Stay At Home Order

     As I mentioned in my previous entry, on March 17, Orange County announced that all gatherings of people outside home in Orange County are banned. Then, on March 19, California's governor issued a statewide stay at home order. Yet, people are allowed to go to grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations, banks and etc. In addition, people can take a walk in local neighborhoods as long as they maintain a social distance of 6 feet or more.

     Since the stay at home order was issued, more people have been going to grocery stores, and now it's problem with panic buying. Last weekend, my husband and I skipped grocery shopping even though I wanted some fresh vegetables and milk. We still have frozen vegetables and canned tomato in our kitchen. We can live without grocery shopping for a week or so. I think that less frequent grocery shopping and buying only what you need for a few weeks help everyone. We should avoid crowded areas and stop panic buying. We will use frozen vegetables and meat in our freezer first. Maybe, it's good time for me to save money on groceries.

     Last weekend, we took a walk around the park. It was so refreshing! I think that regular exercise is important to keep us healthy physically and mentally. We saw many people walking and running there. Everyone was trying to maintain a social distance of 6 feet or more. However, I heard that some beaches and parks in Southern California were very crowded last weekend, so some of those areas were eventually closed because of COVID-19.

      After coming back home, we washed our hands as usual. As we all know, washing your hands is the most effective ways to prevent the spread of infections.

Clean hands protect against infection (WHO)

    I think that it's the best time for everyone to learn how to wash your hands properly. I hope everyone stays safe and healthy.  😊

     These are my entries you might like.
■Coronavirus Panic Buying Hits California!

■What I Bought at Japanese Supermarkets

■Costco Haul - Polar Black Garlic Cured Super Food

■Trader Joe's Japanese Aomori Black Garlic

■Japanese Aomori Black Garlic

■How I Make Black Garlic at Home

■Costco Haul - the Big Island, Hawaii

■What Do They Sell at Costco on the Big Island, Hawaii? - 12 Kinds of Unique Products!

■COSTCO in Japan

■10 Products I Purchased at Costco in Japan

■What Do They Sell at Costco Business Center? (My Costco Haul)

■Costco Haul - Tiger That Tempura Shrimp

■Starbucks Winter Blend Melange D'Hiver 2017 at Costco

■Starbucks Arizona Double Wall Traveler and Cold Cup

■7 Best Japanese Beauty Products Hall of Fame



     My entries related to Costco can be seen here.

     My entries related to Starbucks can be seen here.

     My entries related to Best Japanese Beauty Products can be seen here.
 
     My entries related to Japan can be seen here.

     My entries related to beauty can be seen here.

     My entries related to Japan Haul can be seen here.

     You can find my beauty entries by categories from here.

Coronavirus Panic Buying Hits California!

     Last weekend, my husband and I went grocery shopping just like we always do on weekend, but we noticed that things are different now because of COVID-19. I thought that people have been stocking up toilet paper and water to cope with coronavirus fears. However, this Tuesday, Orange County announced that Orange County bans all gatherings of people outside home. The order of the local health officer states, "All public and private gatherings of any number of people, including at places of work, occurring outside a single household or living unit are prohibited." Yet, it has a long list of exemptions, and people are allowed to go grocery shopping. I didn't expect that it would be really happening in my local area.

     Anyway, Today, I'm going to share my weekend grocery shopping with you.


Costco
      My husband and I go shopping at Costco almost every weekend. Last weekend, we were surprised that there was a long line to enter my local Costco, and at the entrance, Costco employees shouted out, "We were sold out of toilet paper and water!" 
      Oh no, It's COVID-19 panic-buying! I thought that we should skip shopping at Costco this time, but it seemed that the line was moving smoothly, and I really wanted to purchase Polar Black Garlic there. We just had to wait for three minutes or so to enter the store. Despite the long line, it actually wasn't very crowded inside store. It was a little less crowded than normal weekend. Because of COVID-19, Costco is controlling the number of customers in the store. Unlike usual weekends, very few people were looking at clothing and home goods, and most people were buying foods especially canned foods, pasta and etc. The Costco cashier was saying, "The problem is people are hoarding now."  

