Should You Buy Japanese Food at Japanese Supermarkets or Local Supermarkets?

Don don don~ Donki~

I’m sure by now, everyone knows this catchy jingle by heart.

Personally, I’m a huge fan of Japanese food, and you can definitely see me pigging out on the wagyu at a Japanese buffet.

However, I definitely do not have the budget to keep going to those places.

So I shop at a Japanese Supermarket for ingredients to make my own Japanese meal.

But then again, sometimes local grocery stores like Fairprice also sell the same ingredients. (albeit from different brands)

This got me thinking, is it worth it to get Japanese food from Japanese Supermarkets, or should we #SupportLocal?

TL;DR: Prices of Items at a Japanese Supermarket vs a Local Supermarket

Ingredients to Smart Budgeting

Let’s talk about ingredients, particularly the ones we use for our favourite Japanese recipes.

What are some ingredients you always see in common Japanese food?

Some of the common ingredients that you will see in your favourite Japan food include Japanese pearl rice, white onions, ramen noodles, cabbages, eggs, and pork.

Hence, we will be comparing these ingredients in our price comparison.

Additionally, we will be comparing the prices of common drinks such as apple juice and instant coffee from local and Japanese grocery stores.

Price Comparison of Items in Local vs Japanese Supermarkets

Now that we have our list of items, we’ll take the prices from a famous Japanese supermarket, Don Don Donki and a popular local grocery store chain, Cold Storage, for our comparison.

Disclaimer: As much as possible, we try to match the quantity of the product for a fair comparison. However, some slight differences will still remain.

Based on the prices that you can see in the table, the prices generally do not differ too much, with the prices of products such as onions, cabbages, apple juice, and pork costing higher in a Japanese supermarket.

However, there are some products where the costs vary widely, such as ramen noodles from local supermarkets and apple juice from Japanese supermarkets costing close to twice the price of their counterparts.

Therefore, if your main consideration is price, it would be better to compare and see which place offers the best value before making your grocery run.

Remember to plan your shopping ahead so you don’t overspend at a supermarket! 😉

Note: We are only making a price comparison in the above table. Read on further for more details on other factors to consider.

The Reason For High Prices of Japan Food

Prices aside, did you know that eggs from Japan are actually safe to eat raw?

That is because the eggs are cleaned and checked for germs such as salmonella before they are packaged for sale.

With all the additional processing and the care taken into making the eggs safe to eat, it only makes sense that it costs more.

But this isn’t just limited to only eggs from Japan.

See, there’s a reason why ingredients produced locally in Japan tend to cost more.

The farmers in Japan are dedicated to cultivating the best produce, especially their fruits.

A lot of time and effort is placed into creating the most optimal environment for the fruits and vegetables to be grown in, which explains their high quality.

Another Factor to Consider When Shopping At a Japanese Supermarket

Another factor that should be considered is whether or not the supermarkets are close to where you live.

Assuming you lived a long distance away from the nearest Japanese supermarket, it wouldn’t make any sense to travel there to save a few cents on instant coffee.

The same goes vice versa.

The transport fare alone would already cost you more than what you are getting out of the difference, and that’s not counting the time taken to travel!

So… Is It Worth The Price?

Let’s assume transport isn’t an issue and you live close to both a local and Japanese supermarket.

Something to consider when planning for your grocery run would be the quality of the products.

If you don’t have a discerning palate and would prefer to save your money as much as possible, then going for the cheaper options would be ideal.

However, if you are a picky eater and can taste the difference between the quality of products, it will be best to try things out from each place before deciding which will be the best for you.

We will leave that to you to decide!