can make this rice ball thing work, we can, we can make the world better. Right? Anyway, it's the little things sometimes that prove that humanity has what it takes to face these challenges. Okay, so the onigiri, they get introduced to 7 11, they take away the hot dogs, they focus on this, and they were a hit. And Today, the average 7Eleven store in Japan sells about 200 rice balls each day. Realizing that the Japanese customer was interested in less American food and more Japanese food, the company expanded its offering to sushi, noodles, salads, soups, tonkotsu platters, those irresistible egg salad sandwiches, and so much more. The bakery aisle also became a big deal, and they added hot, seasonal offerings, fried foods. They do have this pizza roll thing. I've never had it, but Dustin loves it. It's in the hot food section. They also worked out their inventory and product delivery systems so that stores would receive fresh food deliveries every day in the right amount to mitigate food waste. And over time, the Japanese learned to love conbini, stopping in to pick up lunch and or dinner. And I want to say, like in the United States, there is a lot of classism attached to eating food from convenience stores, right? Like, oh, sure, you can go in there and get a snack or slum it and have some nachos. But in general, if people, people look down on people who eat food from convenience stores regularly, right? That is not the case here in Japan. It is something that unites everyone and I'm sure super Rich people have never been to a konbini, but you know what I mean? Like, there's no stigma attached to eating at the combini. And the other thing I'll say is that the prices don't seem predatory like they do back home. Like, there are other items in the stores. There's a tiny amount of groceries, very little. There are, of course, convenience items like medicines and pantyhose and things like that. Notebooks, that kind of stuff just a little bit. The prices don't feel egregious on those either. And I think it really just is about being a part of the neighborhood and less about, like, exploiting people's access to things. Because these neighborhoods also have grocery stores. They also have drugstores. And so the convenience stores have to be smart about this kind of stuff. They're not preying on people who don't have other options. Well, 711 was doing so well here in Japan that in the 1990s, Ito Yokado actually bought 70% of the American 711 company, which was at that point on the verge of bankruptcy. What had begun as an experimental overseas franchise opportunity was now essentially a Japanese company. In 2004, Edo Yokado established Seven and I Holdings, which is a massive mega corporation that owns Seven Seven Eleven, both here in. Here in Japan and in the United States and around the world. Actually, at this point, the Japanese version of Denny's, which, by the way, at this point is not at all connected to Denny's in the U.S. they just get to license the trademark, like the design of it. That's it. The menu, the staff, the company policies, all of it. Not in any way connected. Seven and I holdings also owns American convenience store chains like Speedway and Stripes, also life hack here in Texas. If you're on the road and you pass the stripes, they have really good bean and cheese tacos and they make the tortillas in store. Just go check it out. Tower records in Japan is also owned by seven and I holdings and several Japanese department store chains, including Sogo Cebu and Loft. And by the way, loft has the best stationery section ever. It's usually a whole floor. All the pens and papers and notebooks and planners you could ever dream of. I just love looking at that stuff, even though I usually don't buy anything, but it's just nice to look at. I just like looking at things and watching people do things. Sounds creepy. I know.
- [46:21]
Dustin Travis White
If you're enjoying this episode, then this is a great time to remind you that my work here at close force is made possible by the support of listeners like you. Just like NPR and these great small businesses. Please go give them your support. Blank CAS or Blanket Coats by cas is focused on restoring, renewing and reviving the history held within vintage and heirloom textiles by embodying the love, craft and energy that is original to each vintage textile. As I transfer it into a new garment, I hope we can reteach ourselves to care for and mend what we have and make it last. Blank CAS lives on Instagram at Blankcas and a website will be launched soon at blankcas, located in Whistler, Canada. Velvet Underground is a velvet jungle full of vintage and secondhand clothing plants, a vegan cafe and lots of rad products from other small sustainable businesses.
- [47:27]
Amanda Lee McCarty
Our mission is to create a brand.
- [47:29]
Dustin Travis White
And community dedicated to promoting self expression as well as educating and inspiring a more sustainable and conscious lifestyle both for the people and the planet. Find us on Instagram shopvelvetunderground or online at www.shopvelvetunderground.com. saint Evens is a New York City based vintage shop that is dedicated to bringing you those special pieces you'll reach for again and again. More than just a store, ST Evens is dedicated to sharing the stories and history behind the garments. 10% of all sales are donated to a different charitable organization each month. New Vintage is released every Thursday@waresaintevens.com with previews of new pieces and more brought to you on Instagram at West Evens.
