Recently, the summer humidity has given way to cooler temps, the leaves have begun to change colors, and it’s finally starting to feel like autumn. But before any of these things happened, we knew that fall was upon us when we started seeing seasonal foods arrive at our local supermarkets and convenient stores. The average Japanese supermarket is not able to maintain the year-round varieties of foods like enormous U.S. grocers can, so food seasonality becomes much more important here. Seasonal foods also have cultural and even religious significance, so foods are connected to seasons in a very profound way. I bet if you asked the average Japanese, they would have a hard time imagining a season going by without eating the prerequisite seasonal foods. Like the falling leaves, it's simply another indicator of the passing of time. ![]() In addition to seasonal cuisine being offered in restaurants or cooked at home, Japanese snack makers have also gotten on board with the seasonal changes and produce chips, crackers, and chocolates in limited seasonal flavors. During the fall, you can enjoy your favorite treats in pumpkin, chestnut, and sweet potato. Japan often experiments with limited flavors, and it’s a regular occurrence to fall in love with a new flavor only to see it go away and never appear again. If a limited flavor is connected to the season, at least you can look forward to eating/drinking it once a year. During autumn in Japan, there are also seasonal activities like mushroom hunting, picnicking beneath or just watching the changing leaves, and participating in fall festivals. Fall festivals can be large, regional events or small, neighborhood get-togethers. Most have religious significance, relating to the fall harvest or honoring the moon, but their contemporary goal is to bring local communities together. If you ever visit Japan in the fall, I highly recommend seeking out a fall festival, whether it be big or small, to have an experience usually only reserved for locals. In honor of autumn, we want to show off a few of our fall colors at Fresh Stock. If your pencils and notebooks are looking a little dull, you can think about picking up some new office items in yellows, oranges and golds.
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![]() I bought my first Trusco tool box in 2008, and the blue steel looks as shiny as it did when it was new. I chose a medium Trunk Tool Box as a place to store my pens, pencils, scissors, etc. My Trusco tool box has moved around the world with me and has always been placed proudly on my desk as soon as it’s unpacked. Perhaps it comes from my love of Lego as a child (and the need to constantly clean up pieces), but I like being able to scoop up all my office tools, pop them in a box, close the lid, and have them out of sight when they’re not in use. ![]() Trusco makes their steel tool boxes in an impressive array of shapes and sizes. The two boxes we chose to carry are the smallest sizes in their lineup, which are well-suited for stationery, craft supplies, and other small storage. I personally also own an 11-inch ridged tool box, which I use to securely store my shoe shine kit. We are currently considering offering other models, which are more suitable for tools or larger items. Virtually all of Trusco’s steel tool boxes come in their signature metallic blue enamel, but a few are available in other colors. We hope you like our stationery-sized tool boxes, but don’t be surprised if we soon announce some bigger sizes and maybe additional colors too. |
AuthorBenjamin Stock founded Fresh Stock in Kobe, Japan and now runs it in the U.S. along with his wife, Rebecca. Archives
November 2017
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