- Richard Truong is a software program engineer from Pennsylvania who has been a Costco member since 2016.
- On a visit to Japan final 12 months, Truong stopped by a Costco in Kyoto.
- Whereas the atmosphere was very acquainted, he discovered a number of meals choices he’d by no means seen within the US.
This as-told-to essay relies on a dialog with Richard Truong. The next has been edited for size and readability.
I work as a software program engineer for a big insurance coverage firm in Pennsylvania, and I have been a member of Costco since 2016. I began taking a number of photos of the indicators and costs at my native warehouse as a result of that is how I might finances my meals bills in school.
I take pleasure in touring world wide to know totally different cultures and totally different locations since you see them on TV and within the films, however it’s by no means actually the identical as truly being there.
It is enjoyable to wander round Costco warehouses in numerous nations and see what they’ve — what’s much like the US and what’s particular to that area.
Japan is fairly cool with their meals. If I had a strategy to prepare dinner whereas I am touring, I would perhaps purchase the wagyu beef cheaper there, as a substitute of going to a restaurant. However touring solo, it is fairly onerous to strive a variety of meals in bulk. It might not be nice to have 5 kilos of beef to eat and 5 liters of alcohol to drink on my own, however I am fairly certain I may at the least down a complete sushi platter.
Japan has 32 Costco warehouses. This is what I noticed on my go to to the one in Kyoto.