- [48:21]
Amanda Lee McCarty
That's where Saint Evens Country Feedback is.
- [48:25]
Dustin Travis White
A mom and pop record shop in Tarboro, North Carolina. They specialize in used rock, country and soul and offer a affordable vintage clothing and housewares. Do you have used records you want to sell? Country Feedback wants to buy them? Find us on Instagram, Country Feedback Vintage and vinyl or head down east and visit our brick and mortar. All are welcome at this inclusive and family friendly record shop in the country. Republica Unicornia Yarns Handmade yarn and notions for the color obsessed. Made with love and some swearing in fabulous Atlanta, Georgia by head yarn wench Kathleen. Get ready for Rainbows with a side of Giving a damn. Republica Unicornia is all about making your own magic using small batch, responsibly sourced hand dyed yarns and thoughtfully made notions. Slow fashion all the way down and discover the joy of creating your very own beautiful hand knit, crocheted or woven pieces. Find us on Instagram @republicauunicorniarns and at www.republicaunicornia.com. picnic Wear a slow fashion brand ethically made by hand from vintage and dead stock materials, most notably vintage towels. Founder Dani has worked in the industry as a fashion Designer for over 10 years, but started Picnic Wear in response to her dissatisfaction with the industry's shortcomings. Picnic Wear recently moved to rural North Carolina where all their sewing and accessories are now designed and cut, but the majority of their sewing is done by skilled garment workers in New York City. Their customers take comfort in knowing that all their sewists are paid well above New York City minimum wage. Picnic Wear offers minimal waste and maximum authenticity Future Vintage over Future garbage Cute Little Ruin is an online shop dedicated to providing quality vintage and secondhand clothing, vinyl and home items in a wide range of styles and price points. If it's ethical and legal, we try to find a home for it. Vintage style with progressive values Find us on Instagram utelittleruin Is there a little bit of Italy in your soul? Are you an enthusiast of pre loved decor and accessories? Bring vintage Italian style and history into your space. With the pewter thimble we source useful and beautiful things and mend them where needed. We also find gorgeous illustrations and make them print worthy tarot cards, tea towels and hand picked treasures available to you from the comfort of your own home, responsibly sourced from across Rome, lovingly renewed by fairly paid artists and artisans with something for every budget. Discover more at theputerthimble.com Deco Denim is a startup based out of San Francisco and it sells clothing and accessories that are sustainable, sustainable, gender fluid, size inclusive and high quality. Made to last for years to come. Deco Denim is trying to change the way you think about buying clothes. Founder Sarah Mattis wants to empower people to ask important questions like where was this made? Was this garment made ethically? Is this fabric made of plastic? Can this garment be upcycled and if not, can it be recycled? Sign up@decodenim.com to receive $20 off your first purchase. They promise not to spam you and send out no more than three emails a month with two of them surrounding education or a personal note from the founder. Again, that's decodenim.com.
