I love shopping at a grocery store wherever I travel overseas. Rare local food at reasonable price. Fun!

I bet abroad travelers like yourself would love Japanese grocery store as well. Packages written in unknown characters are a little hesitating, so here are my recommendations. They are small and light enough to be packed in your luggage and (I believe) would not be taken away at baggage inspection at airports.

1. Curry Paste (Curry no Ru)
Japanese curry paste is so easy to cook. Fly veggies and meat of your choise. Add some water and Japanese curry paste. Boil for 30 minutes to an hour and done. There are levels of spiciness (mild – moderate – hot)

Price range from 200 – 500JPY

Java Curry bu House Food Corp.

2. Japanese Spicy Oil (Raa-Yu)
Small amount of Japanese spicy oil is added to dishes like noodles and soup in order to accentuates its taste. But it can be used on almost anything when you like a little spiciness. There are so many kinds of Japanese spicy oil, so I recommend the one with sesame oil if available at store that you visited.

Price range from 300 – 1000JPY

Japanese spicy oil by Yamada Oil Company

3. Salty Rice Molt (Shi-o-ko-ji)
Salty rice molt is used to marinate meat. It makes meat really tender and adds rich salty taste. How about BBQ with salty rice molt?

Price range from 300 – 1000JPY

4. Wasabi (Wa-sa-bi)
Wasabi on tube. You may think wasabi for Sushi. Yes, Sushi without wasabi is not sushi. To complete Sushi as a whole, a hint of wasabi is so essential. Have you tried beef steak with wasabi? I like to add a hint of wasabi on beef steak, too.

Price: about 100 – 500JPY

Wasabi on tube by House Food Corp.

5. Buckwheat noodles (So-ba)
Instant buckwheat noodles (so-ba) on cup. The long seller of soba cup noodles is “Mi-do-ri-no-Ta-nu-ki”. It actually means “Green Raccoon”. It is tastier than it sounds, believe me.

Price: about 100 – 150JPY

Soba cup noodle by Maruchan company

6. Rice Seasonings (Fu-ri-ka-ke)
Furikake is a seasoning to sprinkle on rice. O-mu-su-bi-ya-ma is my favarite brand of furikake.

Price: about 100 – 150JPY

Rice seasoning by Mizkan Group Company

So where should you go for grocery shopping in Tokyo? How about Precce in Roppongi and Kinokuniya in Omotesando.  Have a nice grocery shopping!

Precce

Precce in Tokyo Midtown is open for 24 hours, so you can visit at whenever you want to.

Open: 24 hours

TEL: 03-5413-5109 (Japanese only)

Access: Tokyo Midtown Garden side B1F

 

Kinokuniya

Kinokuniya is a premium grocery store in Omotesando. They have their private brand which is very popular among shoppers.

Open: 9:30 – 21:00

TEL: 03-3409-1231 (Japanese only)

Access: 3-11-7 Kita Aoyama Minato-ku Tokyo Ao Building B1F

 

If you are looking for a specific product and not sure of brand name, please leave me a comment. I may be able to help you.