This morning while waiting for the supermarket to open (at 10:00 am!) I was pondering about the differences between Japanese and European shopping habits.
supermarket opening hours 10:00 – 23:00
In Japan people favour the so called Kombini which is the Japanese contraction of the word Convenience Store (there is no v sound in Japanese, so a b is used instead as in bideo for video). Several American chains like Lawson, & eleven, AM PM etc. operate shops throughout Japan. It seems wherever people live in Japan is a Kombini in walking distance. These shops are open 24 hours and sell mostly magazines, foodstuff and beverages, but also things you might need urgently like toothbrushes, toilet paper etc. In rural areas they also have a toilet so, when exploring Japan by car you will find yourself stopping at one Kombini or another. The food is amazingly good quality and it is usually fresh, so if you want the good sushi you have to come early, because in the evening it might be sold out.
typical convenience store
Apparently a huge part of the population does not cook at home. Not only are there many convenience stores but you also find more restaurants in Japan than in Europe. The restaurants are not expensive. This holds true even when comparing prices with super markets. When applying the current exchange rate they are ridiculously cheap. You can get a decent dinner for around 1000 Yen, which is about 6 Euro.
Not surprisingly you don’t see as many super markets as you find in Europe. But inside they are very similar. Noon on Saturdays is also here the busy time, but they have much more clerks, so the queues are much shorter.
One peculiar thing is that on Sundays shops are open to give the busy office workers some time for shopping. Sometimes shops may be closed on Mondays. If there is a national holiday (typically on Monday), the shops are also open.
supermarket opening hours 10:00 – 23:00In Japan people favour the so called Kombini which is the Japanese contraction of the word Convenience Store (there is no v sound in Japanese, so a b is used instead as in bideo for video). Several American chains like Lawson, & eleven, AM PM etc. operate shops throughout Japan. It seems wherever people live in Japan is a Kombini in walking distance. These shops are open 24 hours and sell mostly magazines, foodstuff and beverages, but also things you might need urgently like toothbrushes, toilet paper etc. In rural areas they also have a toilet so, when exploring Japan by car you will find yourself stopping at one Kombini or another. The food is amazingly good quality and it is usually fresh, so if you want the good sushi you have to come early, because in the evening it might be sold out.
typical convenience storeApparently a huge part of the population does not cook at home. Not only are there many convenience stores but you also find more restaurants in Japan than in Europe. The restaurants are not expensive. This holds true even when comparing prices with super markets. When applying the current exchange rate they are ridiculously cheap. You can get a decent dinner for around 1000 Yen, which is about 6 Euro.
Not surprisingly you don’t see as many super markets as you find in Europe. But inside they are very similar. Noon on Saturdays is also here the busy time, but they have much more clerks, so the queues are much shorter.
One peculiar thing is that on Sundays shops are open to give the busy office workers some time for shopping. Sometimes shops may be closed on Mondays. If there is a national holiday (typically on Monday), the shops are also open.
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