- [52:14]
Amanda Lee McCarty
So 711 this gamble, this franchising here in Japan, obviously a wild success and 711 is the biggest convenience store chain in Japan. But it isn't the only game in town. In second place in terms of number of stores, not in terms of its place in my heart is Family Mart, which is known for its excellent blue and green stripe branding. It even sells tube socks with its iconic stripes and the unique song that Plays every time the door opens. You know what? We need to give it a listen because it's a banger. So here it is. Okay, that's cute and catchy as hell, right? Family Mart has been around since 1973, and I'll tell you, it's not usually my first choice, but it does have some decent desserts, and people seem to love its chicken called Fame Chicken. Family Mart is known for buying up six unsuccessful convenience store chains and folding them into its empire. It's also been caught in the past engaging in union busting. And in 2019, a video emerged, took the Internet by storm of rats. About half a dozen of them just chilling out in the sushi section in a family mart in Shibuya, which is a huge busy neighborhood in Tokyo. I'm not saying I'm anti Family Mart. It's just not my favorite. I have. I have gone there on this trip one time, so it's not like off my list per se. It's just usually I'm in a desperate situation. Then there's my personal favorite, Lawson. Lawson feels intrinsically American from the outside. I mean, first off, the name is Lawson, but it also has a blue and white logo of a vintage milk can. And. And Lawson is in a very western movie font. It was so perplexing to me the first time I came to Japan, but that's because Lawson also began as an American company, too. The original Mr. J.J. lawson was a milk farmer from Ohio. He opened a shop in 1939 in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, to sell his dairy products directly to customers. He was bought out by consolidated foods in 1959, who began to open Lawson's convenience stores around Ohio and western Pennsylvania in the 1960s. Consolidated Foods sounds like just some random, forgettable company. Definitely doesn't have a lot of brand cachet attached to it. It actually changed its name to the much more recognizable, perhaps more aesthetically pleasing. You be the judge, Sarah Lee in 1985. And the Lawson stores were sold to another company after that called Dairy Mart. Dairy Mart promptly renamed the Lawson stores to Dairy Mart as well. And I will tell you that all those years that my mom was working for convenience stores, this would happen all the time. It would be a more locally run business, maybe with just a couple locations. It would get bought by a larger company who would rename them all. Five years later, at most, a larger company would buy that chain, change them all again, and this would just repeat itself over and over again. It's still happening. And this wasn't the end of the line for the Lawson stores here in the United States. So now they were Dairy Mart and then in 2002, a Canadian based convenience store conglomerate. Because that's what's happened with a lot of these convenience stores. They're just owned by these massive companies. Now this company bought Dairy Mart and most of the stores were renamed Circle King. Hey. But back in the 1970s, before Consolidated Foods rebranded itself as Sarah Lee, it signed an agreement with Japanese company the Dai to open Lawson stores in Japan. And now there are more than 11,000 Lawson stores in Japan. And you know what? They are kind of my favorite in Tokyo and other big cities. Lawson has a spin off called Natural Lawson with healthier takeout food options, healthier snacks, a whole gluten free aisle. I did get a weird prune flavored kombucha there that I will never drink again. But in general, I love a Natural Lawson. There's so much for me to eat there. Lawson in general is just pretty good. Okay? Anthony Bourdain felt that Lawson had the best egg salad sandwiches, calling them, quote, unnaturally fluffy, insanely delicious, and incongruously addictive. And I happen to know that Christine of Lady Hog Vintage agrees. I mean, the sandwiches are good. I like their fruit options because who doesn't love a fruit cup that includes, I'm not kidding you, persimmon. What the hell, guys? Why don't we get nice things back home? They also have great salads. I had one with roasted pumpkin just last week. It was delightful. Um, and Lawson stores usually have an aisle of basic clothing and other essentials from Muji. You know, socks, underwear, T shirts, thermal underwear, and then other just like small household or travel items that you might need. Prior to 2020, Muji had a contract with Family Mart, but that was not renewed. When it expired, they moved over to Lawson. And I think that because Lawson has a fancier feel. And Lawson says that their goal is like, yes, our prices are a little bit higher because we have better things. And I see that there they're not egregiously higher. The quality of the food is definitely higher. So love Lawson. I was trying to rank the conbini this morning while I was making coffee and last night as I was falling asleep and yesterday while I was on the train. And it kind of felt like an impossible task. Like, I couldn't say this one is the best because they all have great attributes. 