Dining out became difficult in April under the State of Emergency, when restaurants, bars, and cafés were asked to shorten their business hours. When you consider the financial difficulties I just wrote about, I think cooking at home is probably best under these circumstances. But since you’ve come all the way to Japan, you also want to eat some of Japan’s tasty foods, too, don’t you?

Happily, in the university town of Kyoto, even in such difficult circumstances, many shops offer special service menus for students.

In the Taishogun Ichijo Shopping Street, Kitano Shopping Street, and Senbon Shopping Street close to where this writer lives, there are many dining options where showing a student ID can get you a cheap, delicious, and filling meal.

I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that this is one of the places where you can really feel the human kindness of the people here.

Some information on restaurants that offer support for students can be found posted on university websites. Even since the State of Emergency has been lifted, staying at home is still recommended, so it’s a good idea to check the store information in advance, and make a plan to do your eating out efficiently. University websites often have a variety of information on locations around the school, so be sure to take a look.

If you’re going to cook at home, Kyoto has many different supermarkets, and many of them have sales during the evening and early morning hours.

Evening sales, especially, can have discounts on products close to their expiration dates, in addition to regular discounts. You can sometimes find discounts up to 50% off, and be able to buy quite nice products for very little.

When it comes to meat and some other products, though, an expiration date might worry some. In these cases, if you marinate your meat in salt, soy sauce, sake, spices, or other ingredients, you can actually extend the expiration date. I think learning about the traditional ways of food preparation and preservation is one of the fun things you can discover during this pandemic.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t subsided across all of Japan yet, for the moment, a new lifestyle like the one discussed here may be necessary for a while yet. We can only do our best to stay positive and continue on.

Try to avoid unnecessary outings, wear a mask when you go out, don’t forget to wash your hands and gargle when you get home, and hang out with friends online.

Do your best to help stop the spread of the disease, so that we can go enjoy seeing the cherry blossoms along the Kamo River in the spring again.

(Written by: Gen Sei-i, Doshisha University Graduate School of Global Studies)