The green market

Outside my dormitary a little white van comes by to sell fruit and veg to the residents.


It comes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays and parks itself in the main square when its nice and sunny. When it rains, it tends to shelter outside B block...

It's very convenient...not only do I not have to lugg shopping on the train but it has a general tendancy to be cheaper than the supermarkets...

Usually they sell eggs and tofu (several different kinds are available, and for only 20yen! How cheap is that?!) and sometimes they even have some fresh tuna sashmi...very very *nice*.

Unfortunately, things like potatoes and most fresh fruit and veg tend to be rather expensive. A bag of 5 small potatoes costs 150-200 yen...ahhhh how I miss making my way through a 5kg bag... Fruit and veg here, however, is monster. The apples are some kind of mutant strain where they've grown to at least double the size of those things you find in UK supermarkets...and they are always nice and sweet and crunchy. But if you try and buy one lone apple, which is always very carefully and individually wrapped, it costs you about 200 yen. Their chinese leaf is bigger than your head. Which makes it quite hard for one lone student get through before it begins the process of decomposition in your fridge. We've even tried sharing one of these monsters between two, and it's still too much.

Maybe if I'm feeling very enthusiastic next weekend, I'll get you some photographic evidence of the large-ness of said fruit and veg...