Job Discussion Forums

mushroomyakuza · Joined: 17 Sep 2009 Posts: 140

Hi guys.

This may warrant a degree of "I told you so" and "what did you expect?" snarkiness, but, I am struggling with the food out here. In supermarkets I find it difficult to know what I'm buying due to the high level of kanji or hiragana, and even if I did know, I'm not really very big on Japanese food.

So my question is, does anyone know where I could find convenience stores, grocery shops or supermarkets where I could find Western food more easily? I'm asking this question specifically in relation to Tokyo. At the moment I'm eating very little, both due to jelag, stress, disorientation as well as a lack of desire for the food on offer.

I need to be able to take care of myself more effectively and I can't do that at the moment, so at least for now, I'd like to find some more familiar food. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

Shiggy · Joined: 27 Jan 2004 Posts: 86

I'd appreciate an answer to this question, too. If I'm offered a job in Japan, this will be a problem I may encounter at some point.

mimimimi · Joined: 21 Nov 2007 Posts: 53

Hello! Have you tried Costco? If you have a Costco membership from back home, you can use it in Japan. If you don't, the membership fee is 4200 yen for one year and a "family member" living at the same address can get one for free. Here's the link for the Tokyo Costco:

http://www.costco.co.jp/eng/whs_860.htm

I go every couple of months and load up. I've found that about 60% of items are imported (American, European, etc) while 40% are local. Most things are in English (signs, ingredient listings, cooking directions.)

Good luck!

kevin.sev7n · Joined: 09 Mar 2010 Posts: 2

I had no idea they had Costco there. That's awesome!

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

easyasabc · Joined: 13 Jul 2003 Posts: 179 Location: Japan

What kind of food do you eat when you are in your own country?

You can get plenty of meat and fresh vegetables in Japan (and other food such as eggs, rice, noodles, pasta etc etc) and cook whatever you like with it.

ShioriEigoKyoushi · Joined: 21 Aug 2009 Posts: 364 Location: Japan

Bread · Joined: 24 May 2009 Posts: 318

An addendum to the Leo Palace internet thing - DON'T LOSE THE PAPER WITH YOUR INTERNET LOGIN. Put that thing in a place you'll remember and LEAVE IT THERE. Else email it to yourself or something. I don't know how many times I lost that stupid thing, because I never needed it until my wireless crapped out while I was at work once every couple months.