Food and groceries in Japan

FOOD in Japan is usually pretty expensive. From fruits and vegetables to meat, from local produce to exotic, it's all fairly expensive. The good thing is that anything you buy in Japan is probably as fresh as it gets. Not only is it fresh, the varieties cultivated tend to be more flavourful in exchange for less shelf life, it's also devoid of many preservatives. Most produce will spoil within days or a week at best, even if kept in a fridge. I've bought some vegetable (on sale) which actually went bad overnight in the fridge.

The season where most vegetables and fruit are cheaper is fall and winter, as the temperatures go down the more common vegetable ripen.

Most Japanese people buy every night what they intend to eat that evening or the next day. One of the reasons they do this is because electricity costs, as well as the high price of a large fridge, are more expensive than it's worth. The downside to this "buy now eat now" mentality is that nothing fresh is meant to be stored.

How to eat for cheap.

With this in mind it's harder than ever to find a way of eating for cheap. Since buying in bulk doesn't work out economically. 100 yen store (pronounced: "hiakuen stoa" in Japanese) to the rescue! This is the equivalent of a dollar store, though some larger and more expensive items are over 100 yen. Almost anything you can think of it in a 100yen store. There are more practical and household items than you'll find in any dollar store anywhere else. There is also a section of prepackaged food in these stores. You can find snacks, drinks, spices (some) and even some pre-made meals there.

As an exploring person, I set out to find out how much it would cost to feed me for a day buying only from the 100yen store.

This is the result of my research. There are prepackaged pouches containing curry or pasta sauce which are available. You can also buy 500g of dry pasta or a small box of precooked rice to be heated up in a microwave for 100 yen.
I bought a box of tea bags, 25 tea bags (too strong for me, should have gone for a green tea).
A large apple pie/chausson, with a cup of tea it was a great breakfast.
I also got a bag of chips (Taco flavour) which were a great midday snack.
Finally, I got a pouch of curry (240g). It wouldn't win any culinary awards but it was fairly decent. It's also enough for two small meals.

Total for a day of food including the rice I bought 420yen. Price of tea for a month 100 yen x2? If I were to eat this stuff everyday I'd spend 12600 yen on food a month, or about $130. Not bad!
And if you're wondering, the total calories was about 300 for the curry pouch, 300 for the apple pie and 350 for the chips. The rice I ate with it probably added another 400-600 calories. I also noted that most of my day's vitamin requirements were taken care of. Hmmm... Maybe I should start a new diet fad...