#1 Follow the Line of Pensioners

Follow the line of pensioners in Japan for almost anything local to find bargains. They know best how to live well on a tight budget!

As my first post in a series in advice for foreigners living in Japan both cheaply and well I have chosen a bit of sage advice given to me by a friend as a passing wit, a bit cheeky, that turned out to be really excellent advice to follow. Follow the line of pensioners has saved me a lot of time and money.

Ojisan and Obasan know the way!

Ojisan and Obasan know far better than any website or youthful companion how to live to the maximum on a tight budget. The problem with Japanese pensioners to young foreigners is that they are the most inaccessible people in Japanese society because they rarely know a word of English, probably just speak in their local dialect so even the Japanese that you learn is kind of useless, and they just don’t care about you and your problems really at all. However, they like a good line, and will gather in droves for a good deal. You can use this to your advantage.

Look around and Follow the Line of Pensioners

Look around at shopping areas. Are just the hip and well moneyed shopping there. Pretty good indication that you should not! Look around at those moldy old shopping streets and centers. Visit that run down grocery store that is weirdly off the beaten path. Keep a look out at places like public housing where they live for places to shop. Certain times of the month these folks get their pension checks and then they all at once go crazy shopping. Be strategically placed to see where they go. You will find the best of the cheap places to shop.

Find Old Fashioned Shopping Streets and Follow the Line of Pensioners

I have been especially blessed to have an old style shopping street where they line up around the street to go shopping. The food is cheap, fresh, and better quality than at the big shopping centers. So follow the line of pensioners to find good cheap groceries and non-brand quality items at a good price!

About the Author

Pjechorin

I have lived and worked with my family in Japan since 2005. For many years I have been interested in the very practical and creative side of Japanese culture. In my free time I travel around, enjoy hiking in the countryside and cities, and just generally seeing and doing new things. This blog is primarily a way for me to focus my energies and record and teach others about what I have learned by experience constructively. I am interested in urban development, and sustainable micro-economics, especially home-economics, and practical things everyday families can do to survive and thrive through these changing times.

Picture provided by Jeremy Stenuit through Unsplash. Find more like this at his website: Jérémy Stenuit