{"id":2499,"date":"2020-03-23T12:24:52","date_gmt":"2020-03-23T03:24:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vhbloglive.wpengine.com\/?p=2499"},"modified":"2020-03-23T12:24:53","modified_gmt":"2020-03-23T03:24:53","slug":"shopping-in-a-japanese-grocery-store","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/japanese-apartment-life\/shopping-in-a-japanese-grocery-store\/","title":{"rendered":"Shopping in a Japanese Grocery Store"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When in\nJapan you will find that many things are the same as in your home country. One\nof those things may end up being shopping at the grocery stores in Japan. There\nare many things that they have taken from western culture and some that they\nhave kept from their own. This can be a jarring experience as you will feel\nlike it should be easier to navigate, but you can still find yourself confused\nby some of the foods and layouts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn\nKatakana and Hiragana<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The\nfirst thing you should do before trying to shop at any store in Japan is\nlearning the basic hiragana and katakana characters. These are basic Japanese\ncharacters that won\u2019t help you with everything in the stores, but they will\nallow you to find many kinds of products and can make sure you get the right\nkind of food. You can find tons of materials for study online and there are\nplenty of books that can be bought and studied. This is especially crucial if\nyou are trying to find items that are either from your country or the Japanese\nequivalent. Try to do this and it will benefit you past the grocery store and\nhelp make your stay in Japan much easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Use\nYour Smartphone<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is\nsomething that most people will think to try when they can\u2019t understand what a\nproduct is by reading the label. It is a quick way to discern exactly what kind\nof food you are about to purchase and can clear up any misconceptions. This\nisn\u2019t full proof and some things will translate in very strange ways. It\u2019s best\nto use it as more a loose way to understand what products are, and use your\neyes to fill in the rest. If you try to stick only to products that have\nEnglish or are only buying things from your country you will be shocked at the\nprice and the small selection you will have to work with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Import\nPrices<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

No\nmatter how much you will try to resist it, some things from home are going to\nbe bought if they are in the grocery stores. Sometimes you will feel the need\nto have a certain snack or meal that just gives you a taste of home. The\nproblem is that those things will be imported from that country and will have\nan import price tag attached to it. It will drain your wallet quickly and you\nwill find that your selection will be significantly smaller than if you shopped\nthe local products. You will be surprised at the number of products that you\ncan find that will be very close to ones that are from your home country. This\nwill take some time and taste testing as even when you figure out the kind of\nfood it is it can still taste different. You will be disappointed with some\nthings but you will find a happy medium when you learn to buy the proper mix of\nproducts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fresh\nMade<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There\nis a bakery in every grocery store in Japan and they all make meals and snacks\ndaily. If you go at the right times during the day you can get fresh from the\noven bread, hand made sandwiches and hot and ready bento boxes. If you wait for\na while you can get any meals and foods that have sat for a little while at a\ndiscount, but you won\u2019t be guaranteed your favorite food will be waiting for\nyou. This is a good way to get cheap dinners or snacks for long travel. The\nstores will usually have some kind of sale on its fresh-made food so always\nlook there for quick and easy meals. The same can be said for some of the\npremade dinners you can buy in the meat and fish sections. They prepare some\nfoods and wrap them for an easy to cook meal when you get home. They are made\ndaily and can be bought for a good price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sales<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Every\nday at all supermarkets they will have a sale on fresh foods like meats, fish,\nand baked goods. During this time you can get regularly prices items for 20,\n30, and up to 50 percent off of the regular price. These times are usually the\nbusiest for supermarkets and the crowds can clear an area quickly. You can try\nto plan your shopping times at the same time as the sales but you will need to\nbe fast to try and get the things that you want. Don\u2019t be surprised if the\nlittle old ladies clean out the place before you get a chance. This helps with\ncertain pricey fruits and vegetables as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Japan\nMade<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There\nare a lot of things that are made in Japan that have tried to emulate other\ncountries’ foods. This is especially true for pasta and curries. The pasta and\ncurry isle that almost every store has will have a mixture of import and Japan\nmade. Most things will be comparable and sometimes better if you buy the\ncheaper version that tastes as good. Some are not as good as others though, and\nit will take some trial and error to get the best to suit your taste. It will\nbe a good way to get yourself accustomed to your new surroundings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Points\nCards<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Every\nchain market and even the smaller stores will likely have a kind of points\ncard. These cards are usually the only way you can gain access to daily deals\non normal items. They are generally easy to get and every store is more than\nhappy to walk you through the paperwork to get you your own card. There are\neven some who gain points as you use them and you will be able to get cash\nrebates or special chances to win large amounts of food and groceries. It is\nalways a good idea to apply so you can save in the long run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is\neasy to find your way around the supermarkets in Japan, and it can even be a\nfun adventure the first few times. You won\u2019t get everything right the first try\nunless you have a sufficient amount of Japanese under your belt. Just take your\ntime while shopping and don\u2019t be afraid to try some new things while you are\nthere. You never know what kind of new foods you will discover.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When in Japan you will find that many things are the same as in your home country. One of those things may end up being shopping at the grocery stores in Japan. There are many things that they have taken from western culture and some that they have kept from their own. This can be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2509,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-japanese-apartment-life"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2499"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2499\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}