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I wasn’t actually listening to Paolo, but looking at Wolfy dancing around, clapping hands, enjoying by himself. He is just a happy go lucky kid- he has a good soul 🫶🏼
Costco sells a standard line, but they also have items specific to the local area. Go to the Hawaii Costco, very unique items. I wish they would bring more Japanese items to the US, but I think that there may be a language/packaging problem.
Wolfy is absolutely adorable! Would you ever do a "Day In the Life" of a Japanese pharmacist? Or a behind the scenes of a Japanese pharmacy? Thank you for another great video!
I freaking LOVE your Japan videos, Paolo. Thank you! My wife and I visited Japan (Tokyo/Kyoto/Fuji-San) on our 10th wedding anniversary, and.... seriously, I did NOT want to leave. It felt like it was my personal Disneyland. My wife could not get me out of Akihabara for 2 days straight! I even went back by myself for a third time! And the Ramen..... oh man.... and Tsukiji market's sashimi and sushi.... aaaaah, melts like butter in the mouth. I miss it so much!
Our ‘international family circle’ here in (rural) Mie Prefecture regularly make a kind of pilgrimage to our nearest Costco. It takes a couple of hours but we carpool and make a day-adventure of it. Costco here is the perfect combination of Japan quality and American goodies that we usually kind find here. (Still have a couple of slices of pepperoni pizza in the freezer right now!) Never tried the poke though. Looks good!
@@DoctorEbot well, it’s no Tokyo. But we actually have a lot of cool stuff to do in Mie. (Ise Jingu aside) we have a couple of decent amusement parks, nice beaches, and as of this November… Ghibli Park!! (Not actually in Mie, but in Aichi, which is next to us.)
@@Jordan-inJapan Genuinely curious, what exactly is Japanese-style pizza? I visit my relatives for months at a time in Kansai and the pizza options are American/NYC-style or Italian/Neopolitan-style, no in between? Or maybe I just haven't seen enough lol. Can you recommend a Japanese-style pizza joint? Would love to try it out!
I worked in an American Costco for 10 years and had always wanted to transfer to a Japanese Costco. For a retail/grocery store, Costco pays their employees well and give awesome benefits. They use to be one of the highest ranking, for their category, for taking care of their employees. That is why now I still like Costco, not only for quality of products, but for how they take care of their employees.
Just came from my local costco on Maui. We have poke but very limited. Thanks for sharing what you have at your costco. Next time we’re in Japan we plan on visiting the cisco there.
The costco here in Honolulu, Hawaii is actually the busiest Costco in the world. It sometimes is in second place to one in South Korea, but most of the time it is in the #1 spot. And yes, they have poke there. But not always. Depends on the season and availability.
The reason you see the HI Costco on the top 10 list is due to time differences in reporting. If they delayed that report by 24 hours and just showed what each Costco made in the last 24 hours you would only see SEA stores on the list. In a 24 hour period they make quite a bit more.
I always love seeing what is available in Costco's in different countries. They have the strawberry shortcake in Canada too. We have the sesame dressing but it is a different brand. I swear the hot dog is like a staple at the Costco food court everywhere.
James (Jim) Sinegal, one of the original owners of Costco, was the one who instituted the hotdog and pop deal in the foodcourts at all Costco stores in the world, as he said that the low-priced food acts as a hook to get customers to come into the store in the first place. Once the customer was safely inside, they would be more inclined to buy other deals as well at that point. At one point around 1984/85-ish, one of the then, head bean-counters of Costco approached Jim Sinegal and noted to him that Costco was operating at a loss over the price of the Hotdog and Pop deal of $1.50, and that they should raise the price a few dollars to return them to profitability. Jim turned to the bean-counter and is quoted as having said to him, in a not so subtle, angry and threatening voice (for real; this is not a joke), "Touch my Dogs, and I will End You!!" The dogs and pop have remained at their current price selling point ever since. 😂😂
@@steadholderharrington9035 It wasn't a head Bean Counter lol. It was the current CEO Craig Jelenik. The quote is, If you raise the price on the hot dog I will fucking kill you. This used to be in our early training videos. (Bleedped out of course.)
