Japanese Culture Vids: Grocery Shopping With Luke In Japan (Non Gaming Related)

[@SteveBenway]

That was awesome. Who'd have thunk watching a walk around a supermarket could be so fascinating? The seafood bit almost made me barf on my keyboard. I was kind of surprised to see the "Merry Christmas" signs up, and written in English.

[@lukemorse1]

Hahaha, glad you enjoyed it Steve. There are a lot of things in the supermarkets around here that can upset your stomach for a day just by looking at it. They throw a bit of English in from time to time but it used to say "Happy Christmas", times are changing.

[@filiph.f.slagter8340]

Quite nice to see indeed. :) I love browsing through unfamiliar supermarkets :D

[@SmoothEmJay]

Shall watch this later. You forget Steve, not all countries are as terribly boring or as unfriendly as the dump we live in. Shall look forward to this ***** . PS: You given any thought to renaming your channel "BackAgainLuke" ? ;)

[@esper4605]

It feels so interesting to hear someone switch speaking languages so quickly.

[@kristina80ification]

I like that your videos always go on after the goodbye.

[@P5ychoFox]

Very interesting stuff. I never knew about the odd numbers thing. By speaking the language and immersing yourself in the Japanese culture, you're a great ambassador for the US Luke. The Japanese are such a generally polite and stoic people, the rest of the world could learn a lot from their outlook I feel.

[@TheDemoniusX]

I love videos like this because we are so used to western boring culture that it's a breath of fresh air to see eastern culture on film. I love watching your vids on this subject. Interests me to no end.

[@electrofreak0]

i love watching these videos. I've been watching since you helped Mark over at CGR out with his Neo-Geo arcade machine and even these non-gaming videos I find very informative and fun to watch. Keep up the great work Luke!

[@thetylife]

Love the video. Food everywhere is getting more expensive or downsizing these days. I might try that shrimp sauce of yours tonight.

[@Playongo]

Honestly since about 2008, food prices have been higher in the US. I noticed a distinct difference when I went to the grocery store, that my bill was at least 20%-30% more expensive consistently than it had been. I wonder if the cost of fuel in Japan drives the prices of produce up? Anyway, cool stuff as usual. This was pretty fun to see. I had no idea about the odd numbers thing!

[@PheseantNetsuke]

Hey Luke theses japan culture videos are awesome ! Keep making them.

[@rosselur]

Great video Luke. Loved it. Could watch you stroll that supermarket for hours.

[@CRTcade]

Awesome stuff Luke =) I'm not sure exactly what it is, but I do miss the Japanese grocery stores. I used to frequent the Daimaru Peacock in Azabujuban and used to also love walking down the hill from the 10ban to Hiroo to go to the national Azabu grocery store. What was also cool was that, there's a baskin robbins on the corner right next to it, haha. I like the grocery stores in North America too, as they are nice in their own way due to the large size, but there was something so cool for me about the smaller, two story, city-style grocery stores in Tokyo. I'll always have fantastic memories from them.

[@x1ic1x]

Dat fluent Japanese at 10:15 lol love these adventure videos Luke

[@bryanb0016]

Great...great GREAT video Luke. At last, something about you that doesn't involve gaming. And another insight on how it's like in Japan. Love it...Thank you Luke.

[@Tanerion]

More interesting than I expected. Produce seems quite expensive but I hear that it's generally quality stuff over there.

[@generalgrim89]

I know this is a gaming channel, but this was really cool. If you decide to share videos like this with us in the future, I will definitely enjoy them. I wonder if you would mind answering a question. I would like to learn how to repair PCBs for my games and systems, but I'm not sure where to start. How did you learn and do you have any recommendation for a decent soldering iron? Thanks.

[@bobskie321]

I always heard rumors that going to Japan for a vacation is very expensive. Your video justifies that. Thanks for posting.

[@NovemberSierra87]

That looks like an awesome supermarket! The prices arent that bad if i compare them with a dutch grocery store. Loved to see this video Luke! And do a cooking show! Make some snacks for gaming or something.

