shopping in japan

i may have mentioned this before, but shopping in japan certainly as expensive as one might think. of course, i'd say that things are more expensive in general, and that you do have to look around for bargains. but the bargains, when you find them, are a thousand times better than any bargains you may get in singapore.

for example, i've bought 2 tshirts of rather good quality for 500yen ($6.45)! i bought one of those tops from this shop that sold tonnes of other tshirts too, and the even more unbelievable thing was just the other day, i discovered a shop near my house that was sold the same tshirts at 315yen! that's so super duper cheap, and where can you ever find such cheap stuff in singapore? you can only get this kind of prices if you go to thailand!

uniqlo sells rather cheap stuff too, although i think their design leaves a fair bit to be desired, unless you shop at their bigger outlets like the one at shinsaibashi. i bought 2 tops - 1 half-sleeved casual top and another loose semi-casual top - for about $45? that's about $22.50 for stuff of fairly good quality. the other day, i also managed to buy a pair of nice, comfortable shoes for about $27. i think they're rather good buys, as they're just slightly more expensive than the things that i buy in singapore but BETTER QUALITY.

eating out isnt that expensive here either. of course if you're talking about eating out on an every day basis, it'll add up to quite a lot as there arent any kopitiam-like places here, but the thing is, i feel that the eating establishments in japan are all nice enough for you to have a day out or to bring your date to. and you can get good meals from 500yen and it's entirely possible to have a satisfying meal below 1000yen. which means that dating in japan isnt as expensive as in singapore, because back home you have to at least spend a fair amount to eat out at a restaurant of some sort, since the food courts and kopitiams where the cheap food are found arent really ideal places for dating, depending on which stage you're in. and so far, i've yet to eat anything less than 'nice' for all the meals that i've paid for! whereas in singapore you can easily spend more than $10 yet eat very mediocre fare.

and the snacks. i think the greatest thing is that many of the snacks that are so desired in sg are japanese products. some teachers whom i've spoken to were shocked to discover how expensive stuff like Meiji Fran cost, as they're at most 200 to 300yen over here ($2.60 - $3.90). you know, since arriving in japan, i'd yet to walk down the snack aisle in supermarkets till my resolve crumbled today. i ended up buying a box of chocolates (very good) and one of the expensive meiji pocky coated with blueberry cream. and they were so cheap. goodness.

things are going to be hard to resist from now on, although i think i did pretty well buying only 2 snack items :) anyway, the only thing that i find really expensive - and it strikes me rather hard - is the price of raw food items. basically the things you buy in the supermarket! fish, meat, vegetables, fruits etc always make me want to cry when i look at how much they cost, yet i cant not buy them because i need to eat! that's really just about the only thing though.