Still unable to think in Estonian so...
Back in Tartu weekly shopping included stepping off the bus after a workday or taking a (hopefully-nice-weather) walk there over the (almost-certainly-muddy) field to the Selver. Once there, any- and everything in the shopping list plus some extras quickly got loaded into the cart, wheeled to the counter, unloaded and card-paid. Well, things work a bit differently in my current country.
First, even though I most likely overpaid a bit for the convenience of getting everything I needed from the same place in Selver, were I to do that here, I'd most likely run out of my scholarship rather quickly. Thing is, like I've mentioned before I believe, the prices of the same items here differ enormously between shops of even the same chain located some hundred metres apart. This goes for electronics, especially, but even with food it's really worth it to note, where to buy what.
For example, 1l bottle of the cheapest liquid honey in most shops costs somewhere between 1100 to 1600 yen. Which is why whenever I run out, I go to my "honey shop" (cannot remember atm, what it was called) to restock for about 600 yen. Instead of oversugared muesli costing a minimum of 800 yen, I get a normal less processed one for 600 yen in a Liquor Mountain. That last is also best for acquiring pasta, tomato paste, kakinotane, not to mention all alcoholic beverages of course and more. Rice from a drugstore, vitamins and minerals from a 100 yen store - makes sense yet?
Need vegetables or fruit? For the love of all that's holy, skip all supermarkets and the 15000 yen (no spelling mistake here) melons and head to the tiny open-air veggie shops hidden somewhere behind corners in most living districts. Depend on everything being way cheaper, fresher and most likely not so stuffed full of chemicals seeing as the purchases actually go off in fridge within a normal expectable time span. Additional bonuses include cool elderly or hippy shopkeeps and learning a bit of local dialect from them, a few additional active minutes in your week and hypersuper cheap offers when you happen to go there late in the evening (a huge bowlful of figs for 150 was the latest).
Oh, also since the tradition of keeping stuff seasonal in Japan is especially strong with the plant-based produce, there are times when you can get a whole pineapple for 100 yen or half a shopping bag of tangerines or kaki for 300 yen.
Another option for vegetables is supposed to be templemarkets but to be honest, despite having the local ones marked in my calendar for at least a year by now, I haven't managed to go there even once.
My full milk and plain yoghurt come from Life for 169 and 98 yen respectively, usual price tends to be around 230 and 160 in other shops. Another point to this and many other supermarkets is the existence of before-closing discounts on meat and bread of all shapes, sizes and tastes. Well apart for black bread that is nowhere to be found, of course.
Fresco is worth a visit for what I still avoid calling cheese (you know, the sort-of-plasticky yellow square thing used in hamburgers in some places) - 10 slice pack for 188 yen whereas typical is some 270 yen for 7 slices.
And then there is the heaven and hell rolled into one that is Gyomu Supa. Different shops carry a bit of all the basic food types but each seem to be specialised in something aswell. Two I have been to have had an especially good selection of cheap meat in large quantity packages perfect for splitting into portion sizes and stocking the freezer for extended periods. Some of the same chain have been focused more on vegetables, the one closest to home right now provides all types of dry ingredients (oat porridge or cornflakes anyone?) as well as bottled sauces (gomadare, ponzu, mirin, etc etc) and spices (including the fried onion and dried garlic from a few posts ago). Sooo all that cheap ham, noodles, snacks, creme cheese and actual grated cheese, what's so hellish about it? Well, it's rather difficult to get all of that stuff home after going on a shopping spree there ;).
Last but not least, can't help mentioning conbinis. Hands down the most expensive I've described so far but, well... they have the name for a reason, you know... for convenient they sure are and not only in the middle of the night when all the rest of the world sleeps but you need to buy concert tickets all of a sudden or pay your electricity bill. It's amazing how necessary a nearby Lawson or Familymart proves, when at one point you notice that the bento stands you wanted to get your food from, have packed up and left because the socially accepted lunch hour has passed a long time ago while your hands were stuck in a blowcabinet or sth and there sure as f isn't enough time to go and eat at a restaurant or cafeteria. What I mean to say is that variety and quality of the readymade food of a conbini matches (not to say suppresses) the home cooked meals some people can ever hope to be able to whip up themselves.
Honorary mention goes to all the small bakeries all over the city, especially ones that sell their wares for 100 yen apiece.
Go crazy!
Cheers,
Hedi