Costco Haul

      For now, my husband and I don't need to stock up toilet paper nor bottled water. I basically buy toilet paper in bulk only when it's on sale because paper products are pretty expensive in the U.S., so I still have plenty of it in my home, and we don't usually drink bottled water (We drink filtered water from our refrigerator.) I believe that Coronavirus outbreak won't disrupt power, water and internet, so we don't need to be worried too much. The photo above was what I purchased at Costco that day. I was glad that they still had plenty of Polar Black Garlic, and I could buy one. 😃 You can check my previous entry, Costco Haul - Polar Black Garlic Cured Super Food.



Japanese Supermarket

We found empty shelves for rice at a Japanese supermarket!

     Then, we went to a Japanese supermarket because I wanted to purchase natto (納豆). At the store, water and rice were all sold out. We saw the empty shelves for rice at a Japanese supermarket for the first time in the U.S. 😦  We saw a few Asian people wearing masks there. (By the way, nobody was wearing a mask at Costco.)

Japanese Supermarket Haul

       These were what I purchased at the Japanese supermarket. They still had plenty of natto there.
😋

There were plenty of natto at a Japanese supermarket!

     Next time, I'll write how to boost immune system.





     These are my entries you might like.
■What I Bought at Japanese Supermarkets

■Costco Haul - Polar Black Garlic Cured Super Food

■Trader Joe's Japanese Aomori Black Garlic

■Japanese Aomori Black Garlic

■How I Make Black Garlic at Home

■Costco Haul - the Big Island, Hawaii

■What Do They Sell at Costco on the Big Island, Hawaii? - 12 Kinds of Unique Products!

■COSTCO in Japan

■10 Products I Purchased at Costco in Japan

■What Do They Sell at Costco Business Center? (My Costco Haul)

■Costco Haul - Tiger That Tempura Shrimp

■Starbucks Winter Blend Melange D'Hiver 2017 at Costco

■Starbucks Arizona Double Wall Traveler and Cold Cup

■7 Best Japanese Beauty Products Hall of Fame



     My entries related to Costco can be seen here.

     My entries related to Starbucks can be seen here.

     My entries related to Best Japanese Beauty Products can be seen here.
 
     My entries related to Japan can be seen here.

     My entries related to beauty can be seen here.

     My entries related to Japan Haul can be seen here.

     You can find my beauty entries by categories from here.

What I Ate at Snack Park - Hanshin Umeda Department Store in Osaka, Japan

Snack Park - Hanshin Umeda Department Store (B1F)

      As I mentioned in my previous entry, my husband and I visited Osaka this winter and stayed at Osaka Daiichi Hotel, which is located in the center of Osaka Umeda. Around the hotel, there are three biggest Osaka's department stores, Hankyu Umeda (阪急うめだ), Hanshin Umeda (阪神梅田), and Daimaru Umeda (大丸梅田). There are also many restaurants around the hotel, but we eventually decided to have quick breakfast at Hanshin Umeda Snack Park (阪神梅田本店スナックパーク), which is the food court of Hanshin Umeda department store. The Snack Park has 15 food stalls which serve delicious foods at very reasonable prices such as signature foods of Osaka, and there are some tables with no chair, so you can enjoy stand-up meals, which is called tachigui (立ち食い) in Japan. 😉 Today, I'm going to share what I ate at Snack Park with you.


Snack Park (スナックパーク)
B1F Hanshin Umeda Department Store
1-13-13 Umeda, Kita Ward
Osaka, Japan

OPEN : 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Last Order: 9:30 p.m.)

Snack Park (スナックパーク)

Hanshin Meibutsu Ikayaki (阪神名物 いか焼き)
Osaka-Style Ikayaki
154 yen to 216 yen

Hanshin Meibutsu Ikayaki (阪神名物 いか焼き)

     In Osaka, I really wanted to have ikayaki (いか焼き), which is one of iconic foods of Osaka. Ika (いか, イカ) means a squid in Japanese. When I lived in Osaka city, my coworker who grew up in Osaka told me that when she was in a high school, she used to often have ikayaki and takoyaki with her friends after school. She said to me that it's something typical teens do in Osaka. At that time, I thought ikayaki is grilled whole squids, but after years, I finally knew that she was talking about "Osaka-style ikayaki," which is flat squid pancakes. Indeed, it's very hard to find Osaka-style ikayaki outside of Osaka, and also many Japanese people who have never lived in Kansai region provably don't know what Osaka-style ikayaki is just like I didn't know before. Even though I lived in Osaka for many years, I haven't had ikayaki there! That's why I though that I should have ikayaki for my first time in Osaka. 😋

Hanshin Meibutsu Ikayaki (阪神名物 いか焼き)

      The most famous ikayaki store in Osaka is Hanshin Meibutsu Ikayaki (阪神名物 いか焼き), which has been selling ikayaki since 1957.

