Top 5 Grocery and Supermarkets in Tokyo

Last Updated on 21.09.2021 by Coto Japanese Language School

Are you looking for a grocery store that sells import foods in Tokyo? Check out our top 5 grocery stores in Tokyo.

Are you new to Japan and need to go grocery shopping? Although Japanese convenience stores have variety of items available, if you are planning to buy fresh and wider variety of products, visiting grocery stores is a must.

Japan offers a variety of grocery store chains where you can easily do most of your grocery shopping. Today, we would like to recommend top 5 supermarkets in Tokyo, or in Japan – AEON, Seiyu, Ito-Yokado, Life, and Inageya. These top 5 supermarkets carry a wide variety of foods and home supplies. Depending on your location and shopping style, you can try choosing which supermarket best fits. Let’s start!

1. AEON Supermarket

AEON supermarket is widely available around Japan and world, having about 19,200 stores. This supermarket has different types and one of them is AEON My Basket, a small-sized supermarket yet having most kitchen essentials available. One of the biggest AEON supermarkets in Tokyo are in Shinjuku, Yokohama, and Shinonome near Odaiba.

Operating Hours: 9:00/10:00 AM – 10:00/11:00 PM

*Search for exact operating hours before visiting

Services they offer:

1. Tax Free Service

After finishing your payment, bring your passport, receipts and purchased goods to the Service Counter (AEON store).
Business hours and service hours of tax exemption may differ.

You are eligible to receive tax free service only if:

• Non-Japanese residents and the person who made the purchase (substitutes are not accepted)
• Has been in the country for less than 6 months (re-entry dates do not apply)

2. Multilingual Service

We have multilingual video interpreting service through smarphones and tablets carried by employees. The following 10 languages are supported:

• English, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese, Russian, French, Tagalog

3. ATM Services

Cashing of Japanese yen with your overseas-issued card is possible at AEON Supermarket. The types of credit card and cash card that can be used are :

• MasterCard, Maestro, Cirrus, VISA, PLUS and UnionPay.

4. Currency Exchange Machine

You can exchange money easily through this currency exchange machine. Exchangeable currencies are:

• Foreign currencies→Japanese yen
• 7 currencies ( US Dollars, Euro, Chinese Yuan, Korean Won, Taiwan Dollar, Hong Kong Dollar & Thai Baht )
• Available stores: AEON MALL Tokoname, AEON Mall Makuhari New City, AEON Mall Narita, AEON Style Lake Town, AEON Mall Okinawa Rycom

Here is a link to search for nearby AEON stores: https://www.welcome-aeon.com/storesearch/

2. Seiyu Supermarket

Seiyu is a very popular and well-known supermarket in Japan, having more than 300 stores around. Perhaps, you can imagine that there is Seiyu supermarket nearby almost all major train stations in Tokyo. Seiyu offers wide range of products and known for affordable meat availability. If you are looking for different kinds of home cooks, Seiyu would have most of them available!

Operating Hours: 24 hours (may depend on stores)

Services they offer:

1. Discount Coupons

By downloading Seiyu Application, you will be able to receive discount coupons.

2. Various Payment Methods

They offer smart wallet payment method: Rakuten Pay, PayPay, and Line Pay. This payment may not be available in some stores and limited when buying: gift certificates, maker gift coupon, prepaid card, Seiyu shopping card, iTunes gift card, stamp, New Year’s greetings postcard, refuse disposal ticket, household appliances recycling ticket, payment of donation.

3. Online Shopping

Partnering with Rakuten, you can order “Every day low-priced product” of Seiyu anytime through smartphone and PC. They offer free annual registeration fee and free delivery service above certain amount of purchase.

Check their online shopping website: https://sm.rakuten.co.jp/?scid=we_seiyu_online_store&xadid=we_seiyu_online_store

Try checking this link to search for nearby Seiyu supermarkets: https://www.seiyu.co.jp/searchshop/

3. Ito-Yokado

Ito-Yokado is one of the largest supermarket chains in Japan – but it is far more than just a supermarket. It could be considered as an ultimate one-stop shopping mall in Japan. At Ito-Yakado, you can buy everything including foods and drinks, cosmetics and drugs, living goods, fashion items, and other high-quality products that are only available in Japan. Ito Yokado stores in Tokyo are located in the family-friendly areas on the outskirts of the city.

Services they offer:

1. Tax Free Service

To receive tax free service, bring your passport, receipt and purchased items within working hours of the day of purchase.

You are eligible to receive tax free service only if:

• Non-Japanese residents and the person who made the purchase (substitutes are not accepted)
• Has been in the country for less than 6 months (re-entry dates do not apply)

2. Seven Bank ATM

Ito-Yokado has ATMs that accept non-Japanese bank cards. If your bank or credit card has the following logo, you can withdraw Japanese yen directly from our ATM.

Language options of Seven Bank ATM

Japanese, English, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Korean, Thai, Malay, Indonesian, Vietnamese, French, German, Portuguese

Card Accepted by Seven Bank ATM:

3. Flexible Payment

Ito-Yokado offers flexible payment methods, from credit cards to prepaid transportation IC card. These are the following payment methods available:

• Credit Cards including China Union Pay –

• Nanaco – your loyalty-prepaid card (electronic money)

• Suica, PASMO and others – prepaid transportation IC cards (electronic money)

You can refer to this link to find Ito-Yokado supermarkets in Tokyo: https://www.itoyokado.co.jp/special/global/en/shops/tokyo/

4. Life Supermarket

Life is also one of the largest supermarkets in Japan with easy accessibility. It has variety of both fresh and manufactured goods, so if you are looking for home cook materials, Life supermarket would have most of them available! The operating hours differ by the stores so don’t forget to check the operating hours before visiting. One thing interesting about Life supermarket is that it tied up with Amazon Japan to sell fresh good to online shopping customers. If you have no time to visit, buying from Amazon Japan could be another option for you.

Services they offer:

1. Online Shopping

They offer ネットスーパー (Net Supermarket) service for you to do grocery shopping from home by just using smartphones or tablets. From choosing best quality to delivering door-to-door, click this link to do online shopping at Life Supermarket: https://www.life-netsuper.jp/ns/introduction

2. Smart Wallet System

They offer smart wallet payment metohod: Mercari Pay, PayPay, and Line Pay. All you need is your smartphone to pay​
No more wallets!​​ Easy & smart payments with only your​ smartphone.

Click on this link for the list of Life supermarkets in Tokyo: http://www.lifecorp.jp/store/syuto/index.html

5. Inageya

Inageya is a prominent grocery brand in Tokyo. This supermarket is well known for its freshness of vegetable, fruits, and also bread. In addition, they also sells a few kitchens basic tools, such as pans or cooking utensils. So, if you need to buy both kitchen tools and groceries, Inageya would be right for you! Depending on the stores, it may vary but usually from 9:00 AM to 22:00 PM. Try checking the operating hours before visiting.

Service they offer:

1. Online Shopping

Unlike other supermarket online shopping system, Inageya offers three different online shopping sites: Inageya Online Shop, Inageya PayPay Mall, Inageya Rakuten. They do not only offer grocery shopping but also luxurious gift shopping.

Check out this link to a list of Inageya supermarkets in Tokyo: https://stores.inageya.co.jp/#PREF13000

Don’t know what to buy for grocery shopping? Try checking out this blog on Shoyu ramen recipe!

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