Facts about Canada for Americans (18 Pics)

I suggest you let these facts marinate.

We invented pineapple pizza and for the most part we actually like it.

You know Harbour Freight? There is a 1:1 version of it here in Canada, not a clone just a rebrand from the same company. Dead serious. The same items sold there under the HF Housebrand? They're called POWERFIST here.

Yes, in Canada milk does come in bags but only in certain provinces like Ontario where you can still actually buy milk in cartons and jugs anyway if you don't want your milk to sit and start to smell like your fridge does.

We not only have ketchup chips but we have ketchup Doritos. They've been a "limited time" item for around four years now.

We take our beer so seriously that it's illegal to move it across provincial borders without permission. It's a dumb rule.

Speaking of illegal, it's illegal in Canada to depict a crime being committed in a comic.

This is called a hoodie or hooded sweatshirt to the rest of the world. In Saskatchewan one of the bigger Canadian provinces? It's a bunnyhug. Why? Because of stubble-jumpin flatlanders.

The coldest temperature in Canada was 1:1 with the surface of Mars, I remember this one because our weather channels wouldn't stop telling us this like it made things any better.

Something so awful you'd want a McRib, it's the McLobster and it tastes like it looks.

The RCMP once formed a posse in Saskatchewan to catch some car thieves which included a cropduster pilot, farmers on ATVs and the RCMP piling into the bucket of a tractor to go off-road.

Our signs aren't just in English and French! In places like Ontario you'll also find signs in Ojibwe one of the languages of the native Canadians. Coming soon to British Columbia: Mandatory Chinese (Probably)

Do you know that Canadian Christians officially dissavowed the traditional image of Jesus Christ and chose to adopt this depiction?

In Dawson City, Yukon home to the show Gold Rush on Discovery there's a bar that serves a sour-toe cocktail, which has a humans severed toe in it that they keep in salt until a shot is being done. This toe was also stolen and somehow recovered recently.

We turned one of our finest Canadian institutions into a lesser version of Wal-Mart, Nicknamed Crappy Tire, or Newfie Tire this place is your one-stop shop for everything not tire and autoparts anymore. It's the best place to go to find Guy Fieri wing dips, 20 packs of microfibre towels on sale for $1.99 and redshirts that wish they really were redshirts.

The deepest underground lab in the world is the SNOLAB where they are studying neutrino emissions.. which is what we want you to think. It's located in Sudbury Ontario a place that once had VERY little forest because the acid rain produced by the nickel mine there scorched it all away!

We have more donut shops per capita than the rest of the world, unfortunately they're all Tim Hortons.

You know these jackholes you Americans created? We banned em.

A trip through a local Japanese grocery store! (50 Pics)

This is Seiyu! It’s the closest grocery store to where I live, which is about 8 minute walking distance. It’s right across from our local train station in Maborikaigan in Yokosuka, Japan. Seiyu is owned by WALMART, yes, Walmart. There is a bigger store that is about a ten minute drive from the house called LIVIN’ which is a bigger version of Seiyu which is pretty much exactly like an American Walmart except a lot cooler. It has two stories, a food court AND and arcade. Seiyu is wonderful for my everyday grocery needs though :)

As soon as you walk in the door you’re greeted by a vending machine that sells cigarettes! Cigarettes are super common here, and I think the majority of people of age smoke here. They are also less strong as American cigarettes so it’s not as “bad”.

Certain grocery items are outrageous compared to prices in America, which takes a while to get used to. A five pack of these apples is nearly $5 USD.

DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON STRAWBERRIES. Plus, above the strawberries is a 2 pack of nicer and bigger apples for nearly $4 USD -_-

For a country that prides itself on its recycling and resourcefulness when it comes to using less packaging and whatnot they still wrap bunches of banana in absurd amount of plastic wrap.

Asparagus prices as requested...nearly $3 USD for the bigger top bunch

DIS DAT SHIT. My husband loves ramen so i’m making it at least twice a week. These aren’t the dry noodles you see in things like Cup Noodle. These are fresh af and the packets inside have concentrated broth with actual fat that you can see when you open it. They have so many different broth flavors that make it feel like you’re getting a gormet bowl of ramen every time.

They have a bunch of packages with toppings that you would usually put in ramen, such at boiled eggs soaking in soy sauce. Delicious!

Of course there is plenty of fish that people use for things like sashimi and sushi. They’re all fresh and local! I live right on the coast so it’s EXTRA FRESH.

Price depends on weight obviously, and they restock every morning.

There are always a bunch of these packages that are boxed nice and neat usually because people give them as gifts.

Liquid happiness anyone? only $5.50 USD.

Nearly a whole wall filled with curry packages. I’m not the biggest fan of curry BUT i haven’t had that many different types so i’m sure I’ll find one that I love.

Also not a fan of Mayo so this wall of mayo is a no go for me. Again with the unnecessary packaging!

PEANUT BUTTER IS HELLA EXPENSIVE but we still have nutella so I’m not suffering that much.

A whole isle dedicated to rice. Many people think sushi is the most popular dish here in Japan and that people eat it like mad when in reality it’s rice!

Cup noodles are a popular thing though, as it’s super easy to make and the quality is still amazing. Waaaaaay better than American Cup Noodles.

This is the flavor packaging that I use to make my rice taste extra delicious! You add the seasoning to the rice as well as an egg on the stovetop to make yummy egg fried rice without actually being fried!

