Costco but Japan
Today my brother and I decided to make a trip to our closest Costco. We need some thing for the house and for the puppies.
The nearest Costco to our home is about a 45 minute drive. It’s in a city or town called Ishikari.
We have mastered the art of timing when it comes to our visits. Always in the morning a little before they open and always during a weekday. If you don’t follow these two rules then you’ll be surrounded by the masses.
Being in Japan, some of the items you expect at Costco are not there. And in some cases it’s not cheaper to buy more. So we have a running list of things we must buy there and elsewhere.
Todays run was for rice, we buy a 20kg bag which lasts about a month for us and the dogs. And a few bags of flour for cooking and to make treats for the doggos.
Some of the items there shocked me in price the first time we visited. Spam which is relatively affordable in Hawaii is about 10 times the price it is in the USA. Perhaps due to import fees but still shocking. Another staple of costco for us is canned chicken, in the US the canned chicken runs about $9.00 here it’s ¥2500 which is about $22.
I guess now that I’m writing about it, it’s probably due to the fact it’s meat.
Bagels, breads and other baked items are the same price and quality. And the alcohol section is amazing.
We try to make runs about once a month but sometimes require additional runs if we have guests or the puppies need something.
My suggestion to those of you moving to Japan, if you plan on using Costco, make a run to your grocery store first. Make a list of items you regularly use in the home and price things out. SOME items make no difference in price while others have a ¥100-¥300 difference.
Another point worth mentioning is that if you have a costco membership in the USA your card will work here in Japan, just not online. While I can access the online store I cannot see the exclusive prices for Japanese costco members. Also, for Costco gas, you either need a Costco credit card or prepaid gift card (you can buy inside) but the gas company doesn’t accept cash.
All in all I’m happy we have our membership still. It makes for a nice outing with a purpose and fulfills a lot of the household requirements in one place.
So that’s Costco in Japan, well at least for us!
Until the next one.
