Lawson 100
This random picture showed up on my SD card. I’m guessing Ellie took it while Ryan was breaking down our cartons to recycle.
Truth be told, there isn’t a cheap grocery store within walking distance of our apartment, although there are nearly half a dozen of them. There probably isn’t one in all of Tokyo or even all of Japan for that matter. Sure, a few things are cheaper and a few more can be had for similar prices to those found in the USA, but most supermarket items are priced higher and many are much higher. One example are the beverages shown above. In a regular Japanese supermarket these cost between 180 and 300 yen ($2 – $3.50) each for 1000 ml (1 liter). In the states we are used to purchasing a gallon of milk for a similar price. Unfortunately a gallon is nearly 4 liters, meaning we would pay four times as much.
To make matters a bit better we shop for many of our groceries at a convenience store. I know; that sounds crazy. People don’t shop for groceries at convenience stores in the states. But we go to Lawson 100 here on a daily basis. Everything is 105 yen once you include tax.