Is shopping in a grocery store in Japan difficult if you cannot read Japanese?

Question

I'm going to be studying abroad in Japan in the not to distant future and one of the things I noticed is that the school does not have a cafeteria like most universities in the U.S. but instead they give a weekly stipand to the students to purchase food from a nearby supermarket/grocery store.

What I'm wondering is what sort of difficulty might I encounter while trying to purchase food (finding the correct food/check out) if I cannot read non-romaji Japanese writing?

Answer 1

I lived in Japan for a short period and went shopping in their grocery stores.  I didn't have any trouble buying what I requied.

You can ususally see the pickture or in the case of fruits and veggies you know what they are.  Have fun.  C

Answer 2

You should be fine just from label recognition and association.

If you taped over the labels on all the food in an american grocery store that you hadn't been to before, you'd be able to recognize what it is from the colors, like Coke and Pepsi, also by the shapes associated with the brand, like Camel Cigarette's Pyramid, Coke's Dynamic Ribbon, and the cookie on a package of Chips Ahoy.

Answer 3

It can be confusing, especially if you're unable to read any kana or kanji.

Alot of the time you can generally figure stuff out. You know what milk looks like and orange juice tends to have oranges all over the package. But, it might be hard to tell whether it's low fat milk or 100% orange juice unless it's written in English somewhere on the package.

Most foodstuffs that you'd consider to be western and find in your supermarket back home (Coca Cola, Mineral Water, peanut butter, milk, eggs, etc.,etc.) are not too hard to figure out. Though I did hear someone tell how they confused peanut butter with miso paste once. Also, alot of foreign brands can now be found at your local Japanese supermarket and/or places like Costco.

I think you might have some trouble when buying non-processed fresh stuff like meat, fish, vegetables and Japanese foodstuffs. Fish looks like fish but sometimes it's hard to tell what type it unless you're really knowledgable about fish. Same thing goes for Japanese foodstuffs. Tofu looks like tofu but their are different types. Same for rice.

There is a pretty good book called "A Guide to Buying Food in Japan" that can be a big help when you first arrive. It explains alot of the food labels you see at the supermarket. It's been a while since it first came out, I would imagine that it has been revised to include new information.

http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Food-Buying-...

Answer 4

i think you should be okay but if you are still uncomfortable why not ask your roommate or someone else you know a bit to accompany you to the store. that way they can translate for you if you dont know what something is :D

Answer 5

No, the grocery store should not be a big problem for you. You will find the general layout similar to what you are familiar with. The only challenge you may want to prepare for is if you are concerned about Carbs, Calories, etc. You may want to make a cheat sheet of the Kanji they use to explain these things if you are concerned.

Most products list these

エネルギー - Energy

たんぱく - Protein

脂 - Fat (Abura)

炭水化物 - Carbohydrates (Tansuikabutsu)

ナトリウム - Sodium (Salt)

カルシウム - Calcium

Prices etc. will be easy for you to understand. Most packages will show you a picture that you can have a good idea what the item is. If you have a food allergy you may have problems because often ingrediants are not listed even if you can read Japanese.

Checkout is pretty much the same as here. It is more popular to bring your own bag in Japan than in the U.S. of course and some grocery stores only accept cash so please keep that in mind.

Answer 6

I think the shopping part is rather easy, like if you are familiar with the food and all that. Though reading directions on the box or whatever it is in can be rather difficult (I've made that mistake, bought something I knew was good and then couldn't make it cause I couldn't read the kanji) though I can read hiragana and katakana.

You could always try asking someone to help you, I haven't been to Japan but I do shop at mitsuwa which is a Japanese grocery and book store, but when I get confused there is normally someone there who is willing to help me.

Answer 7

Japanese food is infamous for throwing unknowing eaters for a loop!  Your chips may be seasoned with ground fish... those "crunchy yellow things" may be dried squid.  If you have any qualms about eating out-of-the-ordinary food, it may be best to learn some food vocab before your departure.  I would advise this, as most Japanese aren't fluent in English.  If you want to give it a trial run, try finding a local Asian food store in America.  Good luck!

Answer 8

I've never had any problem, and my Nihongo stops at the Romaji alphabet. Just look at the products. As said earlier, most have pictures. A lot of the packaging is soft so you can also feel what is inside.

Same thing here in the US. We shop in a Korean market here in Houston, and some of the stuff they import is Japanese. My wife has no trouble either (she never grocery shopped in Japan).

If you have a fish allergy, ask someone who speaks English. They put bonito flakes in a lot of instant udon and ramen bowls.

Answer 9

Not really...

most items have pictures and sometimes the name in english.

Once in awhile you may get something you didn't mean to, but in general you shouldn't have any problems.