JET Program Vlog supplement - stealth visit to grocery store

[StarlightDreamer12]

lol at the music! XD

[GongaProductionz]

105 yen for pepsi....Dream come true

[Takaiboshi]

Hey, if you ever want to try out some delicious Japanese chips you should buy コーンポタージュ. Simply delicious. The コーンポタージュ soup is really good too. I usually eat it for breakfast with a piece of toast and an egg on top. : )

[monkeystu52]

HAHA I thought I'd seen all your videos, obviously not. made me laugh. I love the music in the markets. we don't have that in the UK. That is reason enough to go to Japan!

[myargonauts]

@monkeystu52 well, with 300+ vids on the public site, I hope you haven't seen them ALL...that's just too much Jason for any one person... :)

[monkeystu52]

@myargonauts Honestly Jason you have no idea! - I only found you in the last 8 months, I had a lot of catching up to do, and being a student, I had to find a good source of procrastination! Think I've seen them all now (aside from the sumo!) and it's never "too much Jason"! - plus means i don't ask questions you have allready answered!

As for this video I keep looking at things (like the rice!) and thinking "man that's expensive", but I guess it's all relative.

[Duckhugger]

That American style food must really put a dent in your budget, eh? Since I've moved to Japan I've totally given up cheese completely. It's just wayyyy too expensive. I'm also dismayed (and surprised) how expensive regular yellow mustard is here (about 200 Yen for a teeny-tiny bottle). I've remedied that lately by developing a taste for some varieties of miso paste which can be used in a similar fashion to mustard. Although a little "odd" I like mixing miso and mayo together often as well.

[myargonauts]

being back in the States for a while now, I'm starting to realize just how much I was paying for certain things like tortillas and cheese, but in a way it was still worth it to me.

[TiramisuHappy]

Here's one of my biggest pet peeves about grocery shopping in America (which you will NEVER see anywhere in Japan.) More often than not, you see people (young and sometimes old) opening and consuming merchandise while in the supermarket. They do pay for them at the cashier, but that's beside the point. Are they really THAT starved or thirsty that they have to rip open a bag of chips and bottle of Snapple before they get to the checkout line? I'm still amazed at the sight every time I see it.

[evilslothman]

they do that at the supermarket that i work in the uk too. pisses me right off as it something i would never do.

[FredrichNietzsche25]

lol that is wht my dad does

[nokomarie1963]

Amazing! It looks just like the Japanese grocery store I go to in Boston only much, much bigger!

[jackbell75]

how much is ketchup in japan

[myargonauts]

I honestly don't know off the top of my head - but I don't remember it being expensive, altho I may pay a little more for the Heinz brand over the price of the regular Japanese brand.

[Thisnamekills]

"anyone that works at MI5 or the CIA can rest easy - I have no talents for being a spy' lol nice one bro

[EzKitty]

With limited Japanese is it hard to figure out what you are buying or are there detailed enough pictures for you to tell?

[myargonauts]

it can be tough at times - but you can ask - or bring a dictionary along the first few times - and many of the packages have some English on them, which is a big help. It really, really helps to learn katakana for grocery shopping.

[caseyDsutherland]

I love Frank's Hot Sauce and eat it on almost everything. I plan on going to Japan this summer. Should I attempt to bring my own bottle or do they sell it there?

[myargonauts]

they have Tobasco brand hot sauce everywhere, but I've never seen Frank's Hot Sauce.

[caseyDsutherland]

I guess we all have to make sacrifices ;) Thanks, and keep up the great videos. They are invaluable.

[winDragon79]

Its like no matter where you go in these videos there is never a lot of people. No more than 5-10...with the exception of that sports week one.

[42317]

You buy many different drinks... I usually only drank Takara, later Boco and then Aquarius.

Rice prices are a bitch in Japan, despite subsidies. Hell, for the German equivalent of 2550 Yen I can buy 20 kilos of Thai rice!

So that was a hidden camera project? My Beni Mart had a sticker on the door that said you weren't even allowed to take notes...

There is no "real" bread in Jap. supermarkets, but US citizens might be accustomed to that soft stuff. :-)

[fister356]

LOL

[DarkNekoStudio]

was that beer at 4:52?i loved that grocery store music.here in Quebec we're lucky if we have music in the grocery store.the product are so well presented.where you shopping in ghostmarket?nobody was there!;3

[myargonauts]

yeah - it was late on a weeknight, so not many other shoppers.

No beer at 4:52 - that was juice and tea.

