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rawfooddan1234 · Joined: 21 Apr 2007 Posts: 12

Hello,

I don't know if this has been covered before... about organic fruit and vegatables in Japan.

Here in korea its really easy to get reasonably priced organic vegatables and greens but fruits are another story. they're way too expensive here. I'm like the one person in korea wishing for a FTA. (fruit trade agreement)

I was wondering if anyone could give me an idea about organic produce availability in Japan and specifically like salad greens and fruits. are they crazy expensive?

Is living on largely organic fruit and vegatables prohibitively expensive in japan and/or not possible?

I read somewhere that organic food is catching on in japan, could anyone elaborate on the organic food situation?
thanks

jademonkey · Joined: 30 Mar 2007 Posts: 180

6810 · Joined: 16 Nov 2003 Posts: 309

search, search search...

use the hyperlink. This has been covered a million times.

Quibby84 · Joined: 10 Aug 2006 Posts: 643 Location: Japan

buying "non-organic" fruit and vegetables here drives my food bill up the wall...I cant imagine the cost of organic. We used to buy it in America but we cant now...and besides here everything tastes good and fresh..in America you could only guarantee that Organic tasted good (not always the same with non-organic)....so that is why we would buy Organic..but it all taste good here. The strawberries taste like they were just picked and the apples are ALWAYS crisp....yum...

Apsara · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 2142 Location: Tokyo, Japan

Organic vegetables in season tend to be reasonably priced (for Japan) whereas non-organic fruit is expensive here even in season (apart from bananas) and organic can be double or triple the price on top of that.

Nothing to do with free trade agreements or lack thereof, even prices for locally grown fruit like apples and strawberries are quite high for some reason. An ordinary apple is usually around $1- $1.50 for example.

A lot of the vegetables you might not be familiar with- gobo, goya, matsuna etc. but if you are a raw foodist I imagine you'd like to try them.

My local supermarket (part of a big chain) has quite a large selection of organic vegetables, also pasta and rice etc. Organic is definitely catching on here, but it's not cheap.

6810 · Joined: 16 Nov 2003 Posts: 309

Quibby84 · Joined: 10 Aug 2006 Posts: 643 Location: Japan

The organic pasta is three times the cost of normal...

rawfooddan1234 · Joined: 21 Apr 2007 Posts: 12

I think Taiwan's East coast might be the best place to be for clean air and cheap high quality locally grown organic produce. I was just there a few weeks ago and they've got a thriving organic program with the local farmers. And the prices are really cheap, especially by korean or japan standards.

J. · Joined: 03 May 2003 Posts: 327

Hi 6810, nice to see you posting on food again. I have one question -- what do you mean by Indian produce; have you found a place to get fresh herbs, fruits or vegs or are you referring to the beans, spices, rice etc. you can get online from the Indian suppliers? If you have a supplier for fresh stuff I'd like to hear it.

About the organic fruits and vegs question; I have no idea what's available in the big cities but in the countryside generally you won't find much in the supermarkets. However, there are national and local delivery services that you can sign up (on the Internet) with and they send you a box of whatever's in season each week or so. Tend to be a bit pricey but very delicious, if on the scanty side in quantity. Then, you could find one of the Anew chain of organic stores that get in the produce every week, as well as have rice and beans and soy milk, sugar, sea salt and the like on hand all the time.

The selection is limited and you need to find out what day the produce comes in and go there for the best selection. Vegetables are pricey but you can afford them, especially if all your budget isn't going on meat or processed foods, which are far pricier for what you get. If you eat organic food, you know that the flavour is good and things can stretch further in recipes because of that intense flavour.

If you want to take a look at my website, in the Resources section,you can see a range of the store links (not everything available but a starting point) and the prices. Not everything is organic of course, but a few sites are. Stores like Tengu and Warabemura will send the things you order to your door and you can pay at the nearest post office, convenience store, or even at your door. Not much fresh produce, but organic canned or dried is available.

http://www.vegetablejapan.com

(I know a lot of these things have been covered before, but just trying to outline some alternatives for the OP here.)

Local food in Japan, available at your local Sunday/farmer's market is the cheapest and probably healthiest option outside organic. Food in Japan tends to be heavily sprayed/chemically treated, though, far more than in North America, I hear. Strawberries may be good, but beware the chemicals. I eat them "sometimes".