Open, shut them. Open, shut them...

This is a really important message.

Last week, on the train to Amanohashidate, we tried to open some beef jerky my mom had sent from the States, and we mangled it. We didn't have scissors. Can you relate?

It made me appreciate the fact that almost all Japanese packages, large or small, have a precut "akeguchi/kiriguchi" Behold, tomato paste:

Can we also pause to appreciate the convenience of selling tomato paste in 2 tbsp packages? How has this marketing concept escaped Del Monte? Have you, like me, worked with recipes that call for 2T of tomato paste?

Moving on.

Here is the pack of pencil leads we use:

Our juice:

And the peanuts I bought today. Look carefully, folks. It's down at the bottom edge. That little notch whips the package right open. Yee haw!

I could go on, but you'd think I was a little obsessed.

And yet.... ... ...

The envelopes we buy here do not have glue on them.

See? No glue.

You have to GYOG.