At about the 7min mark I walk down the alcohol aisle.

[c3058872]

I like the store music, its terrible in Australia. At one point in the video (around 2:30) the music sounded like a pipe organ, and it sounded a bit like phantom of the opera lol.

[Smurfed]

This was pretty interesting/funny.

I laughed when i heard "no more bread."

I see you're still buying the pepsi with the little starwars figures in 'em :)

[lleverfreell]

Looks like groceries in Shimane are expensive just like the rest of the country. When I was in Japan, I noticed that eating out can be cheaper than cooking the meal yourself. Do you find this to be the case in Shimane, Jason? Also, how do you get your daily recommended servings of fruits/veggies when they are this expensive?

[myargonauts]

fruits and veggies?  what are those? LOL

I do get served fruits and veggies everyday in my school lunch if I choose to eat them.

I say eating in is still cheaper than eating out in Japan, even tho you don't have to tip in Japan.

[srzy]

addicted to cola =X lol, i was just wondering if the health care system in japan is just as cruel as the one we have in the united states.

[myargonauts]

Actually, the insurance you get as a JET is pretty great - covers many things, payments are cheap, and the care is good.

[NinkeKuN]

06:25, wasn't that bred!? XDD Anyways awsome video :333 really intresting... and intense piano music in the back hahaha cool xD

[myargonauts]

yeah - i should have been more clear. Japanese people eat all kinds of "bread." The bread I wanted was simple, sliced sandwich bread, which is really thick in Japan, since it's mostly used for toast, not for making sandwiches.

[MTassarion]

Btw, I think you could've just asked the staff if you could film for your blog, maybe explain the purpose a bit and all. I saw this type of thing somewhere else and they had asked the staff beforehand and, well, he did get permission from the manager, so that was cool.

[myargonauts]

Yeah - but that would require me speaking Japanese to a real live Japanese person... :)

[MTassarion]

OMG! this is such a terribly funny vid :P!

When you started off saying "I need laundry detergent" just after i had finished reading the summary I was like "ROTFLMAO". And then ofcourse THE STAR WARS COKE! have you collected them all yet? :D

both very entertaining and interesting vid :D

[myargonauts]

Star Wars Pepsi Nex! :)

And yes, after visiting a few other stores and conbinis, I was able to get all 16! Woo!

[rodgerswan]

excellent video! I have always wanted to do a grocery store video in Japan, but I never got around to it, and yeah you do have to be sneaky with it. haha, good stuff!

[shoeach]

Your vid made me want to go to a nearby super-market to buy food in spite of myself.:)

Judging from very few customers, I guess that the time when you shopped is around eight/nine o'clock on the night of weekday.

Thanks for interesting vid.

[myargonauts]

Yep - it was about 9pm - one hour before closing time. The only time it's really busy at this store is on Sundays.

[BusanKevin]

hehe.....nice vid! I liked it. Very "Cloak and Dagger"! Were any people starring! I had a few watching me once when I made a vid about booze at a grocery store!!

[myargonauts]

hehe - nope - it was pretty empty that night. I was probably getting stared at for my garishly loud shirt more than anything else. :)

[Jetnick90]

how do you pay for all of that stuff? Do you get paid weekly or once a month?

[myargonauts]

I pay in cash. I get paid once a month and I probably spend $100 a week on food, at the store and at restaurants.

[SlickWolfe]

10kg of rice?!, bet thats heavy =)

I noticed you had a basket for carrying things, usually what I use when I go grocery shopping, do they have karts as well or just bigger baskets? ^_^

[myargonauts]

you won't ever need a cart - you won't often be buying that much. But they do have a type of cart for pushing around the basket if you're feeling weak one day. :)

[atomicboyx]

i love the sexy MUZAK in the background!

[ballinjosh03]

haha I love that you are like the grocery store Terminator.  "Snacks" robot voice! :) great to watch thanks!

[jRockdragOngirL]

Hahahaha, I love this video! The market seems pretty empty, so good going with the stealth! You made a wonderful spy for all of us. :D Can't wait to get over there...10 more days!

[DeathfireD]

haha nice Jason going for the star wars soda and avoiding the regular non toy kind.

Btw. How much did the meat cost? It looked cheaper then I thought it would be.

[WhiteMatrix2006]

I also noticed this. I think he was choosing the soda with the different figures on it. Made sure he didn't 2 of the same figure. That is a true Star Wars fan for ya. =)

[myargonauts]

Got all 16!! Yes!