[@MN12BIRD]

Great video. I got an Asian supermarket near me it's surprisingly big. Mostly stuff from Philippines, Korea, Vietnam and some stuff from Japan. Some stuff you would be familiar with in there I'm sure. What kinda camera you using these days? It looks pretty good.

[@roasty80]

Thanks for taking the time to show us japan. I find it really interesting

[@darktetsuya]

whoa, a grocery store video... dont know that i've seen one on your channel yet! (maybe years before i subscribed) but that's neat to see what a Japanese grocery store is like... doesn't seem that much different from ones over here. and i'd totally watch 'Cooking with Luke', just saying. :P great videos as always!

[@babayaga26]

great video, food prices in japan seems to be more or less exactly the same as in Norway, which translates into extremely expensive :)

[@MrZedKay]

lol do some more vids like this, its nice for us to see the differences

[@MrTotallynotabiscuit]

for the fish eggs 4:42 we have a similar thing in Atlantic Canada but its called roe (row) , it comes from haddock and tasted pretty good when fried alongside the fish but i wouldn't dare eat it raw

[@MrShagCarpet]

More grocery shopping vids!! You were cracking me up in there lol

[@pliskin1231]

You should do more of these style of videos. There really interesting and entertaining! Rock on dude!

[@Kenthis15]

Thanks for making that, it was a cool experience and that tuna looked AMAZING!

[@FumiyaSugawara]

You can see the big difference from japan markets to markets in the states, specially veggies i gotta have my full size cucumbers lol nice vid bro like always.

[@32Paul]

Thanks for the culture videos. Its amazing how everithing its super clean, even the meat packages. Please, do a cooking video.

[@DesperadoBloo]

great video luke, love these cultural ones, happy holidays!

[@theboys9657]

Food is quite expensive especially since this is a old video but the gaming stuff is cheap at least I find even these none gaming videos interesting just kinda cool to see somewhere different

[@TheFutureIsPrimitive]

*Deep voice* BANANA! Very fun to see the cultural differences in a supermarket compared to ours.

[@MrSpinalTV]

I really love these videos where you go around with a camera in Japan.

[@HScorching]

Please upload more of these, seriously for me it was so fascinating to see inside a supermarket in japan. Thanks Luke for the video, I hope to see more in the future, I love the culture videos you make.

[@TUXXREVIEWS]

Love the muzak in background

[@Larry]

Was there some sort of rule or law that fish sourced from Japanese waters had to have a radiation level sticker on them for their supermarkets or something?

[@lukemorse1]

No, those are more lies and hype made by other countries. It is funny to see how some countries will say that there is a radiation leak in places like Shibuya which has nothing but shopping districts. If people dont make shit up or exaggerate the truth than no one will watch the news or media. Dont rely on the garbage going on in the media or internet. Due to space restrictions and laws prohibiting fishing in mass around the sea of Japan, Japan imports almost 90% of its seafood from other countries like Russia and Mexico and rice comes from California due to the fact that there isnt enough land or resources around here to supply the demand. They already have priority contracts with a dozen countries for Tuna import. Better to do the research on the make up of Japanese fisheries and importing before believing what people trying to get ratings are talking about.

[@Larry]

***** That's what I get for believing those click bait sites then! >.> But I understand the anger, we had the same bullshit in the UK during the mad cow scare, when it wasn't even British beef that was infected in the end.

[@janlovesmany712]

Larry Bundy Jr. How in the world can believe it is lies and propaganda when Fukushima still leaking isotopes into the Pacific Ocean today by the tons?!!..... It is Japan lieing still sadly!

[@lyndonlucier791]

im pretty sure the entire southern coast of japan is iradiated now lol

[@TheGameBench]

That's interesting how they sell everything in odd numbers. Very cool video. I reminds me of how woefully sad my selection of some stuff is. I could never hope to see tuna like that or rice wine that isn't really just water and corn syrup. Then again, I should be glad out prices aren't so bad. I'd go broke just on cheese!

