JVlog #2: Doggy Prams & Sekichu Home Center

Good Day Everyone,

On the weekend we went to a home center store called Sekichu. If you're living in England then imagine a B&Q (DIY) store combined with a supermarket... that is Sekichu and we decided to take you along with us :o). You can literally find anything and everything in this store from DIY tools, makeup and toiletries, food, furniture, bicycles, electrical appliances and even doggy prams... That's right doggy prams, as well as puppies and kittens. You can actually buy pets at this store plus there is a pet parlour. Doggy prams are everywhere here. People in Japan seem to have a real passion for little dogs. Not a day goes by when we don't see a doggy pram and a well groomed and dressed puppy. This is Japan after all and everyone, including pets dress well ;o) There are stores in shopping malls dedicated to pets, selling prams, toys, clothes, and accessories as well as the pets themselves.

Lovely Japanese gentleman out with his dogs in their doggy pram

Most stores also have a pet parlour where you can watch pets having their hair and nails cut. We've noticed that it's mainly the older Japanese that tend to have these pets. Perhaps for the companionship and/or routine, as we often see them out in the evenings walking their little dogs. The Japanese gentleman in the photo above was kind enough to allow me to take a photo of him with his dogs in the pram :o)

Doggy Prams

Doggy clothes and accessories

We also show you a few other interesting things in the video. For example, in Japan people do not sign official documents with their signature.  Instead everyone has a 'seal' which is a stamp of their name that they carry around with them. At places such as banks and the post office you will be asked for your seal, where in England we'd be asked for our signature.

One of the things hubby and I miss most about home (England) is having are own garden and being able to grow our own fruit and vegetables. So when I came across a Japanese store selling 'grow your own tomatoes in a tin'  thing, there was no way I was going to pass it up, especially as tomatoes are my hubby's favourite food...EVER!

Tomato seeds planted

Some of the tomato plants at 3 months  

Inside the tin was a small bag of soil with some seeds. Whilst we couldn't read the Japanese instructions leaflet, it was safe to assume that the soil goes in the tin and the seeds into the soil. We planted the seeds in October and were surprised by the large number of shoots that came through. We've since bought a larger container and re-potted some of the shoots. However, these re-potted shoots don't seem to be doing as well as the ones in the original tin. So on the weekend, we headed out to see if we could get some sort of tomato food for the plants, and that was the reason for our visit to Sekichu.

I hope you enjoyed this second Japan vlog. I think our voices were a bit more normal in this video ;o) If you have any comments or questions, or if there is a particular aspect of our life in Japan that you would like us to vlog, just leave it in the comments section below and I'll see what we can do :o)