[stringtofate]

Thanks for going through the trouble for us!

[myargonauts]

thanks for watching

[WhiteMatrix2006]

I thought this was an interesting video. I too was wondering the selections and whatnot inside the store. Thanks for the video. Now I do have a question. You would normally get a bike when you become a JET right? What if you have a wife or a kid? How do they expect you to get all that food/diapers home? Or even if you're alone, how do they expect you to carry everything home with you? I know you have a car now (lucky). LOL!

-Billy-

[myargonauts]

I used to be able to carry two bags on my bike or scooter in the basket on the front. It did limit my shopping somewhat. But you've seen my fridge - it's so small that I don't buy that much with each visit. There is no "Costco" concept here where you stock up on bulk items, etc. I go to the store usually 3 times a week.

[Smashingblue]

I'm not sure if you meant in your area there isn't a Costco, but in Tokyo they have a Costco.

[myargonauts]

I was refering more the to Costo way of shopping - buying bulk items and buying way more than you can use in a few weeks or a month. Stocking up is not something I do in Japan - I buy what I need each week.

[Graehaus]

Thank you Jason, tho needing to be covert spy like, that was neat. thank you for doing this, neat to see that even across the world muszak is everywhere. :)

[JamieDanger]

アタック！My faaaaavorite!!

At the grocery store I always went to in Kumamoto, it would be playing this song about NATTO all the time! I think it was because it was at that time when there was all the rave about the Natto diet, and then it totally turned out to be fake and it was a huge scandal for waaaaaaay too long. Ah, Japan!

[vagabond142]

I like the fact that cheesy shopping mall music is universal the world over XD

[o0HoneyBee0o]

I thought the same thing XDD

[DoctorEngrish]

I'm comforted to see how much stuff I recognized in there. Food would be one of my top concerns when considering to travel/move anywhere. Thanks for this video Jason!

[myargonauts]

yeah - even out here in the rural hinterlands you can get stuff you'll know how to cook.

And I get by on simple grilled cheese sandwiches some nights, but that's my laziness more than anything. :)

[DJBear]

I really like this video. I laughed a lot. Made my morning. Thanks! =D

[myargonauts]

No - thank you! :D

[grooveonchan]

hahaha...

[mafurock33]

it is interesting to see what you are buying.

[hexhatexmexnot]

Stealth mission a success!! :P I lovethe elevator music going on in the background. Again another very helpful video and very interesting. Dont listen to the haters. :)

[myargonauts]

i was a little disappointed that the store's theme song wasn't playing in the background, since it's so damn catchy... :)

[Smashingblue]

The main reason these stores have the "no photography" signs is because they want to protect the privacy of the patrons. I don't believe I saw any discernible people taped and/or anything that could be used to identify anyone. This is a harmless video that doesn't affect anyone one way or another. Also being a teacher doesn't mean that one can't have a little fun. In fact the most popular teachers are those that are able to open up and joke around.

[Smashingblue]

Precaution in regards to what exactly? Your personal opinion on the matter and viewpoint? You state it quite clearly that this is a harmless video. If you don't like the video move on, simple as that. I personally can't even count the number of JET's on Youtube who have "grocery store" videos of some kind and most, if not all, have photography prohibited, for the reasons I stated.

[wildcop]

first, I love to watch all his videos, and i agree with u that they are all informative and useful. so, this is not a hate/like issue. next, i don't have any intention to argue with anybody, but leave it up to Jason's choice. last, but still, there is a fact that, when it comes to a public servant like teacher, this country demands higher morality. i hate to tell you this, but, if it is a person from foreign county, tolerance window may get narrower. This shall be my last comment on this matter.

[jessman1999]

He did this to be helpful to other people not to be "cool" or "sneaky". Get over yourself. Thank you Jason.

[wildcop]

sign,,, only sign,,

[wildcop]

this was reply to jessman1999.

[eselous]

Wildcop, I bet you're the life and soul of a party!

[WhiteMatrix2006]

I seriously have no idea what you are talking about Wildcop. He was doing this video just as a helpful video to JETs coming over and anyone moving to Japan to show them what to expect when they go inside a grocery story. Please don't post anything else unless you have something useful to say.

-Billy-

[myargonauts]

For my reaction to this, please see vlog #18, which I'll post soon. Thanks.

[nyannyan123456]

I see you seem to prefer buying american style food.

I video taped in the store in Tottori no one said anything to me that I was not allowed. They probably though it was just common sense not to video tape in stores.