No matter what kind of lifestyle you live in Japan, from the most luxurious expat apartment complex to a rustic house in deepest rural Japan, everyone (at least once or twice) manages to visit a grocery store here. Of course, the first few visits are fairly confusing. At first, most of our efforts
are spent at basic survival — locating fish without the heads attached, properly identifying real peanut butter instead of miso flavoring, and figuring out which breads do not have bean paste, butter, or other nasty fillings.
Once you’ve gotten past the initial supermarket shock, you begin to realize how very expensive food shopping is here. How can any one save money in a country which doesn’t recognize clipped coupons and where you can’t read the labels? Well, here are a few tips.
Comparison Shop
Japanese supermarkets (with the exception of Seiyu, which has introduced WalMart’s Everyday Low Price scheme) have daily or weekly “loss-leader” specials. If you consistently visit the same markets, you can learn what items are often on sale during which days. In my case, our local Ito Yokado has 40 percent off on all frozen foods on Tuesdays. Conversely, some stores consistently have lower prices on staple foods. Our local drug store sells brand-name sliced bread (shoku pan) for Y100 every day, though in limited quantities. The Y30 savings sounds very minor, but after two years of shopping with this strategy, we have lowered our average weekly grocery bill from around Y8000 to Y5500 (for two people).
Buy Fresh Foods in Season
Japan currently supplies only 40 percent of its food needs through local production. The rest is imported. Obviously, buying fresh strawberries in the dead of winter, or winter mushrooms in summer, will be more expensive than purchasing seasonal vegetables and fruits. Fresher foods are also safer. Most Japanese supermarket prominently display seasonal foods, as do local greengrocers (yaoya-san). A Japanese cookbook in English can help you learn how to cook some of the unfamiliar foods.
Compare Prices not Based on Label Prices, But on Prices Per Gram
It’s hard to tell from the price alone what meats or foods are the best deal, especially with misleading packaging. A close look at the food price labels in most supermarkets will reveal a price per gram, or you can simply do the calculations yourself. This helps you determine, for example, that the Y250 package of meat (A) is actually less of a bargain than the Y450 package (B), as (A) is Y45/gram while (B) is Y32. If you are single and worry about being able to finish a large package of meat in one meal, don’t despair. Pick up some of the free plastic baggies from the roll at check out counters. When you get home, split up your large packages of meat into several smaller baggies. You can spread the package out over several meals.
© 2004 Wendy J. Imura.