You know it's undokai (Sports Day) time when...

you see banners of children running, and all the sports drinks are on sale at the grocery store.

And the chips and snack foods are on sale, too, in their own special section.


Shrimp chips and green tea corn puffs. Only in Japan.

I'd never had the green tea Cheeto-type star-shaped puffs before, so I bought some to try. (Why not? They're on sale.) It turns out that they're sweet! And quite addictive, surprisingly. I'll be back for more.

You see, Sports Day--and this time of year, in general--is a time for picnics. Like this...

This is the bulletin board at the preschool where I volunteer once a month.

What does a Japanese picnic consist of?

Rice balls called onigiri, fruits & veggies, some meat on a stick, and of course no picnic is complete without a little orange octopus (??).

Oh, and shimp chips & green tea corn puffs, too. :)