Grocery shopping in Japan

Thursday was another baking hot day. We eventually made it outside into the 36C (97F) heat to walk to a different grocery store than the one we had been at the day we arrived in Kofu.

This one didn't have great reviews, and yet we found it to be well stocked, if not a little pricier than the one the day before.

One very glaring thing we have noticed about groceries here in Japan is the amount of packaging, It's honestly over the top, and it's been in every grocery store. Often with really tiny portions in lots of plastic.

And many things are cheaper than what we remember Canada to be, but some things are more expensive. You have to be selective with fruit to get a decent deal.

Some of the fruit is really expensive.

But notice the odd styrofoamy protector thing for these small watermelons. And notice that there is a consumption tax on groceries in Japan of 8%... these small watermelons cost 1,944 yen... ($16.80 CAD, $12 USD) each, including tax.

Cantaloupe is also pricey, at 1,070 yen ($9.25 CAD, $6.60 USD).

But, we were able to buy both apples and mandarin oranges at a decent price. They also have kiwi fruit but they are a little different because they are a little larger than usual.

We bought some pork chops that were labeled as a product of Canada! And probably at about the same price as what we would pay in Canada. It turns out that half of the pork consumed in Japan comes from Canada.

Literally everything is packaged, often with a package inside a package.

More plastic.

Potatoes in plastic. Yes, I know, you often buy a plastic bag of potatoes in Canada as well.

The Mexican food section! No corn tortillas though, only flour tortillas.

Man, we are missing Mexican food. Only a week to go, and we will be having tacos and enchiladas!

Don't get me wrong... this has been a great trip. Especially the month in Kyrgyzstan. The three weeks in China were also good, but I'm going to do a separate post about the good and bad in China tomorrow, so stay tuned.

But Japan has just been a stopover on this trip and we're simply enjoying chilling out here in one spot because we've been on the go so much the last seven weeks. Plus it's been really hot here and not the best weather. Another time, we will come here during a better weather season and see some of the country properly.

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Energizer AA Batteries.

And in Canada...

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