Hanshin Meibutsu Ikayaki (阪神名物 いか焼き)

     Hanshin Meibutsu Ikayaki is selling some kinds of ikayaki.

Ikayaki (いか焼き) : a simple style ikayak, a flat pancake contained small pieces of squids

Negi-Ikayaki (ネギいか焼き) : a ikayaki contained chopped green onions

Derapon (デラポン) : a ikayaki contained ponzu sauce

Derapan (デラパン) : a egg ikayaki

Wafu-Dera (和風デラ) : a derapan contained chopped green onions

Ikayaki (いか焼き) for 154 yen

     The most famous one is ikayaki (いか焼き) which is 154 yen.

     Derapon (デラポン) is a ikayaki which has ponzu sauce in it. Ponzu (ポンズ, ぽん酢) is Japanese citrus-based sauce. Derapon can be ordered weekday mornings only.

     We purchased ikayaki (いか焼き) for 154 yen, negi-ikayaki (ねぎいか焼き) for 165 yen and derapon (デラポン) for 160 yen.

     These were savory and delicious! We loved that these had a lot of small pieces of squids in them. 😋

Ganso Choboyaki (元祖ちょぼ焼き)
Choboyaki
165 yen

Ganso Choboyaki (元祖ちょぼ焼き)

       We decided to purchase choboyaki (ちょぼ焼き) for 165 yen. It's said that choboyaki is an origin of takoyaki (たこ焼き). While takoyaki is a ball-shaped snack and filled with diced octopus, which is called tako (タコ, たこ, 蛸) in Japanese, choboyaki is a flat square-shaped snack and made of takoyaki ingredients except for octopus.  

Choboyaki (ちょぼ焼き)

     We really loved choboyaki! It was very hot, had soft texture, and the combination of the sauce and Japanese mayonnaise was perfect! If you love takoyaki, I think that you will definitely love choboyaki as well.



Gozasoro (御座候)

Kaitenyaki
95 yen

Gozasoro (御座候)

       After that we decided to purchase kaitenyaki (回転焼) for 95 yen at Gozasoro (御座候). As I mentioned in my previous entry, Japanese Grocery Haul - What I Purchased at Supermarket, Department Stores and Kitano Ace in Japan, when we lived in Osaka, he really loved Gozasoro's kaitenyaki (回転焼), which is also called imagawayaki (今川焼). Kaitenyaki is a traditional Japanese dessert and is like a pancake filled with sweetened azuki bean paste.

Gozasoro (御座候)

     We purchased it and enjoyed it at the hotel room. It was still hot and as good as ones we used to have in Osaka.😋 If you have a sweet tooth and want to try traditional Japanese confections, called wagashi (和菓子), I recommend you to try their kaitenyaki!

Kaitenyaki (回転焼)

     We also purchased this pack of sweetened azuki bean paste, and we brought it to the U.S. We enjoyed it with mochi, toast and so on. 😁 

Gozasoro (御座候)

     If I have a chance to go to Osaka, I would like to go to Snack Park again!


Snack Park (スナックパーク)
B1F Hanshin Umeda Department Store
1-13-13 Umeda, Kita Ward
Osaka, Japan

OPEN : 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Last Order: 9:30 p.m.)




      These are my entries you might like.
♥Hotel Room Tour and Review - Osaka Daiichi Hotel - Osaka, Japan

♥16 Best Japanese Beauty Products I Purchased in Japan - Drugstore, Discount Store, Daiso and Amazon Japan

♥Japanese Snack and Candy Haul - What I Purchased in Japan

♥Japanese Grocery Haul - What I Purchased at Supermarket, Department Stores and Kitano Ace in Japan

♥10 Products I Purchased at Costco in Japan

♥Japanese Bread Haul - Shokupan, Melonpan, Anpan and More

♥7 Products I Purchased at Muji Store in Japan - Muji Haul
 
♥ Starbucks Japan Geography Series City Tumbler - Osaka   

♥ Top 3 My Favorite Delicious Souvenirs from Osaka

♥Top 5 Breakfast Restaurants around Tenjinbashi in Osaka, Japan

♥ The Best Places to Eat in Tenjinbashi in Osaka   

♥ Must Go to Places in Namba - Our Traveling in Osaka, Japan

♥10 Best Japanese Beauty Products on Amazon Japan, You Can Also Purchase Them at Drugstores in Japan



     My entries related to Osaka can be seen here.

