11 August 2013
The common perception that Japan is an expensive country to visit presently seems like a myth, at least at the airport. Just look at the purchasing power of some of the tourists from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore.
I am amazed by the shopping mall in Sapporo’s airport with its array of reknown Hokkaido produce: quite apart from the usual candies and confectionery, there are dairy produce (milk, cheese, yoghurt), perfect-looking (a bit eerily so…) melons, seafood such as ginormous crabs, scallops, hokke, sea urchin, shrimps, oysters… you name it. I am promised that the seafood can be specially packed for home-flying tourists.
Truth be told, I have had enough seafood on this trip to last the whole year. And I probably won’t be going anywhere near the Japanese variant of soya sauce for at least a month… I would have preferred to pick up a couple of bottles of umeshu. Unfortunately I discovered the liquor shop too late! I had already checked in my bag.
