Debunking or exacerbating the myth that Japan is an expensive country.  

It’s that time of the week, people, when we sift through the detritus of receipts and nervous looking 1,000 yen notes to find out where some our money went this week in Japan.

Saturday

Imagine our joy when we tried out a new supermarket (Seiyu) and found that they have a couple of shelves stacked with treats from Asda! For those of you that don’t know, Asda is an American-owned, British-founded supermarket based in the no-frills north of England. Legend has it that their cheap prices were down to the fact that staff at the check-outs had to memorise the price of items rather than scan them.  

Sadly, there seems to be no way of avoiding the expense of importing their home brands to Japan. Still, these chocolate covered raisins put anything that a Japanese brand has come up with (in the same field) to shame. To shame I say!!

~ 240 yen.

Sunday

Sunday saw us in Akihabara looking for a bit of novelty somethingorother to send back home for a mate’s birthday.  

These ‘idol’ postcards jumped out at us in the street. Absolutely no idea who they are or what their appeal is, but they struck us as being appropriately ‘only in Japan’.

1 postcard - 180 yen

Monday

Lunch - 130 yen each.

Tuesday

Blimey! It’s only the 12th. I’m about halfway through my monthly data plan and the Internet on the phone is already running slower than the last 15 mins of a Friday at work. That said, the ‘provider’s’ homepage still opens pretty promptly! Particularly the bit where you can drop 1,000 yen on a 1GB data boost. Curse them!!!

Wednesday

We’d seen these floating around on social media, so thought we might give them a bash. On this occasion it was as a post-work snack. That time when you fall out of the train station, dog tired and in need of a little pick-me-up between dinner and bed.

~ 180 yen from a Sunkus. Good taste, but as with all Pocky offerings, it barely touched the sides.

Thursday

Who doesn’t need a bit of novelty in their life? We brightened up an otherwise bland desk with one of these Mario-themed campus notebooks from Loft.

200 yen

Friday

Dropped all of our ‘treat’ money on the chocolate raisins and the Pocky box. Still, we’re off out for a spot of something to eat in Yokohama tonight, so we’ll throw in the train fare for now.

Train fare for the office to Yokohama, and then back to home - 1,130 yen

This week of expense in Japan - 3,060 yen

How did you guys get on this week? Find anything good?

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More from our Weekly Expense in Japan series ... 

How Much?! Weekly Expense in Japan (March 12 -18)

How Much?! Weekly Expense in Japan (March 19 - 25)

How Much?! Weekly Expense in Japan (March 26 - April 1): Cherry Blossom Edition

How Much?! Weekly Expense in Japan (April 2 - 8)