7 11. I love the onigiri assortment. They have more options than the other stores and I think they taste better. And like I said, that Tuna salad is on point. I, unlike Anthony Bourdain and Christine Hogg, I prefer their egg salad sandwiches. I think they're fluffier, lighter. I don't know, they just go down easier. Also, sometimes they have potato salad sandwiches. Yeah, you heard me correctly. Potato salad. It sounds very starchy. I know, but sometimes you just have to have a potato salad sandwich. Okay. And I'll tell you that sometimes I make them. Back home I have a really great recipe for a Japanese potato salad and I will make myself a nice potato salad sandwich on some gluten free bread. I also think 711 has the best coffee. Not like in the world, but of the convenience store world. And they have good iced coffee. So Yeah, I like 7 11. It has a soft spot in my heart. I mean like that's the first Japanese convenience store I experienced. Family Mart. I will say they possibly have the best desserts, like this amazing sweet potato and chestnut parfait that I ate on the long train ride back from Takayama yesterday. It was layers of sweet potato and like cream and chestnut paste. And it had, and I mean this parfait was the size of like a one cup measuring cup, maybe even smaller. Maybe like three quarters of a cup. Not big. Right. It had these little tiny macarons on top. It was so good. I've been thinking about it since. So I think Family Mart has better desserts. 711 used to have better desserts. I don't know what's going on there. I will say on Halloween they had a whole case of desserts that were dyed black, which I passed on. Didn't really need. All that food coloring made me a little apprehensive. I have not found the desserts at Lawson to be particularly exciting. Just saying. I do have a very clear memory that will live with me now forever. Waking up the morning after the election feeling very sick and depressed and eating from 711 coffee flavored jello for breakfast. I don't know, it's all very weird. It was a weird time. I had such a headache. I was so sad. Anyway, coffee flavored jello, by the way, delish. Yeah. So that's Family Mart. That's the dessert game here, right, Lawson, Obviously I'm a big fan of natural Lawson where I also found some amazing herbal tea that I've been drinking every night. I also think they have the best fruit and snacks and like I said, the sandwich game, very strong. So those are my thoughts on the convenience stores. One last thing before I wrap up this little episode from Japan. I recommend Reading the book Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata. It's a short read, but it's such a great representative of convenience store life here in Japan and just life here in Japan. If any of you are interested in reading, and then maybe we can all get together and have a little zoom and talk about it, holler at me, because that would be really, really fun. And that reminds me of something else that I've been thinking about a lot this week, this year. Not completely intentionally, but just sort of coincidentally and then it turned intentionally. I have only been reading books written by women, non binary and trans people. And it's because I like them more, because I connect with them more, because I think that relationships are more accurately captured. I think feelings and the relationship with the world around us feels more true to me. And that's really interesting because I'm an avid reader. I have read all the books on all the top lists that like the world has told us we need to read, right? I read them in school, I read them outside of school. I read them because I was told to read them by like society or men or whatever. And I just have to say the books I've been reading recently, I like them better. I realize now I like books that aren't written by CIS men a lot better. I enjoy them more, they sit with me more. I'm sad when they're over. And so now I'm consciously saying, okay, that's all I'm going to read for the next year. And I'm talking specifically right now, fiction books, because I read tons of nonfiction every day. But fiction books, I think can light up the world for you in a different way than nonfiction. And I used to get grief from someone I dated for never reading nonfiction books. This is a long time ago. And I was like, you know, I do learn things about the world and people and history and so many other things from fiction books, right? Like, it's just, it's not like I'm just over there, I don't know, reading fairy tales, which you could learn something from a fairy tale, to be honest. So anyway, so that's what I'm doing now. So far I've read six books here in Japan, all written by women, all amazing. They make me really happy. I'm excited to start another one tonight. And I think that maybe one thing we can think about doing next year because I think community is a big part of what happens next. But also just connecting on things that almost have nothing to do with politics is also really important because the personal is always political. Maybe we can have a little book club where we read a different fiction book every couple months and get together and talk about it online. So that's something you're interested in? Holler at me. I'll think about it a little bit more and we'll talk about it more when I get back from Japan. All right, well, that's all from me today. I have to get dressed and get down to work here. Thank you for listening to another episode of Clotheshorse. Written, researched, edited, hosted, all the things by me, Amanda Lee McCarty. As always, if you liked what you're hearing, leave a rating, a review, subscribe, do all those things. It's important. But most importantly, tell your friends. New clothes, horse merch, including stickers and iron on transfers are hitting the store this week. They'll ship to you when I'm back from Japan in just a couple of weeks. If you'd like to support my work financially, there are numerous ways you can do that. You can find that in the show notes, you can find it@CloseHorsePodcast.com and you can find it in my Instagram bio where I go byeshorsepodcast. Lastly, but of course, never leastly, thank you to my other half, Mr. Dustin Travis White, for our music and audio support. And even though we are half a world away apart from one another, he is gonna mix this episode after I edit it today. So thank you, Dustin, and thank you to all of you for listening to this and I'll talk to you all soon. Bye.