okay hello. so I have noticed that I spend more than I would like on my food. i don’t really eat out except if my friends ask me to join every once in a while and usually just get something from my local supermarket (which is a “life” store). i do usually go for the sale articles or look for the 20% discounts, yet I want to try to cut the money I spend on groceries down even more. just wanna spend more on other things other than food.
so, does anyone have any secret tips? any good stores I should check out for cheap groceries? (something like “sundi” perhaps. my favourite so far). any specific food you eat to not still crave to eat more after the meal? that one seems to be a big problem for me – I eat and really quickly just crave more food no matter what it is I eat.
any tip is appreciated (also I live in Kyoto (nakagyo) in case anyone knows any really specific places around here)
15 comments
Gyomu Super is generally the go-to for cheap food.
Gyomu and Ok are top of the list for me. First time I went there I slapped myself for going to other stores or konbinis while I had these right around the corner
Gyomu Supa and Niku no hanamasa are the places I go to for cheap groceries.
At the end of the day it depends on what you eat. Sure you can save 100 yen here and there but if you are eating a lot of junk which is expensive it matters very little.
Here is what i used to eat to save money:
Chicken thigh:350g.
1 nasu.
Bag salad with dressing.
200g rice.
Bread with 2 eggs
Peanutbutter and toast.
Oats
3 banannas.
Peanut with chocolate.
Thats 2100 calories for about 900 yen and fairly healthy. You could make it cheaper if you dont care about it being healthy.
Check your local library for budget cookbooks. Titles like 100 yen meals (it’ll be hard for them to still be 100 yen meals, but they still should be on the cheaper side of things).
Fiber should fill you up and fat. A baked potato with butter is cheap and filling. Eat the skin.
What coincidence, Sundi is one of the closest places to my current place in Tokyo. Not a lot of selection but prices are good.
No mention of whether or not you cook or what you tend to eat usually so I’ll just share what I do when that poor time of the month rolls around.
Past few times I went to Niku no Hanamasa before 9am, I was able to pick up some 50% off meat. The danger of going there and Gyomu is buying too much because all kinds of stuff I don’t see often “appears” before me. Gyomu is my go-to for 5kg bags of rice and frozen fruits and vegetables and meats.
Maybe look into incorporating dried beans, chickpeas, lentils into your cooking via soups and curries?
I try to get to Life after 10pm to see if anything good is marked down to 50% off. Origin Bento might also have some deals before closing.
Mom & pop bento shops that close earlier will have “time sales” to clear out their leftovers but you have to be fast if they’re in an arcade near a station.
スーパー玉出 super tamade is really fuckin cheap but super sketchy. 20円 bundle of spaghetti but… It’s not been sealed properly. Or can of tuna for 10円 but it’s 1 day from expiry. They once had a children’s pool full of fish once for 1円 each. (limited to two per customer)
If you’re buying from Life anyway, get their app and use the monthly 5% coupon. They also have other weekly coupons and a coupon gacha (really lame but better than nothing).
Like some folks already mentioned: Gyomu Super. Another option is Lamu, sometimes Don Quijote.
And an important step is to learn to eat well, healthy meals and in the right amount, and for that YouTube is your friend, there’re tons of tutorials about how to eat adequately.
>Nakagyo
The big yellow building south of Nijo Station springs to mind. Takada, is it called?
Edit: Takagi.
Supermarkets tend to be local, but Lamu, Sundi, Lopia and Gyomu Super are popular discount supermarkets. Also check [shufoo.net](https://shufoo.net) for good deals for regular supermarkets.
OK Super is probably the cheapest. Go in the evening, few hours before closing and the ready to eat section will have discounts.
Not a rec for a store but, do you try buying/cooking in bulk? I buy big packs of meat, divide them into smaller portions, and then individually freeze all the bags so that I can just pull out 2-3 servings at a time. But meat is kinda expensive in general
I also like cooking in bulk, and you can eat the leftovers for a couple days or possibly freeze the extra portions and then you already have a go-to meal when you need it. You can get recipe ideas in English easily or by googling 作り置き レシピ (tsukurioki recipe) in Japanese, to see what kinds of things are cheap and easy to cook in bulk
Gyoumu and okay for sure. Also, I personally think that having a rice cooker can save you a-lot. Don’t know what to eat? Just get a bowl of rice and sprinkle some furikake or even salt on top of it lol.
If you do decide to get rice, you can buy the cheaper ones but those are the ones you need to wash before you cook.
I don’t do this but you can also go to your local supermarket right before closing and hope to find some bento under 50%. Just put that in a freezer and your good for another 2-3 days.
Fasting once a week is good for your health and will save you money more than anything else you can think of.