Food shopping in Japan (by Taru & Patrick)

Our local supermarket is called COOP. That's where we do all of our food shopping, unless we want to get something a bit different, like good cheeses such as Comte, Brie or Appenzeller, then we head to the centre of Sendai and to places like Mitsukoshi food market 😋. Cheese is extremely expensive in Japan, but sometimes you just need that proper cheese.. Normal supermarkets do sell cheese, but it tastes processed.. So not the real thing. We also visited Sendai's Costco, and they had a nice selection of cheeses, meats and other goods, but you do need a car to get there and a membership...

Selection of potatoes at our local COOP

Fresh octopus/squid

Tofu 

Meat selection at COOP

Our first food shopping experiences in Japan were interesting ones. We didn't have any idea what we were buying. Usually you could recognise the product even if shopping in another country, but as nothing was in Romanji, but in Katakana and Hiragana, it was really hard for us in the beginning. Now that we can read hiragana and katakana, it is so much easier for us. And also because through trial and error we have found needed products.. We bought salt, which wasn't salt (now have realised that it was Umami -spice). Mayonnaise which was mustard. Milk, which wasn't milk and we have no idea even today what it was.  We believe we have been eating pork and beef (we make Japanese curries a lot as they are affordable and tasty) but we can not be 100% at all - even the translation has not helped us on this one.

Once we got our Pocket Wifi (which we would highly recommend for anyone staying in Japan for a longer period) translating things while we were shopping was a huge help! The reason why we needed such a devise, is because it is really hard to get a mobile phone contract in Japan for a shorter period than 2 years. So the Pocket Wifi has been really helpful for us as we have kept our old phone numbers and contracts. There are also several free WiFi spots around Japan, especially in Sendai, so we have also learnt to utilise them 😃. For example all Starbucks coffee houses have free Wifi! 😊

Meat is also really expensive in Japan. It seems cheap, but then you realise that the packaging sizes are really small. So when you are cooking for a family of four, it can get quite pricey.. You won't be able to find any bacon, at least any proper bacon... Vegetables and fruits are really expensive as well. But there is loads of fish, noodles and good rice. And loads of baked goods and something for your sweet tooth 😊.

If you shop in COOP then apply for a loyalty card - I can't remember but I think you have leave a 500 to 1000 yen deposit.  This entitles you to a discount voucher for your next shopping or to be used on a specific date or by a specific date.  At first we kept throwing these away as we thought they were receipts so be careful.  Once you go to the till in COOP you don't actually pay the cashier, there are machines just after that you are guided to.  You can choose to put this in English and is a handy way to get rid go all your change without that embarrassing interaction with a cashier.