[@xxkomebackkidxx]

I noticed on the banner below the meat's it said Merry Christmas. I am curious as to if this is just a festive gift giving holiday or if people actually celebrate it religiously over there. Or is it to appeal to the population of english speaking people over there? I'm not too educated on if most people over there are Buddhist or not but I was just curious.

[@zephiel123]

I think the Buddhist religion is actually a minority in Japan these days. I could be wrong though. I can tell you right now that English speaking cultures are also a minority there, so that's not the reason. It has gotten better though. Christmas is a major holiday around the world and heavily celebrated in Japan so that's probably why.

[@AlexOjideagu2]

***** Communism has nothing to do with Atheism. Europe and Japan are very secular and educated. The US is an exception in the western world as overly religious.

[@Beast222Jolly22JWB]

So it 's like expensive stores in Poland ... Thank you to show us !

[@robotwo]

Yeah the import stuff tends to be pricy. We have Mountain Dew cans in a few stores here and it's usually $2 for a 12 oz can.

[@TheSynrgy1987]

that's actually pretty cool and it answered one of my questions about Japan "Do they have Guinness in Japan?", I tried Sapporo recently it comes in a cool tin here, not sure if the exported stuff is the same as the local stuff, but I much prefer Asahi, that said I've only tried Sapporo once so maybe not a fair judgement,

[@santisven]

Very nice video Luke! I don't know if you read my comment yesterday but i just suggested you to do these kind of videos. Awesome that you did! As always, love your channel, hope everything is ok. Take care!!!

[@Locut0s]

Thanks for posting this Luke! Love the culture vids. Man I really have to find a way to visit Japan for a few months. I think I'd love it there as I have experience with Asia in general, lived in Malaysia, China and Taiwan for a total of 4 years as a kid. I love ,most things Asian, especially the food, OMG. Not sure how I would swing it work wise as I don't really want to go the stereotypical English teacher route, I don't blame the bad press that has gotten in Japan. Would have to find something else. I'd also do my best to learn some Japanese as well, I'm half Chinese but look 100% white, I do speak some Chinese.

[@Larry]

I love Philadelphia though, grew up eating it really :D But as Kraft bought Cadbury a few years ago, over here they've released Cadbury's chocolate Philadelphia, quite nice too, sort of like chocolate cheesecake.

[@matthewellis6516]

i dont know if you got tang in england but if you whip up it with philly cheese you get pure delicious

[@lukemorse1]

I agree Larry, It works well in sooo many dishes. Such a nice accent

[@Larry]

***** Indeed, it's excellent in pasta, mix it with ham or bacon for a great carbonara style. It's also nice on baked potatoes.

[@Larry]

matthew ellis Tang? The orange stuff? We sadly don't have that here :(

[@TokyoACR]

Hey I was wondering if you knew how safe it is to eat sushi and fish in general in Tokyo? I haven't heard any updates about the fukushima plant lately and I was wondering if you knew anything. And thanks for making these videos! Can you do another grocery shopping video soon?

[@everydayday9437]

That's so awesome!! What part of Japan are you in??

[@xvxvcaspervxvx]

many of the prices for the produce and meats and cheeses are about the same as what i pay here in southern ontario. a trip to the grocery store costs about 50-80 CDN but it lasts me about 3-4 days. (im vegetarian)

[@joshshepherd6004]

Really enjoyed watching this Luke, Thanks :)

[@ItsameBS]

I have been to Tokyo, Japan three times and never experienced life like this is Japan. Please continue this series. Question... The food may be expensive, but is it of better quality compared to the U.S.? Thanks

[@lukemorse1]

Im glad that you like it man, thanks a lot! Im going to be straight and honest here. The quality here is 100x better than the states. As an example, in the states they feed cattle plastic pellets to fatten them up and save on money. In Japan, they feed the cattle sake and a variety of fruits, vegetables and grains etc. with the steak in Japan all you need is a pinch of salt for flavor and it tastes amazing, the import meat from the states however sits on the shelf until almost expiring and when they mark it down to 200 yen or so people will generally buy it, soak it in soy sauce and oil then fry it to take away the strong flavor, honest truth.

