Enjoy the things you can afford
Brand: Pringles Cost: 131 yen Found At: Mini Stop When it comes to Japanese flavored chips, these smoked cheese Pringles are pretty tame. To be fair, they are exactly as advertised – smoky and cheesy. The taste is similar to what you would get if you mixed some liquid smoke into some powdered cheese and... Continue Reading →
Brand: JA Furano Cost: 195 yen Found at: PIAGO La Foods This does not look like carrot juice. This looks like radioactive waste. To say that it is neon orange is an understatement. It is over-the-top orange. It’s eye-searingly orange. It's an orange reserved for reflective vests and traffic cones. It is not an orange... Continue Reading →
Brand: Fujiya Cost: 115 Found At: Family Mart The image depicted on this box is that of the mont blanc, the single worst confection for sale here in Japan. It’s a tower of mediocre, dry frosting, dispensed in long threads to create a mountain of sweet string. It is as if someone dropped a... Continue Reading →
Brand: Mystery Cost: 399 yen Found At: Mini Stop I like fish. More specifically, I like salmon. Today, especially, has been an unusually salmon-y day. I’m not sure if the cause is nutritional, and I need more protein in my diet, or sentimental, and I am missing the fishy taste of home. Either way, I... Continue Reading →
Brand: Pokka Sapporo Cost: 130 yen Found At: Vending Machine I have been ogling this juice all summer. I see it every morning as I walk to the subway station, in its little pastel-colored bottle, and I can’t help being attracted to the cute, cheerful packaging. I kept fantasizing about how refreshing it would be... Continue Reading →
Brand: Bourbon Cost: 130 yen Found At: Mini Stop You could taste this cookie from across the room. To say it tastes like coconut is an understatement. In fact, it tastes more like a coconut than an actual coconut ever has. It’s delicious, don’t get me wrong. The little cookie sandwiches are filled with sweet... Continue Reading →
Brand: Mini Stop and Aeon Cost: 132 yen Found at: Ministop I am 100% on board with using unusual flours to make everyday food. I'm not a food scientist, but I think that one of the keys to ecological sustainability and better community health will be to switch from traditional staples – corn, wheat, rice,... Continue Reading →
Brand: Asahi Cost: 140 yen Found at: Vending Machine, Kamakura For the second time in as many weeks, I have been tricked. I look into the vending machine or the convenience store shelf, and I grab the cheapest bubbly water they have. Then, when I go to take a drink, I realize that I have... Continue Reading →
Brand: Meiji Cost: 100 yen Found At: Family Mart, Osaka The Meiji chocolate headquarters in the Tokyo area has the best building design I have ever seen. Move over Kanazawa art museum, there’s a new architectural innovator in town. The wall facing the Shinkansen is designed to look exactly like a giant Meiji chocolate bar.... Continue Reading →
Brand: Calbee Cost: 160 yen Found At: Lawson When I lived in China, we would use any excuse to go get hot pot. Birthdays, holidays, business dinners, visiting friends, Tuesdays - whatever the occasion, we would all load into a taxi cab in search of spicy food. We went to hole-in-the-wall family joints that would... Continue Reading →
The Little Food Blog 