There are supermarkets in Japan where a variety of foodstuffs are available. Every town has stores of a certain size with parking facilities. Compared to convenience stores, the prices are lower, and the variety of goods is much wider. The store opening hours vary by store and region, but noramlly they are open from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Packages of foodstuffs are relatively small-sized in Japan to comply with the demand from small families and single or elderly households. Rice (Japanese staple food), soy sauce, eggs, milk, and many other foods are usually sold in small packages. They also offer a wide variety of boxed lunches and side dishes, and the prices are affordable compared to restaurants. Around lunch time and dinner time, freshly prepared warm food items such as stir- or deep-fried foods are available. They also offer a wide variety of breads ranging from loaves of bread to sweet breads.
In Japan, fruits and vegetables are normally sold "by quantity" rather than "by weight" in which the total price varies depending on the size of the fruits and vegetables. There are few stores that sell oatmeal and solid bread, and types of cheese and bread are much more limited than in Europe. Parts of beef and pork are also limited and some foodstuffs indispensable for festivals of other countries and cultural events, such as boned meat of sheep, pork heads, turkeys, or a whole chicken, may not be available in Japanese supermarkets.