@@ThePawn02 I was told it was an accountant by an apparently lesser informed Costco employee here, where I live (we've got eight(8) of these stores here if you can believe that! Why a city of just over 1 million people need 8 of these stores is beyond me!) As for the rest of it, call it creative editing for family friendly ears. I didn't know where it had originated from.
lol I love hearing you and your wife talking with one another in this video. She gives pretty good insights on what's in Japan. That chicken nugget potato bucket would be my ultimate comfort food. Wish we got that here in the States. I feel like most people would love it.
Hi Paulo. I can tell you pour your heart and soul into your productions! Love the "day in the life of" series. Some suggestions for future shows: conbini employee, rickshaw driver, nurse, golf course caddie, and maybe a special behind-the-scenes. Keep up the grade work and thanks for sharing your life in Japan with us. My wife and I love Japan and try to visit when we can. Can't wait until it (for "reals") opens back up!
I love that they have longganisa and tocino now. I usually boil them until the water evaporates. Then just let the oil from the longganisa finish the cooking for me. That way it's not too oily and you can get a good caramelization coating the sausage.
I would love to see you both sitting on the couch and talking about the differences between Japan and the west. The chemistry between you two seems so cool!
I know this video was posted a year ago, but an update: we have Black Thunder at Costco in California now!!! 😍😍 Also, this video is absolutely precious with Wolfy walking around with such pep and joy 🥺💗
Another awesome video! I go to the Costco in Kanazawa, Yokohama. It reminds me of home. Thank you for the inspiration Paolo! My videos are are inspired by you and your content.
Wow!! Thank you so much for highlighting my comment! At only 386 subs I can use the help lol. Seriously though, thank you for the inspiration and the positive vibes. Aloha from Yokohama🤙
I live near a place called Jungle Jim's International Food Market. They have everything you've got there and eating raw fish is becoming more common. Almost every Kroger here has a seafood department where a Japanese company comes and makes fresh sushi.
Hey Paolo, nice to see this video showcasing stuff that can be bought at Costco. I've always been curious about what things they have since I've never been to one. My suggestion with the longganisa or tocino is to cook it in plain water, but make sure to use nonstick pan, until much of the water evaporates. That way, the meat gets cooked in its own oil (like literal: igisa sa sariling mantika). Also, the oil from the longganisa or tocino gets extracted out of their meat so it gets less fatty. That's the way I cook both dishes here in Japan. Before, I used to let both swim in so much cooking oil, because I did't know how to cook it any other way.
I have some Kewpie Roasted Sesame Dressing in my fridge right now! also regular Kewpie mayo and Kewpie SMOKED Mayo (which is SO GOOOOOD -- eat it on a tomato sandwich)! I'd love to shop at a Japanese Costco someday.
We buy those sweet longanisa every time we go to the nearest Costco Japan from where we live. They're surprisingly good! Have to check that sweet tocino as well next time.
I think the word you were searching for to describe sauces and such is condiments. Strawberry shortcake is made differently in the US depending on the region. In the Northeast, biscuits are made, then strawberries in juice is poured over an opened biscuit with a plop of whipped cream on top. In the Southern part, it’s common to have spongecake and strawberries on top, and then a spoonful of whipped cream. Wolfy is adorable. 🚂
I just had Costco pizza not that long ago over here in California with the family. What I love with the membership is not only getting buck items and the food court but also the gasoline price discount, especially with California higher fuel cost per gallon. I only go to their gas stations early in the morning or 30 minutes before they close since most of the day the lines here are very long.
Poke in the Hawaii Costco is pretty awesome. I’d be interested in trying the Japanese strawberry shortcake as I find the variety we have in North America a bit too sweet for my taste. As for food court items go I’d have to say my favourite was the BBQ pulled pork sandwiches in the US but unfortunately they were too time consuming to make so Costco stopped offering it.
Disagree. Had the poke in the Hawaii Costco and it was just as bad as the poke at the local Costco back home. Costco poke is pretty bad and surprisingly overpriced.
They actually sell Lumpia (Filipino egg rolls) at the Costco in Tukwila! They also sampled the bulgogi bake in Seattle a couple years ago, but it never took off 😭
Cool! Costco in Nagoya is 2.5 km from my house. When we first moved to Nagoya we used to travel to Kobe just for Costco! That’s over 3 hours away. Now I can pop over to our local Costco just for a Hotdog for lunch!
