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Are foods increasingly landing at ¥100 store shelves good and safe to eat?

By on February 15, 2017

Decades ago, it would have been difficult to imagine the success of 100 yen shops in Japan as cheap things are perceived here to be of bad quality.

The Japanese have an age-old proverb for that: Tada hodo takai mono wa nai’ that loosely translates to ‘there is no value in a freebie.’ (There is no such thing as a free lunch’.)

My family loves ¥100 shops. Since arriving here 3 years ago, stopping by a ¥100 store on weekends for foods that we need everyday has become a routine. But we only buy those that we know come from places we know. The cheapest olive oil sold at Aeon stores, for example, is ‘pomace’ quality which, by grading standards, is inferior to ‘extra virgin’. I was pleased to find last week a small bottle of Tunisian ‘extra virgin’ olive oil (photo above) for ¥100. Tunisia is the world’s 7th largest olive oil exporter. Tastewise, it’s just as good as the regular extra virgin oil sold here.

The Moroccan sardines too are pretty decent to use for salads and taste so much like tuna.  Canned anchovies imported from Peru may not match the quality of those that come from Europe but nevertheless, they enhance the flavor of salads or canapes.

The salad dressings are also a good buy.  Our kids love the Wafu Goma (Japanese sesame) dressing.

For some foods, you just have to use your best judgement with help from Google Translate to get the most out of your ¥100.

Where to find spacious 100 yen stores in Tokyo

About Tomomi Stringer