Shopping in Japan

In this short summary of shopping we'll focus just on online shopping and, in particular, shipping your favorite goodies from abroad to Japan.

Many foreigners shop from abroad for one of the following:

• Books
• Computers/Software/Electronics
• Food/Grocery
• Vitamins/Medicine

Buying Books in Japan

Depends on where you Live

Depending on where you live, you might be able to find an excellent, reasonably priced, well-stocked English bookstore nearby. Then again, you are most likely looking at a shop with not much more than best-sellers, classics, a few dictionaries, language-learning texts, a smattering of magazines, and a small assortment of computer books at high prices.

Practical

Amazon.com or other online bookstore used to be the best solution to this problem; however, shipping costs and/or long waits were a drag. Enter Amazon.co.jp. Here you can order English titles for either zero shipping (if their compaign is still on) or local shipping charges (even though the books are flown in from overseas).

Japanese Interface

The catch is that the purchasing interface is all in Japanese. Spend the time to learn how to do it and save a bundle on shipping costs!

Navigational Trick

For help navigating through the site (or any Japanese site for that matter), plug pages you can't understand through Excite's translation program (be sure to click on the Japanese -> English radio button below the URL entry field).

If your looking for a book recommendation, check out our resource section Books on Japan.

Computer Equipment/Software

A Japanese Computer - what for?

Some foreigners buy these items for one of the following reasons: they want the interface/instructions/software in English, the item does not exist in Japan (especially true with some software), or they find the same item at a cheaper price.

For people NOT functional in Japanese

If you want to buy a monitor, speakers, drives, media, card readers, then you should probably buy in Japan no matter what your language capabilities are. However, for RAM, software, printers, scanners, webcams, PCI cards, then America would be cheaper (even with shipping if you shop around).

But Beware

It can be a real drag if you buy a scanner and it arrives on your doorstep with a broken scanning light, or you can't find the right ink cartridges for your printer. Check on the return and maintenance policy as well as the availablity of things like ink cartridges BEFORE you order. Another option to check out is purchasing in Japan and asking for an English manual/software or downloading them from the Internet. Again, please check on the availability BEFORE you buy.

If you are functional in Japanese

It will probably be less of a hassle to buy/maintain your items if you buy in Japan. Might be a good idea to buy here even if you could save a couple of bucks from buying abroad.

Buying Food and Grocery in Japan

Tired of Japanese deodorants?

Have a hankering for some pistachio pudding? Feeling homesick for a Manwich? Then all is not lost.

The Cheapest Way

Of course the cheapest, most (un)reliable way to get your favorite snacks from home is to have your family send them to you.

Only in Major Cities

In major cities you can probably find many foreign products around town at a premium. However, if you prefer to shop online, check the Foreign Buyers'Club and Expat Express.

Vitamins/Medicine

Vitamins can be extremely expensive in Japan and are often imported form abroad. Additionally, some items are not available or restricted for sale in Japan. Since herbs/vitamins are relatively small items, you would probably want to consider purchasing the from abroad. Furthermore, the price and selection will mitigate any inconveniences caused by shipping delays. Puritan's Pride offers a buy 2 get 1 free or buy 3 get 2 free special several time a year. As with anything, shop around and even check http://www.epinions.com/ to see if there were any negative reviews.

Shopping in Japan: Other Sources

Forums

Questions/comments? Go to the Shopping Forum

Book Links

• Amazon.com. No explanation needed.
• Amazon.co.jp. If you live in Japan, you should place all your orders through the Japanese site to save time and money.

Food/Grocery Links

• Foreign Buyers' Club. Get your bagels, industrial-strength deodorant, and taco shells here!
• Expat Express. Brings common, everyday U.S. grocery and household items right to your home abroad.

Computer/Software/Electronics Links

• Outpost.com. A nice selection of software/hardware for Windows and MACs at good prices, have an easy-to-use site, and occassionally have a "free shipping to anywhere" sale.
• Dealmac. Lists several computer and electronics retailers who ship overseas.
• C-Net.
• ZDNet Shopper.
• iBuyer.net.

Vitamins/Medicine Links

• Puritan's Pride. Discount Priced Vitamins.
• Natures Way. High quality herbs to a complete vitamin and mineral line.