Omg I have a son your age, and he just loves going to our local bjs (like another costco). He really has fun getting down to run and dance around the store. Too cute 😍
Hi! Longaniza is a Spanish inlaid or sausage. Every country that was a Spanish commonwealth or territory has a very closely related recipe for Longaniza. But the country of origin is Spain. Im from Puerto Rico and we have, Longaniza, Chirizo, Salchichon, Butifarras and Morcilla that is a blood sausage, all from our Spanish heritage.
Here in Australia we don't actually have any of these items, but we have lots of similar things. It's interesting to see what they have at Costco in other countries
It's the sushi that's a deal at Costco Japan. In the US we don't have that, but we usually have maybe two Japanese scotch's and no beer. The instant noodle options for Japanese brands is also much better there, but we do have a few good Korean noodles in the US. Strawberry shortcake has been around forever in the US too. It's usually individual sponge cakes sold separately during strawberry season and you make it fresh with whipped cream as a single serving. At least that's how we used to make it.
I am so happy I got on early enough to catch one of your videos right when you posted. Your videos are amazing, and watching them is just like entering a different world. And I love the ability to be able to escape for even a short fraction of time thank you so much for these videos
We indeed do have strawberry shortcake at costco and loganisa!! :) The seagrapes I haven't seen ):its hard to find a place here in the US where you can buy raw salmon to eat, usually do take out or find a japanese specialty store
I was just reading through the comments and realized that Cosco is in many places. I'm from Germany and the first time I ever heard of Cosco was in Paolo's Videos. I don't think we have Cosco in Germany. At least not in the bigger cities near the city I live, which is also a pretty big city. But it's interesting to see what kind of products they are selling.
In the states they don't have you buy the pharmacy stuff separately, however, in some parts of the country you will get your ID checked depending on the pharmacy item you buy (cough medicine usually triggers this in the checkout system). For alcohol, in some states you can only purchase it in the alcohol section, they have a separate cashier there for this purpose (and they will check ID, of course).
Thanks for this video. I was back home in Hawaii last month and visited the Costco. Yes, they sell poke and some sushi-grade fish there. I love how every Costco sells local products. We live too far away from the nearest Costco here in Japan, so we are not currently members.
COSTCO is the disneyland of distribution, for me it's BBQ paradise, sauces and garden parties but there are not all local products, maybe 20%, the most popular, we can group all the purchases of the week in one fell swoop!
In Costco Hawaii we have poké, sashimi, and sushi, but not as huge selection. Same for Japanese alchohol and spirits. In general Hawaii Costco has lot of Japanese products, but not as much as I would like. Aloha!
Grew up on costco wings and beef jerky. Costco in the states you dont need to buy over the counter stuff at the pharmacy but then again you don't need a costco membership to get prescription medicine. Most the asian products are primary also made within the states but I think that is mostly due to cost and taste.
There's 3 types of Poke variety in Costco Hawaii. Shoyu, Spicey mayo, and Wasabi Poke. We don't have any salmon poke only Ahi. We do have hamachi and ahi sashimi. Fresh Salmon sold in Costco are meant to be cooked. I did see frozen Salmon poke bowls being sold for a season but I don't think it did well since Ahi, Salmon and most fish poke is very abundant in Hawaii. Japanese Kitchen pantry essentials (sauces, seasonings)
A quick correction, just because it hits home this time hahahaha, but Longaniza is actually a spanish dish! It is quite popular in other parts of the world, and they make their own versions, but it is originally from spain :) EDIT: Paolo! I know your parents are Filipinos (I'm pretty sure they are) I'd love to know if there are any differences between your longaniza and ours!
I love your videos, especially seeing other Costco's. Longanisa as well as Chorizo is a Hispanic condiment mainly used for breakfast but is used in other occasions too. Glad to see your happy and blessed.
The standard Costco credit card in the US is Visa and in Japan it is Master Card. The Japanese Costco will accept the US Costco Visa cards, but will need a manager override.
Hi from Seattle! Not sure about the Eastside stores, but Seattle SODO and Shoreline carry a ton of Asian products now. More every year! We have poke, sushi, and seaweed salad, Sapporo and Suntory, dashi "tea bags", Kewpie mayo, Bachan's Japanese sauces, kimchi and kimchi-jeon pancake mix, pork belly and cured pork, Indian curries, instant noodles from like 5 different countries, and many many more! Check it out next time you're back to visit, it was a big surprise for us just being gone a few years.
