The free care package the Japanese government sends to people who are quarantining with Covid.

[StrictlyRockers]

Link to tweet

The Japanese government sends free care packages to people who are quarantining from Covid. This is the package for one person. New Zealand does something similar.

[Carlitos Brigante]

1. Arghhh! Those freedom hating bastards!!!! nt

[dalton99a]

2. Kick

[EastMeetsWest]

15. Oh, wow! I have most of that stuff at my house!

Heat-and-serve rice; "Mega curry"; udon noodles; tsuyu sauce; spaghetti; Del Monte vegetable juice; tangerine gelatin; "oyakp-don"; chuuka-don; "tappuri" meat sauce; potato soup mix; Pocari Sweat sports drink; "tanuki udon" and "kitsune udon"; "salad macaroni"

[ShazzieB]

23. This pic takes me back to when I used to go to the Japanese grocery store with my daughter.

There's one in the Chicago area, about an hour from us: https://mitsuwa.com/ch/

My daughter is into everything Japanese, including anime, manga, and jrock, and Japanese food. When she was still living at home, I'd go there with her every now and then. I'm not an adventurous eater, so I didn't find much I wanted to try myself, but it was fascinating to walk up and down the aisles and just look at everything. There was a bakery under the same roof with lovely baked goods, a book store, and a food court with lots of different selections. Fun place to spend a couple of hours on a weekend afternoon.

Now that she's out of the house and living with her boyfriend, I know they still go there, but I haven't been in years.

[EastMeetsWest]

25. Wow! Those sushi party trays look yummy

They must cost a small fortune, though

[Totally Tunsie]

44. Looks like they range from $35 to $120...

https://shop.mitsuwa.com/product-category/party-tray/

[EastMeetsWest]

45. $35 would be cheap, even in Japan, for a "party tray".

I often buy sushi at the local supermarket after coming home from work. By then, the sushi is usually discounted by 40% at the local supermarket. So I can buy a 10-piece sushi set for around ¥360 (US$3.20)

[Totally Tunsie]

47. Aw gee...now I'm craving sushi!

Hey, welcome to DU, EastMeetsWest. Enjoy your time here.

[EastMeetsWest]

55. I just had some sushi

My only complaint was, sometimes the rice got stuck in my throat.

[ForgedCrank]

32. You KNOW

there are some tasty noodles in that pile. It's making me hungry wondering what each of them contains.
Although they do have some nasty combinations for candy sometimes.

[Meowmee]

3. Looks good

Here we get zip and are told buy your own masks/ tests etc. when none are even available.

[Hoyt]

4. Like encouragement for quarantine. But too healthy for average American.

[ShazzieB]

30. Maybe not all that healthy, lol.

There are a lot of heavily processed items in there, which a lot of people would probably not consider super healthy. Me, I hate to cook, so a big pile of processed mixes and "heat and eat" type stuff wold be right up my alley.

[elleng]

5. Finland's social security institution, has been sending new parents a baby starter kit

for 75 years. It's stuffed with 60 essential items — clothes, blankets, toys, a book, bedding, an assortment of personal care items, and probably also instructions for reaching Narnia.

[Whatthe_Firetruck]

8. I think I heard about that.

Doesn't the box double as a bassinet?

[elleng]

10. I think so.

[madaboutharry]

26. Yes, it does.

I have a friend who is Finnish. The box contains lovely things and then becomes a bassinet.

[brooklynite]

6. That looks like a lot of processed food...

[Grasswire2]

7. looks to me like food that doesn't need a lot of refrigeration.

Like back-pack camping food. Easy to fix, and nutritious enough for a quarantine period.

[EastMeetsWest]

16. It's basically noodles/pasta, sauces for rice and pasta, canned fish,

a few snacks, sports drinks, bottled water, instant noodles in bowls (add hot water), gelatin desserts, heat-and-serve rice

[xmas74]

12. A friend is vaxxed and boosted

She caught it while working as an OR nurse. She's just getting over it. Hers was mild yet she felt awful and had to quarantine from her family.

That kit would definitely come in handy for someone who had to quarantine. It's all easy to make.

[Throck]

33. Processed food usually high in sodium

Read the ingredients list on Ramen noodles.

[peggysue2]

9. Excellent idea!

[Grins]

11. You should see what they provide for school lunches.

And no one screams, “Soshilism!!!!”

[dalton99a]

22. +1. What they feed the kids:

https://www.domodaruma.com/blog/japanese-school-lunches-34-day-menu
Japanese School Lunches: 34 Day Menu


https://yattatachi.com/japanese-school-lunches
What A Month of Japanese School Lunches Looks Like

[halfulglas]

13. Our society that values the "worth ethic" so much says

Go home abd stay there but you're on your own. Maybe you have a friend or relative to check on you.

[Archae]

14. How often is the food and stuff delivered?

Every week?

[EastMeetsWest]

17. I think it depends on the prefecture (state) and/or household

For example, in Saitama Prefecture (next to Tokyo), the care package is like this

・内容：レトルトごはん、パスタ、カレー、ビタミン飲料など（1箱あたり3日から5日分）

Contents: heat-and-serve rice, pasta, curry, vitamin drinks, etc. (one box lasts for 3 to 5 days)

・配達方法：非対面で御自宅の玄関前等にお届けする「置き配」方式

Delivery method: Left at your doorstep

・費用：無料

Cost: Free

＊療養終了間際など、御希望に添えない場合もありますので、あらかじめ御了承ください。

Please understand that there may be cases where we cannot meet your requests just before the end of your treatment.

＊離乳食やアレルギー等の特別食には対応しておりませんので御注意ください。

Please note that we cannot provide special foods for people who are lactose intolerant or have food allergies

[StrictlyRockers]

18. Does it tell you anything else?

So you can order a box every few days if you need one while you are quarantining?

