Grocery shopping is a bit of a dodgy endeavor. At first I would take pictures of my computer's translator and take my camera to the store, trying to match the squiggles on the screen to the squiggles on the packaging. (You would think cornstarch would be easily recognizable, but there are several powdered white substances available in similar format)

Then I discovered the "Guide to Food Buying in Japan," written by someone who once upon a time found herself in similar straits as us. This book is a godsend, enabling me to match photos as well as squiggles to what is in on the shelves. Also Andrew gave us a great Japanese cookbook that has the ingredients in both Japanese and roman lettering, which is great because now when I am matching squiggles I know that I am getting something I can actually use.

Still, I sometimes partially miss the mark, as with this ground meat. I was looking for pork and ended up with "pork and mix something else," as the check-out lady informed me. Close enough.

As a last resort I e-mail photos to Matthew at work so he can ask people in the office what I bought and what to do with it.