I am a long time fan of pickles, come from my dad who is a Chicago boy and was weened on the Polish pickles. After moving to NZ I was in pickle hell. All you could get here were to small sweet crunchy "pickles" not the large suculent dill tpyes that are a true pickle :-: ....well if you like bread and butter pickles then you can.
Now I found as saviour, a grocery store in Christchurch. Johnsons Grocery a literal time capsule in modern times. Johnsons have had only two owners since the early 1900's and the second owner is still there. Picture the old time shop with the keeper wearing a white apron, shelves (some on a precarious angle) full of jars and tins from around the world, candies biscuits and other gourmet items that are nigh on impossible to get anywhere else in this country. I was drawn to the shop and then saw my saviour, Polish pickles.... .
Now I do pickle runs, every two months there is a calling to do a presentation in Christchurch and for me to pick up some jars. I even walked across the city in the snow to get some....reminded me of what my father told me he used to do when he was a kid (minus the 6 foot snow drifts). I am so glad that NZ does not have a TSA although I do occasionally answer "Yes there are four jars of pickles in my carry-on."
Edit: Oh Japan is THE LAND of Pickles. Oshinko of every variety, colour and taste with shops dedicated to the art of the pickle. ^