One of my favorite things to do in Tokyo is to ride my bike to the local supermarket. There are crowds of women who ride everyday to shop for groceries. I'm in awe when I see these ladies with two kids riding on their chya-ri’s, one in the front and one in the back and their baskets filled with groceries.
I'm always on a mission to find that perfect parking spot so I don’t accidently tip over the huge line of neatly parked chya-ri’s (bike). I’ve made that mistake before and a slight slant of the pedal can create an embarrassing domno effect.
SEIYU is the closest supermarket to my apartment and although I don’t rate it as high as all the other ones I’ve been to, it’s still a great place to shop. It is partly owned by Wal-Mart so you can find that hard to find foreign ingredient like Kidney Beans to satisfy your chili craving. But most of all you can find great deals on all sorts of Japanese goodies!
What is the first thing you look for when you enter the supermarket? A shopping cart of course! One thing you will never see are those huge shopping carts that you can fill with bulk cereal boxes or cookies that last you weeks. You will only find a small shopping cart that fits two baskets, one on the top and one on the bottom. Which makes total sense to me since the majority of the shoppers ride their bikes.
Where is that loud crazy music coming from? Supermarkets thrive on selling seasonal products so you will definitely see someone hustling these items the moment you step in. Colorful signs and employees everywhere shouting "irashaimase" which means welcome in Japanese. They're trying to get your attentions so you buy the special product of the day. Many good deals can be found at these little booths.
Passing the produce section I’m often times frustrated by the excess packaging. But in Japan, it is all about the presentation. For example, sometimes I want just one potato but I end up having to buy a little package of 4.
No, you are not seeing things…sometimes you have to do a double take when it comes to prices for certain types of fruit. Watermelon, cherries, strawberries are at times very very expensive.
Now comes one of my favorite sections of the supermarket. I love how you can buy fresh fish any day of the week.
The selection is awesome! You can get anything from mackerel to octopus to fatty tune (Toro) fresh and on ice.
Keep in mind that the Japanese eat grilled fish for breakfast just as often as we eat toast and jam so fish is a very important part of their culture.
Besides eating fish in the morning, the Japanese also love to eat "pan" or bread. You will find a whole section of all types of breads. One of my favorites is the regular bread you can buy whole or sliced but the key is to cut it real thick and toast it with lots of butter! Other types are small individually wrapped "anpan" - a roll with red bean paste and "cream pan" kinda like a doughnut roll with custard cream inside. The bread varieties are endless!
Of course you'll find an aisle filled with all types of rice. It's kind of like the cereal isles in the USA! White rice is most popular but these days being health conscious is important so "genmai" or brown rice is becoming more and more popular.
You will always find a section of prepared foods. This is a very popular section since a lot of people don’t have the time to cook for themselves. You will find the items categorized into 'agemono' - fried food, 'yakitori' - skewered meat, 'osushi' - sushi and sashimi and 'okazu' - little side dishes. If you can’t decide on what to eat, you can grab a bunch of little items or grab a 'bento' - single portion take-out meal.
The only canned drinks you’ll see here are numerous types of coffee. The drinks section is pretty amazing here. I grew up on 'mitsuya cider' which is like the Japanese version of Sprite and 'Pocari Sweat', the Japanese version of Gatorade. Everything is packaged in 'pet bottles' - plastic bottles.
At last you think you are at the end of your journey. But wait, there’s more. The cashier. Employees are neatly dressed in matching uniforms and you place your shopping basket on the counter. No need to empty the basket, the cashiers prefers to do it themselves. Each and every item is handled so carefully, glass is wrapped in a paper bag, the cashier speaks out the price of each individual item as they place your items into another separate shopping basket. Your change is given to you on a tray as they bow and give you shopping bags.
You are then headed for the bagging section. Yes, you do all the bagging yourself. Want individually wrapped ice cubes for your frozen items? No problem.
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7 Responses to “Spend Hours at the Suupa Supermarket” Leave a reply ›
my fav super market is jusco.
i can spend hours at the aeon shopping center......
i wanna see pictures *sob*
Yes sir. I'm on it.
i see em now thanks!
Its all about HANAMASA.
Although I moved to an area where none can be found so now its LIFE....which Im not thrilled with. But the discount market isnt bad.
Nice article,at least Walmart kept the Japanese name. Nice selection of products,is there any of Walmart influenced products in the store? Just had to ask, I'm a former Customer service supervisor in Tx. that store los a lot cleaner than some stores i've been in.
I was drooling over the fish section in the grocery store underneath Shibuya station. DROOLING. They almost took me away