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Shopping
at supermarkets
Shopping at supermarkets :
Do you like eating in sushi restaurants
or drinking in bars or izakaya ? Well, it's fun,
you might meet nice people, but
unless you're wealthy enough to do it every night, you
have to cook on your own some how.
Convenience store ? - not bad. But, the price is higher
to meet its 24 hours service.
Instead, find a large and cheap
supermarket. "Dai-ei", "Ito-yokado","Jusco" are
the leading supermarket chains in Japan.
Food expense :
You might think that even in supermarkets,
food are expensive in Japan, but the ratio of food expense
to the whole family budget is almost
at
the
same
level
as
in Europe
and slightly higher than in America.
price
in
yen |
Tokyo |
NY |
London |
Paris |
Berlin |
| Rice(10 kg) |
4,229 |
2,319 |
2,044 |
4,742 |
3,837 |
| Bread(1 kg) |
422 |
380 |
147 |
337 |
279 |
| Milk(1 liter) |
209 |
119 |
102 |
128 |
95 |
| Egg(1 kg) |
327 |
309 |
417 |
383 |
391 |
| Sugar(1 kg) |
248 |
173 |
158 |
155 |
121 |
| Beer(1bottle) |
221 |
102 |
138 |
67 |
50 |
| Coke(1 cane) |
120 |
53 |
65 |
43 |
49 |
Discount :
If you really want to save money in Japanese supermarkets, do your shopping
at night. Look for red stickers that generally mean
"special offer". Especially just before the closing time, you
will see many merchandise with these on.
 |
 |
 |
30% OFF |
Half Price |
70% OFF |
The left image ("san wari biki") means 30 % discount from the price shown. You can guess from the number.
The middle image (han gaku) indicates half price, and the right image, 70 % discount.
There are other ways to show special offers, but usually written in red characters to catch your eyes.
Closing time depends on each store, but large supermarkets would not close until late at night. Some supermarkets open 24 hours. |
 And most of the supermarkets have "OOURIDASHI(sale)" day on certain day of a week, like on every Tuesdays, or on Sunday mornings.
Check the supermarkets in your neighbors, and shop at the right place, right time. Many Japanese go to several supermarkets to do a day's shopping.
Imported groceries :
Local supermarkets do have variety of imported products, but if you are looking for something special, going to "international supermarket"s (that's how they call themselves) might be better. "Kinokuniya" , "National Azabu" , or "Seijo-Ishii" are famous among this kind. |
For a small souvenir :
Looking for a nice souvenir for your friends or families in your country ? Then, how about Japanese snacks or sweets ? They're cheap and very light to carry.
 Japanese sweets and snacks are usually packed in cute boxes. Not only kids, but even adults would like them. (Actually, most of these products now days are aimed at adults)
You can also find season limited products or special package with small toys.
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