[@ItsameBS]

How hard is it to live in Japan? I would love to live some of my life there, but hesitate because I do not know the language yet and I figure finding a job would be hard even if I did know the language.

[@mrkyle316]

Id be curious to see their bakery area. I'd bet they have some pretty cool stuff

[@timpalimpa91]

Nice video always interesting to see things like this. Food prizes was high, although they seem kinda similar to Swedens but the ones here may be higher, although it depends on what u are buying ofcourse.

[@tubularLeah]

LOL great video, as always! Also, gosh those are some expensive Doritos! But good thing Luke's got his priorities straight and goes for that alcohol XD. Hmm... note to self = Alcohol + Bullethell shooter experiment....

[@BigDaddyDarth]

"Oh yeah...back to the alcohol." Had to laugh at that...lol. Was interesting to hear Santa Clause is Coming to Town playing in the background...wasn't expecting that.

[@lukemorse1]

Haha, Danny, I need my fix from time to time. There are a lot of western holidays that are becoming more and more prominent in Japan here. Times are changing for sure

[@quakesin1982]

Japan seems very OCD friendly. Cool video!! Keep it up Luke!

[@Videogamearcade]

Have you seen Suntory sparkling chocolate water lately ?

[@2pac5555]

how does it work in Japan when it comes to harder liquor (Vodka, Rum, etc). Can you buy those in grocery stores or do you have to go to designated liquor stores and also what is the drinking age there.

[@catgirl_eva]

Random happy sounding music in the background.

[@GC-zk3mj]

wheres that in japan but the beer in japan its called kiren beer but theys a heniken in hawaii but where in japan is it at like osaka or tokyo kyoto theys plenty supermarkets eveywhere in japan

[@Galdelico]

Dude, that was awesome! Must be quite expensive to be vegetarian in Japan... I must take that in mind, if I'll ever manage to visit the country (and I really want to, before I'm too old! XD). Oh, and believe it or not, those white little fishes are quite a big thing here in my region too! :D Hope you don't mind a question: is it possible to find smaller, specific food stores in Japan? Here in Italy - even if it's not as common as it's used to be in the past and... They've become more expensive as well - you can still go down the street to buy veggies, fruits, bread etc in these small shops where, in time, you end up knowing the keepers, having a chat, getting little discounts and buy larger quantities of food. Is there anything like that in Japan?

[@zborgerd]

Great video, Luke. I love seeing these sorts of things. Honestly, the food doesn't look to be very expensive at all when you are shopping for the more common local items, and the general quality seems to be much better than an average US chain market. I could go into this store and get more fresh food for my money than my local grocery stores. I know that wage is a factor, but based upon exchange rates alone, it looks much better than my midwest US grocery. Noodles are fairly comparable. Tomatoes are overpriced, but they are just out of season and probably less common than other produce in general. Vine ripened tomatoes are usually about $.99 a lb here in the Summer, but spike in the winter. Mushrooms and root vegetables look very reasonable. Meat (especially fish) looks great. Beer on the other hand? REALLY expensive (over 2x the price) but that may also be because they are sold in individual cans / bottles. Sake looks much cheaper than it is in the US, of course. Cheese is more than 2x the price but we have lots of dairy farms near here.

[@darkinertia2]

whaaaa luke! please dont tell me you dont like fish eggs/roe AT ALL!? sushi with roe is probably my favorite and its one of the easiest ones to make lol granted i dont think i could eat a sack of eggs but its pretty awesome, the texture is like couscous(maybe lol) also i used to do a lot of sushi making and i really got into the art of sushi for a while, if i remember correctly, isnt it bad luck to cut the sushi into 8? or was it 6? and how does that go with the odd number superstition? very interesting stuff, i love learning small everyday things like this about culture, of course we can see how people react around each other and how people talk, but everyone eats and every country does it different!