[EastMeetsWest]

21. That is my understanding

However, there are apparently cases where you can't order anything just before your treatment is supposed to end.

[StrictlyRockers]

27. That's very interesting.

Thank you!

[Good egg]

19. Americans would be happy

with a couple of home covid tests. Two or three weeks ago.

[Marcuse]

20. A Kenyan politician gave airline bottles of cognac to his constituents as "throat sanitizer".

[YoshidaYui]

24. sugoi!!

すごい!

[EastMeetsWest]

28. And to top it off,

その配食サービスは無料です

[YoshidaYui]

50. さらに良い。

even better.

[EastMeetsWest]

53. 私はそういうサービスがあると良いと思いますが、

実は、私はこのままの自由の生活を続きたいと思います

[YoshidaYui]

56. i hear ya on that...

Catch you around!! jyaa ne!

[EastMeetsWest]

57. I hope to see more of you, too

じゃ、ねえ

[PatrickforB]

29. That's because neither of these countries spend too many billions on war,

and have more equitable tax codes. And, because they aren't rugged individualist rodeo cowboys who don't care about anyone but themselves, as we have been coached for many years to be.

[Tree Lady]

37. Yep they never show but rarely where our taxes go

I have seen it and military takes most of it.

[EX500rider]

48. "and military takes most of it." Define most of it.

[Aussie105]

31. A care package like that wouldn't work in America.

It would be gone in one day, on the 'I see food, I eat food, I don't stop, where did it all go?' principle.

Then again, COVID may make you lose your appetite.

But it's a great idea, anyway, makes it easier to isolate properly.

[BigmanPigman]

35. The terrible sore throat

that comes with Omicron would make me avoid eating for a while.

[The Unmitigated Gall]

36. Had that. Horrible sore throat.

Way back at the beginning…late January early February 2020. Felt like broken glass in my throat. Chewed aspirin and gargled it. Kind of gross but it cut the pain quite a bit.

[BigmanPigman]

38. For some reason I always get a sore throat

before a fever and body aches whenever I get sick. I sometimes chewed ice cubes but than aspirin sound better since it is actual medicine. I would eat ice cream to numb it but then I'd gain about 10 pounds after a few days of ice cream therapy.

[The Unmitigated Gall]

51. Well, you're not going to gain much weight

On aspirin! Tastes terrible though, but you’ll get used to it. As long as aspirin is ok for you from a medical standpoint. I’m pretty sure I caught Covid way back at the start of this nightmare and I’ll never forget how badly my throat hurt. Be well!

[BigmanPigman]

52. I can take aspirin so I definately will be munching on them

at the first sign of a sore throat. Great tip! Thanks.

[moondust]

34. No Cadillac?

[EastMeetsWest]

39. LOL. The worst driver I ever saw in Japan was driving a Cadillac

Within the space of maybe a quarter mile, he(?) committed at least 4 moving violations-- failure to yield to a pedestrian at a crosswalk, failure to yield to traffic, speeding, and running a red light.

[betsuni]

40. Menu:

Spaghetti with meat sauce
Curry rice
Somen/udon noodles (hot or cold using Mizkan Tsuyu soup base)
Macaroni salad (mayo and canned tuna)
Canned fish, rice with packaged toppings, soup
Rice with Chinese stir-fry topping
Stew (if one has cabbage, onions on hand) made with Ajinomoto consume soup base
Shiso salad dressing, canned corn
Instant noodles
Rice with Kewpie Ojiya Sukiyaki and other mysterious toppings

[EastMeetsWest]

54. The toppings are not so "mysterious" to Japanese

All that stuff in the care package is stuff that is sold in nearly all Japanese supermarkets. All Japanese are familiar with all that stuff.

[betsuni]

58. My Japanese husband was the one who said it looked mysterious and kind of

like vomit when I asked what it was, neither one of us had seen it in supermarkets before (we don't buy processed food very often). Guess I shouldn't comment about Japan, I only live here.

[EastMeetsWest]

59. What is the stuff that looks like vomit?

I assume you're talking about the 親子丼, which has been part of the Japanese menu since at least 1884. At any rate, all that stuff I can buy at any of the various supermarkets in my area like カワチ、とりせん, and ヨークベニマル, and much of that is also sold in drug stores like ウェルシア and マツキヨ.

[betsuni]

60. The packages of Kewpie Ojiya.

Soft over-processed stuff that if you splattered it on the sidewalk would look like ... . That's what he thought. As I said, we don't buy processed food -- I cook -- so we're unfamiliar with a lot of products.

[EastMeetsWest]

61. So, basically, 親子丼

Admittedly, the suggested serving on the package might look somewhat unappetizing to the uninitiated.

[betsuni]

62. "Uninitiated"? To heating up a plastic package of food?

Last edited Thu Jan 13, 2022, 07:10 AM - Edit history (1)

Like in 1884?

[Generic Brad]

41. My wife chats daily with friends in Japan

They were slow to get the vaccine. But now that it is rolled out nearly the entire country is vaccinated. They also tell her people have been wearing masks everywhere for two years now.

Despite this, they are currently overwhelmed by Omnicrom.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

42. Instead of saying "why don't we have that here," I see a lot of people saying "other people wouldn't

use it right" or "it's gross food." So I'll say, Why don't we have that here?

[MineralMan]

43. Yes, exactly.

I was especially amused by the complaints that it was "processed food" and contained "too much sodium." First world complaints, they seemed like to me.

[leftstreet]

49. +1

[area51]

46. Those govts want to keep their citizens alive,

and also provide affordable healthcare b/c they're 1st world countries, unlike the US. US govt.: "Can't afford to get sick? Then die."