WAGYU BEEF. If you don’t know what this is I urge you to look up youtube videos of it being prepared but tldr, meat that melts like butter in your mouth, hence the nearly $16 USD price tag for a tiny pack.

My favorite section! The chocolate! All of them are pretty delicious, but some are better than others...

THIS IS THE BEST CHOCOLATE EVER. It’s so rich and creamy and smooth and dangerous af so you better make sure to hide the box from yourself or you will eat it all. Meiji is a big brand in Japan. They make so many other food products and even make baby formula(which I use for my 9 month old)

Most things in Japan have characters on them, usually Pokémon, One Piece or Anpanman. I love Pokémon, so I usually get everything that is themed around that!

These are delicious?? My husband likened then to the Starburst jellybeans that come out during Easter in America, but BETTER.

They don’t really have a toy section in the grocery store(and why would they...it’s a grocery store) BUT in the candy isle they have a bunch of mini toys/collectibles/figurines. They are usually anime themed, like Dragonball Super and such but they always come with a tiny single piece of gum in the box. They range in price, usually between ¥200-¥600 or $2-$6 USD. I bought four of the Pokémon ones this trip.

Pocky and Pretz are yummy snack foods that come in a bunch of different flavors. They’re little biscuit or cracker rods with either flavoring sprinkled on or dipped in some type of flavoring (chocolate, strawberry, banana). I’ve seen some in America but of course they have so many more flavors here.

Kit Kats are on a whole other level here. Usually people give Kit Kats to people as gifts for Valentine’s day and White day and they even have a little place to write a note on on the back of the wrapper! I have a collection in my refrigerator of all the flavored I’ve tried so far! Some of the ones I have are Apple Pie, Sake, Birthday Cake and Sweet Potato!

There are potato chips here but they aren’t like American potato chips! They aren’t nearly as salty and the “BIG” bags are still less than a normal sized bag! But they are very flavorful and yummy!

Energy Jelly!

Cereal isn’t really a big thing here since the price of milk is outrageous! I didn’t get a picture of mille but it’s upwards of ¥700 or $7 USD!

Haven’t had a chance to try one of these yet but they are everywhere.

There aren’t really cases of things here in Japan, just really big bottles of stuff!

My husbands favorite drink!! He loves banana smoothies and drinks and he says this is the all time best banana drink ever! I always see kids asking their parents to buy it for them when i walk by.

Sake! The alcohol isle in this store is huge, and it is small in comparison to others.

Usually people just buy single cans of alcohol after their workday since you are allowed to publicly drink on the streets here!

One of the most popular alcoholic drinks here since the alcohol percentage is 9%! The legal limit here is also a LOT lower than in America at just .3% is enough to be considered over the legal limit. One of these and you can’t drive for the rest of the night, possibly into morning.

Jokes aside, Nikki Whisky is one of the most popular brands of whisky here in Japan and is extremely smooth, plus I just really love the art.

These are little snack bags are perfect for toddler and kids and usually have super cute characters on them!

THESE THINGS ARE SO GOOD. Not so much during the colder seasons but in the Summer when the humidity is killer and you just wanna cool down, these are great. They rly little frozen balls of fruit and fruit juice! They have different flavors like peach, grape and kiwi!

Pudding is a big thing over here, and are usually presented so elegantly and have different flavors mixed in!

Sting cheese is not a common thing, but when you find it it’s usually only sold in packs of two! This is a huge bummer for me in the middle of the night when i want to eat 12 in a row.

Pizza is a huge disappointment for me here in Japan. Unless you order from Dominos Japan, the pizza you will buy in the grocery store is thin crust and very small. The flavors are unique though and are genuinely yummy. Nothing like the big, hearty and cheesy pizzas in America but still delicious! Dominos Japan is an experience as they have pizzas with mayo, corn, octopus, korean beef, and other crazy toppings!

Here is a little clearance section that has a bunch of perfectly yummy and popular food that is going to expire soon so they want to make sure it gets bought! Usually there is a bunch of mochi and dango(on the bottom right) and bread items!

Don’t know why it’s flipped but here is some prepackaged okonomiyaki! Grocery stores have a HUGE selection of prepared food for you to take home, warm up (or leave cool, and eat! They are all really cheap and always delicious! You can’t pick something bad!

Wrapped onigiri! Perfect for lunch on the go or a filling snack! My favorite onigiri is the one filled with beef short ribs!

Double sided stand with a bunch of freshly fried food! Usually there is a bunch of fried chicken and I have to stop myself from buying one of everything!

Even the prepackaged sushi is delicious and presented beautifully!

Grocery stores usually have a magazine stand that sells all sort of types of magazines. I usually look for the little kid magazines as they almost always come with a toy or a cool activity for my two year old to do! This one comes with a dry erase board and some markers!

Another food display that has freshly baked bread producers like buns, pizza, pastries and other deserts!

All the grocery stores are ones where you self bag all your items! So once you buy your items you go over to these tables and put your groceries into bags and then you’re on your way....

to stop at the Mcdonald’s right by the exit before you go home! I hope that you guys thought this was interesting! I was thinking of taking pictures of other stores like Don Quixote and the LIVIN’ that I mentioned at the beginning if anyone would want to see what those are like! I have the awesome opportunity of experiencing Japan for three years while we are stationed here with the US Navy. Hopefully some of you found something cool in this post! Can’t wait to see everyone else’s grocery stores around the world!