[@jamesrbrindle]

Love the culture vids! Why is food so expensive in Japan? In UK, 500g beef steak costs about £6, carrots 1kg = ~£1.50, cheese is usually pretty cheap. Does a lot get imported leading to high price or only produced in certain areas meaning high transport / distribution costs?

[@COBOL]

Love the video!! It's incredible how much is different the stuff you can find in a regular supermarket here and there. The only item that I can buy also here is the Philadelphia and the foreign beers. And, except fish, everything else is so incredibly expensive: 4 bucks for 3 tomatoes!!! I can buy 3 kilos for the same price. And where is the wine, the pasta, the bread!? Also the meat is so strange, expesive and full of fat: it's the complete opposite of our! Here less fat equal to better quality! It's clear that if I live in Japan I couldn't afford to eat like in my country! But I love fish, so maybe it will not a big problem :)

[@theultimo]

I've only spent time in Osaka, but the meat prices were comparable there.

[@Syntax.error.]

That is really expensive. I think here in West Europe the prices are half of that. Also it's all so small. Here it's really hard to buy beer in anything less than a six pack. The most sold is 24 bottles at 33cl and that costs about 10€. But it all looks of higher quality in Japan.

[@lactobacillusprime]

Wow, personally I am not too keen on shopping for groceries yet you make it an enjoyable experience. I should try to enjoy it again but for some reason people always start talking to me for whatever reason so it is a social experience when I just want to get in get my food and get out. LOL

[@lukemorse1]

Lol, Im really jealous of that, here, no one talks to you haha

[@megamancards]

Luke, do they have membership bulk discount stores there like Sams, Costco, etc. or is that a US thing?

[@shinmusashi44]

What part of Japan do you live in? I've lived in Thailand now for the past year and I'm looking to move to Japan in a year or so.

[@AlphasysNl]

Wow, you can get some awesome foods there! Made me hungry!

[@danbaldwick4853]

They sell Beer in grocery store's in Japan! *BOOM* Mind Blown!

[@electricadventures]

Be interesting to see if any of the seafood comes from Tasmania, especially the Salmon and Abalone ;)

[@jamesgrimwood1285]

For "Cooking with Luke" to work, you'd need to have a bartop arcade cab on your work top instead of a dog ;-)

[@deathaxe]

Crikey! Stuff there is expensive.Good video Luke, I like these more than the gaming vids hehe. Do people think you are strange when you look like you are talking to yourself? And do they ever catch you filming? would you be in trouble?

[@primealtemus2627]

Thanks Luke, That was cool to see.

[@Vampier]

this looks like a regular Ralph's except I can't read anything on the labels. It also looks like a lot more healthy food than you get here (California) and I love the smaller shopping-carts I only see those in Asian grocery stores around here.

[@lukemorse1]

Hahaha, There are a lot of things here that are marketed toward a healthy life for sure but that is just the Japanese way I suppose. I miss the big grocery stores in the States from time to time though.

[@lactobacillusprime]

Wonder if the Dutch cheeses are actually packaged and produced by Vergeer Kaas or Vergeer cheeses? Some ancient split off from the family became really successful as a cheese merchant whereas the rest of the family just continued to live their lives scraping by LOL

[@lukemorse1]

its interesting to think of for sure Mark but I have no clue. One thing I know though is that the food that comes from other countries seems to be pretty good and that is another reason I love being here to be able to try that.

[@ShoreyJr]

Luke, this was really interesting, I know your channel is way more game related and I love that stuff too, but I was wondering, could you do more Japanese culture videos? I really enjoyed this c: Cheers dude, Sam

[@jakehansen3418]

I live in Illinois my local jewel has similar if not worse prices as this place does lol.

