When I entered Super 88, I really had no expectations. I’ve always wanted to go and explore what’s offered there, but I never did before. Walking in for the first time, I was overcome with all that was around me. I began to move at a slower pace to take it all in. Everything there is much different than what I am used to seeing at Trader Joe’s or my local supermarket. And I was excited to explore.
I began in the frozen food section immediately impressed by all that I saw. To my right were encased shelves of delicious frozen desserts like green tea and taro root popsicles, red bean mochi, and others. All the flavors were foreign to me and so intriguing that I’ve made a little popsicle-flavors-to-try bucket list. To my left seemed like a mile of frozen packaged dumplings. The flavors and types of dumplings range from shrimp potstickers, to pork soup dumplings, to steamed buns with lotus seed paste. As an avid dumpling lover, this was heaven in fluorescent lighting.
Photo by Olivia Hasse
After moving on from the frozen foods (which was extremely difficult for me), I stumbled upon the snack sections. A variety of colorful candies line the shelves, all with packages in different languages. There’s something fun about brightly-colored, poppy packaging that makes buying and eating the candy even more enjoyable. Of course, they had other popular snacks like Pocky and Meiji Hello Panda Biscuits.
Photo by Olivia Hasse
Photo by Olivia Hasse
Not to mention the sodas and juices Super 88 had just a few aisles over. The first thing I noticed when I walked down this aisle was the variety of flavors available. I have never seen coconut or melon flavored soda, but I absolutely have to try them now.
Photo by Olivia Hasse
I also found a lot of food items I never thought I would see. Boiled duck eggs, packaged fresh jellyfish, and dried octopus are just a few of the exotic foods I found in the aisles of Super 88. I never thought about them before, but maybe I’d try them someday. It was interesting to see so much of a different culture just through the food.
Photo by Olivia Hasse
I felt as if I had been transported to an entirely different world, and I was only a few blocks from campus. I highly suggest and encourage anyone who may be interested in checking it out to do so. You’ll leave with a cool, new perspective on international foods and maybe some snazzy new snacks. For me, it was a struggle to leave the vicinity with just a box of red bean mochi.