Food Shopping
Shopping-Pay more or save more, itfs your choice when living in Japan.
When I was doing the weekly shopping in New Zealand I wasnft really too fussy about where I shopped. The reason was prices, especially for grocery items, were pretty much the same from store to store. If one store cut the price of a certain shampoo, other stores were soon to follow. Sure some were a little cheaper because of the eno frillsf service, but overall the difference wasnft huge. In comparison it really does pay to shop around in Japan.
This is an area in which I have learnt from experience. Unknowingly I first shopped in shopping malls because they looked bright and cheery and somewhat reminded me of home. Hey, they even had imported New Zealand kiwifruit! But the lights, the space, the trolleys all added up to one thing, higher prices.
What are you moaning over a few yen, I hear you say, well if it was just a few yen then it wouldnft be so bad but I found out depending on where you shop a litre carton of milk can cost anywhere from 100 yen to 250 yen. That is the price difference on just one product so you can imagine the difference that a trolley load would make.
Before I go too far I will recommend a few money saving stores to get you all started.
100 Yen Shop as the name suggests all products in the store retail at 100 yen plus the 5% tax. They stock anything from glasses to stationary to vegetables. You will find them everywhere.
Costco an American food warehouse, newly opened in Amagasaki, that sell foods in bulk, imported goods at good prices. Their range is from margarine to Rolex watches. It costs 4000 yen to become a member, but it wouldnft take long to recap that and they have a cheap delivery service.
Below is a helpful add in from a reader. Thanks for your comments! :)
About food shopping. Just in case you're interested in writing about shopping the economical way, you can't beat the price shopping at the local market just like what the locals do. In Osaka Kita-ku there is Tenma Ichiba (2 min. walk from JR Loopline Tenma station). Plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits, two supermarkets (Halos and Marusho, both competing with lower price), and "Gyomu Supa" (grocery store where restaurant owners usually go shopping) offering plenty of canned food, pastas, and frozen foods (mostly imported).
