Supermarkets

Today I’m going to talk about some different supermarkets you can do your food shopping at, and my experience with them. Please note this is by no means a comprehensive list, there are probably dozens of chains I’m not familiar with.

I’ll talk about different kinds of supermarkets in a later article, like online supermarkets and supermarkets on wheels. Today though, let’s talk about your typical supermarket. You know, the one you actually have to go to if you want food.

OK Store

I used to live nearby the OK Store headquarters, under which there was a four-floor OK supermarket. While the name doesn’t sound too great in English (it’s an OK store), it is the cheapest supermarket I’ve shopped at. They tend to be located in less fancy areas, but if there’s one nearby I’d shop there.

Tokyu store

Kind of the opposite of OK store, this one is rather expensive and are typically located in more residential areas. I try not to shop there if I have a choice because of the inflated prices, but sometimes it’s the only one available.

Aeon

Aeon stores, typically called My Basket, are somewhat in between the previous two. Not too expensive, though not as cheap as OK. The ones I’ve seen are medium sized, like big convenience stores. Most of the time you can find what you need there, though.

Maruetsu

Medium-priced like Aeon, but these ones tend to be a bit bigger and more of a proper supermarket, at least in my experience.

Costco

I wasn’t familiar with Costco before coming to Japan as I’m not American and as far as I know they are not common in Europe. It’s basically a huge supermarket that offers very cheap food in very large packages. The catch is that you need to pay a membership fee, but if you have a have a large family or need to buy a lot of food, this is a great option. I go a few times a year to buy non-perishables like coffee and other long lasting things. I tend to buy tens of kilos worth of food, so I usually have it delivered (the delivery fee is 1,000 yen).

These are the ones I’m familiar with. Honestly, I’d shop at OK Store (mostly) and Costco (sometimes) if given the chance, and maybe My Basket when I need something quickly. Unfortunately, my nearest supermarket is now Tokyu. Nothing wrong with it, but a bit pricey. That’s why we’ll talk about some other options next time.

Hi, I’m Sergio.
I’m from Spain, lived in the UK for seven years and came to Japan in 2012.
I majored in journalism in London and have been teaching English in Tokyo.
I like traveling, cycling, photography, movies, and spending time with friends.
I wrote articles about life in Japan as a foreigner and anything that I might find interesting.
My email is ” sergio.dom.jpn@gmail.com “, by all means contact me about anything!