     My entries related to Best Japanese Beauty Products can be seen here.
 
     My entries related to Japan can be seen here.

     My entries related to beauty can be seen here.

     My entries related to Japan Haul can be seen here.

     You can find my beauty entries by categories from here.

Hotel Room Tour and Review - Osaka Daiichi Hotel - Osaka, Japan

Osaka Marubiru

     This winter, my husband and I have visited Osaka, Japan, and we stayed at Osaka Daiichi Hotel (大阪第一ホテル), which is located in Osaka Marubiru building (大阪マルビル), for one night. The reasons why we booked this hotel was that it's very convenient (location, access and more)! It's located in the center of Osaka city (There are so many shopping spots and restaurants nearby the hotel.) and is very easy to get there from an airport, and the building has a convenience store and more. In addition, the accommodation fee was very affordable. :)

 How to Get Osaka Daiichi Hotel (Osaka Marubiru) from an Airport
At Osaka International Airport (大阪国際空港), which is also called Itami Airport (伊丹空港), we took an airport limousine bus to go to Osaka Marubiru. It only cost 650 yen per person and took 30 minutes to get there from the airport. By the way, Osaka Marubiru is just 3 minutes away from JR Osaka station.

Airport Limousine Bus

 ■Osaka International Airport / Itami Airport
・It takes 30 minutes by an airport limousine bus to Osaka Marubiru.
・650 yen

■Kansai International Airport
・It takes 60 minutes by an airport limousine bus to Hilton Osaka, which is located right across from Osaka Marubiru.
・1600 yen

■JR Osaka Station
・It takes 3 minutes by walk from JR Osaka Station to Osaka Marubiru.

Osaka Marubiru has an convenience store, Starbucks and more in the building!
    The hotel is located in Osaka Marubiru, which is the building also has FamilyMart convenience store and Starbucks.

1F: FamilyMart Convenience Store (Open 24 Hour)

    As soon as we checked in to the hotel, we went to FamilyMart convenience store located on the first floor of Osaka Marubiru and purchased some drinks, rice balls and etc.

Foods We Purchased at the FamilyMart Convenience Store

      The foods we purchased at the convenience stores were a rice ball, salad, sesame salad dressing, grilled chicken and drinks.

FamilyMart Saba Onigiri

     I really loved this FamilyMart Saba Onigiri (a mackerel rice ball). This rice ball had a large grilled mackerel fillet marinated in shio koji (塩麹), and it was only 147 yen. 😋

     We also used Amazon Japan Convenience Pickup there. (We ordered some items from Amazon Japan a week before visiting Japan, and we picked up our packages at this convenience store.)


 

1F: Starbucks (Open 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.)

    We also visited Starbucks located on the first floor of Osaka Marubiru and found many Starbucks Japan mugs and tumblers there.

Starbucks Japan 2020 New Year Mugs and Tumblers

Starbucks Japan Bearista Bears 2020 New Year Edition

Osaka Daiichi Hotel

Osaka Dai-Ichi Hotel

       At the hotel front desk, we could borrow an umbrella for free. It was very useful because it was drizzling that day. We could go to Daikoku Drug, a drugstore nearby the hotel, to purchase some beauty products in the rainy day. 😊 


The Room (Superior Semi Double Room)

     We booked Superior Semi Double room, which has a semi-double bed (140 x 195cm), which is smaller than an US queen-sized bed but large enough for two people. The room is pretty small (16.4㎡, 176 sq ft), but it's still spacious enough for us. At least, we could open up our suitcase on the floor.

     There were two complimentary bottles of water.

      There was a small refrigerator.

     The bathroom was nice and clean. It's common that a Japanese hotel room has a Japanese high-tech toilet, Washlet.