I live in Pennsylvania. Our Costco’s don’t sell Alcohol. Depending on the location and cultural influences, one can often find cultural foods, especially around various holidays.
Fun fact! Longaniza & tocino are also present in 🇲🇽 Mexico, they’re widely used around our cuisine. I think they’re an Spanish heritage, since Mexico & the Philippines were conquered by Spain.
Caulerpa lentillifera/Sea Grapes are manly produced and consumed in Japan and the Philippines as they are eaten as in sushi rolls and in salads. it is called umi-budō (海ぶどう) in Japan and Lato in the Philippines.
USA has Japanese strawberry shortcake but it is called "Strawberry Chiffon Cake". If you get American strawberry shortcake it is very different depending on the region of the USA. It might be an individual dark yellow sponge cake or a crisper sort of base. Those big strawberry bar cakes are popular near the USA Mexico border and have a lot of fake whipped cream.
The CostCo here (in Ottawa, Canada) finally started selling "sushi"...it is just mostly California rolls, though. It looks pretty dried out and unappetizing...We don't have any alcohol here in CostCo, but if you hop the river and go to Quebec, they have really cheap beer at their CostCo.
Interesting to see that those Philipino sausages are made in Canada... yet, I never saw them at any Canadian Costco. Philipino cuisine, made in Canada, and sold exclusively at Costcos in Japan. KInda cool, and weird at the same time.
I find it interesting that the Filipino tocino and longganisa shows it's made in Canada! I wish our Costco here in Canada have the variety of sushi and seafood. There's sushi in some Costco but it's ok. Maybe one day I can visit a Costco in Japan.
It depends on the state and area I'm in NY No hard liquor sales just beer and bottled or box wines. Pharmacy over the counter you pay at the regular cashier. Prescriptions are paid for in the pharmacy. But the area my friend told me that the Costco near queens had Hong Kong style sausage (lop chang) but I have never seen it for sale at the Costco near me, one hour east of queens. Also we don't have bulgoji wrap, but chicken breast wrap. Nor do we have chicken nuggets potato wedges bucket or the quinoa sandwich.
I live in Washington state, they have had the longganisa here. It's not a regular item. We also are getting a lot more Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese foods now. We have Kewpie mayo and goma dressing, teriyaki sardines, flavored dried seaweed and others. Some of the other items are more seasonal, celebration type foods. I just bought a box of Kukkia cookies last month.
Siwin, who makes the longanisa, is actually a Canadian company. We have it at every grocery store here. Never thought to try it before but now I'm tempted :)
I live in Queens, New York and shop at 5 different Costco's since they all have something different in them. Prices were close enough to be the same. I would change our Chicken Bake for your Bulgogi bake in a heartbeat! (30 cents difference only) We have sushi and Sashimi but you seemed to have way more choices. The poke is available in Hawaii. I tend to watch Costco videos world wide. You did a pretty good job!
Our short cake is either a soft yellow cake similar to a cross between angle food cake and pound cake, or a biscuit like cake that is slightly crumbly. And that is from a true southerner who makes both kinds from scratch. Then you put delicious lightly sugared strawberries that have made their own syrup, and whip cream on top of the cake.
One of the staples that Costco sells in the US (I believe in Canada as well), are Yakitori Chicken Fried Rice frozen dinners by Ajinomoto. It's a chicken fried rice with vegetables (carrots, yellow carrots, peas, edamame, red pepper, corn) and the pieces of chicken are grilled. (So are the corn kernels.) They're quite good and work out to slightly over $2 a meal (six in a box).
Omgosssshhhhhhh, I always enjoy watching your videos Paola. You make me feel inspired & excited to leave in Japan and am certain I'll travel there soon and probably spend a month exploring Japan, especially Japanese foods and snacks. Everytime you show them, am always drooling 😍😍😍 Keep posting more videos Paola and send my best wishes to your wife & Michael. I'm going to share your videos with more of my friends,👏🎉❤️🔥
I work at a Costco in the states, as far as i know we do not require people to buy pharmacy items (over the counter) at the pharmacy. At least at my store. We do have a few of the kewpie products, at least the mayo. I WISH we sold buckets of nuggets and wedge fries. Man...or that bulgolgi bake? Those look great.