[@ItzRetz]

The pre-made food (bentos, snacks, convenience store food) in Japan is dirt cheap, but the raw ingredients are expensive... I do love cooking, but honestly, if I ever lived in Japan, I'd just buy the pre-made stuff and save myself a few bucks.

[@DanVanDam]

i plan to do another cooking video soon haha

[@lukemorse1]

I expected you would there big guy, looking forward to it.

[@DanVanDam]

The salon was a great choice, i enjoy a little herb butter with mine

[@k5krusher]

Do you ever miss American food? If so what kind? Also,If you try to make american style or mexican food,Is it hard to find certain ingredients?

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

I see they still use Coco the Monkey over there (for anyone who remembers him from Cocoa Krispies).

[@Evaldas256]

Aww, everyone is so polite! Thanks for sharing, Luke! :3

[@MrBloodstainz]

So can u speak japenese fluently then? Also the bAckdrop we often see in ur videos is that just one room in ur house or is it just the apartement? Thank u

[@tincheunglee5352]

i think its around the same price as whole food here in vegas :D~

[@SmoothEmJay]

Only just actually watched this, interesting stuff indeed. Thanks Luke.

[@Locut0s]

Fantastic vid Luke thanks. I'd fit right in in Japan food wise. Although I look 100% white I'm actually 1/2 Chinese and have grown up eating Asian food most of my life, course Chinese dishes are different from Japanese but I like all Asian food. Would love to be there but finding work would be difficult I imagine. Keep the vids coming. Thanks.

[@Totikki_]

fish egg is extremly good, though I dont eat it directly from their "pouch" lol

[@Polaventris]

I've been lazy and shopping my food from the closest 7-eleven, although the food in family restaurant like Joyfull is quite cheap.

[@lukemorse1]

hahaha, 7-eleven can sometimes hit the spot but Joyfull, Jolly Pasta, Gust, and Jonathan's are all quite reasonable :)

[@ChiefDaFlippa]

Cool video Luke i like when you do these really awesome bro thx

[@sadiedeee]

Is it safe to eat the seafood. considering the radioactive leakage from Fukishima?

[@googleboughtmee]

Do they have christmas lights and trees etc in the highstreets there?

[@nissan300bhp]

sapporo is really really nice, bk here in the UK tesco sell it in a big tin, very expensive tho, about £2.50p a tin, nice tho

[@goatmilk222]

So why do you live in Japan? And do a lot of people speak English as a secondary language there?

[@TheDanster4]

Dang, food is expensive there! I like to cook for myself and eat healthy, but how am I supposed to afford food when I go to study abroad? I probably need a miracle lol.

[@InfiniteRhombus]

mayo + ketchup + etc is called tiger sauce and its amazing on everything, not just shrimp.

[@VectorOmega]

At least they make the veggie sections neat there!

[@ZeromasterVT]

Hey luke how do the hobbyist/anime store differ from the states? I assume they have more kamen rider/tokusatsu stuff but I'm curious to know how they differ. Any comment on this?

[@lukemorse1]

Imagine things like G.I.Joe, Turtles, Batman, Spider man etc being all replaced by the import stuff like Dragon Ball, Akira, model trains, and gundam models. that is the way it is here. You really have to experience it to understand it. like a totally different world.

[@Cmjimenez407]

The price if food there is about as close to what I pay here in the states.

[@BHStudios01]

I was thinking the same thing. Those prices seem about the same, give or take, as what we pay here in New Jersey at grocery stores. It's only at the smaller local shops and the rare farmers market where it's cheaper (we luck out in my town. We have a super small Korean farmers market that sells fresh fruits and veggies for super cheap. You can't walk to it, though. If you don't have a car in our area of NJ, you're pretty much screwed...).

[@AxiomofDiscord]

And noodles in packs of 753 because Japan. I do remember Judo class and not rolling up your sleeves 4 times under any circumstance.

[@solidsnake1678]

Really surprised to see a bag of Werther's Original's sitting on the shelf