     Their free toiletries included toothbrushes, toothpaste, bath sponges, shower caps, cotton pads, hair ties, Q-tips, hair brushes, razors and shaving gel.

POLA Aroma Esse Gold

      There were POLA Aroma Esse Gold shampoo, conditioner and body soap. POLA is a very famous Japanese company making beauty products such as their famous POLA Wrinkle Shot.

    There was POLA Foam Soap (for face, hands and shaving)

    From the room, I could enjoy the view of Osaka cityscape.

Umeda Sky Building and JR Osaka Station (The View from Osaka Daiichi Hotel)

    It's JR Osaka station. You can also see the Umeda Sky Building (梅田スカイビル).

Hankyu Department Store (The View from Osaka Daiichi Hotel)

     The huge building is Hankyu Umeda Department Store. There are three biggest Osaka's department stores, Hankyu Umeda (阪急うめだ), Hanshin Umeda (阪神梅田), and Daimaru Umeda (大丸梅田) around this hotel. You can go there on foot. (It takes 3 to 7 minutes by walk from the hotel.)  We purchased some groceries at department stores, and we also enjoyed some Osaka foods as breakfast at Hanshin Umeda Snack Park (阪神梅田本店スナックパーク). I will write about it next time.

     Next day, we stayed at Conrad Osaka. I'll write about it in my future entry. :)



      These are my entries you might like.
♥16 Best Japanese Beauty Products I Purchased in Japan - Drugstore, Discount Store, Daiso and Amazon Japan

♥Japanese Snack and Candy Haul - What I Purchased in Japan

♥Japanese Grocery Haul - What I Purchased at Supermarket, Department Stores and Kitano Ace in Japan

♥10 Products I Purchased at Costco in Japan

♥Japanese Bread Haul - Shokupan, Melonpan, Anpan and More

♥7 Products I Purchased at Muji Store in Japan - Muji Haul
 
♥ Starbucks Japan Geography Series City Tumbler - Osaka   

♥ Top 3 My Favorite Delicious Souvenirs from Osaka

♥Top 5 Breakfast Restaurants around Tenjinbashi in Osaka, Japan

♥ The Best Places to Eat in Tenjinbashi in Osaka   

♥ Must Go to Places in Namba - Our Traveling in Osaka, Japan

♥10 Best Japanese Beauty Products on Amazon Japan, You Can Also Purchase Them at Drugstores in Japan



     My entries related to Best Japanese Beauty Products can be seen here.
 
     My entries related to Japan can be seen here.

     My entries related to beauty can be seen here.

     My entries related to Japan Haul can be seen here.

     You can find my beauty entries by categories from here.

Open Gas Pump Indicators at Costco Gas Station

       Costco gas is almost always the cheapest in town. That's why Costco gas stations are popular and busy. There are always long lines to fill the gas at Costco. However, the lines move quicker than it seems. My local Costco gas station has 24 gas pumps (Each line has three gas pumps.). On very busy weekend, I usually have to wait in a line for one to three minutes or so.     

      This weekend, I found that my local Costco finally has indicators for which gas pumps are available.

      Have you seen the indicators at your local Costco too? I thought the indicators are very useful!

      I am glad that I live near a Costco, and Costco gas station is one of the closest gas stations from my home. 😊


      These are my entries you might like.

■Costco Haul - the Big Island, Hawaii

■What Do They Sell at Costco on the Big Island, Hawaii? - 12 Kinds of Unique Products!

■What Do They Sell at Costco Business Center? (My Costco Haul)

■Costco Haul - Polar Black Garlic Cured Super Food

■COSTCO in Japan

■What I Got at Costco in Japan - Haul

■10 Products I Purchased at Costco in Japan

■The Cheapest Way to Get Passport Photos - Getting an IDP, International Driving Permit, at AAA

■Costco Haul - Tiger That Tempura Shrimp

■Starbucks Winter Blend Melange D'Hiver 2017 at Costco

■7 Best Japanese Beauty Products Hall of Fame



     My entries related to Costco can be seen here.

     My entries related to Starbucks can be seen here.

     My entries related to Best Japanese Beauty Products can be seen here.
 
     My entries related to Japan can be seen here.

     My entries related to beauty can be seen here.

     My entries related to Japan Haul can be seen here.

     You can find my beauty entries by categories from here.