My Shopping List for Japanese Groceries (Ramen, Sweets, Snack and More) - What I Want to Get in Japan

Friday, November 3, 2017

My Shopping List for Japanese Groceries (Ramen, Sweets, Snack and More) - What I Want to Get in Japan

This coming winter, my husband and I are finally going to visit Japan. During staying Japan, I want to get some Japanese products. In order to enjoy Japanese foods after coming back home from Japan, I would like to purchase some groceries which are hard to find in the U.S. If you are new to Japanese foods and interested in Japanese groceries, you should check my previous entry, Top 10 Products You Should Buy at Japanese Supermarkets (for Beginners!). Anyway, today, I'm going to share my shopping list related to Japanese groceries with you.

1. Marutai Kyushu Ramen (マルタイ九州ラーメンシリーズ)

Marutai Kyushu Ramen

Marutai is a Japanese company that makes instant ramen. The company was established in Fukuoka in 1947 and started selling Bou Ramen in 1959. Bou (棒) means stick in Japanese. While most instant ramen is wavy noodle block, the noodles of Marutai Bou Ramen are as straight as sticks. That's why this ramen is called Bou Ramen (棒ラーメン). Each Bou Ramen has two servings of instant noodles. These years, they've started selling Kyushu region series in Japan, and the series has been very popular there. By the way, Kyushu (九州) is the most southwesterly of four main islands of Japan. My husband and I tried all 8 kinds of their Kyushu instant ramen, and all of them had authentic tastes and were as delicious as ones Japanese ramen restaurants serve seriously. If you are looking for the best Japanese instant ramen, I recommend you to try these. I loved their Nagasaki Agodashi Ramen and Kumamoto Tonkotsu Ramen! You can find Marutai Kyushu Ramen series at Don Quijote (ドン・キホーテ), which is also called Donki (ドンキ), one of the biggest Japanese discount chain stores in Japan. You might also find some flavor of this series at some supermarkets in Japan as well. It's a little hard to find the complete series though.

These are my previous entry related to this product.
■Top 3 My Favorite Ramen From Marutai Kyushu Ramen Series

■All About Marutai Kyushu Local Ramen! Must-Try Japanese Instant Ramen

2. Instant Curry Udon (インスタントカレーうどん)

Maruchan Curry Udon

My husband and I love Japanese curry udon. You can make Japanese curry udon with leftover Japanese curry, Japanese wafu dashi and green onions, but instant curry udon is obviously easier. I also like instant udon noodles taste different from real udon noodles. Instant udon noodles are flat and less chewy. If you love Japanese noodles, try it! You can also try Japanese curry udon at udon restaurants in Japan.

Maruchan Seimen Curry Udon

This is my previous entry related to this product.

■Japanese Instant Noodle - Haul

3. Myojo Charumera Champon (明星チャルメラちゃんぽん)

Myojo Charumera Champon

Myojo Charumera instant noodles were first released in 1966 and are the long-selling instant noodles in Japan. Myojo Charumera has several kinds of instant ramen, and they started selling Champon in 2011. Champon is a Japanese noodle dish that is a regional cuisine of Nagasaki prefecture. When I ate this Charumera Champon for my first time, I was really surprised that it's really really delicious! Even though it was instant noodle, it tasted just like authentic champon I used to eat at Ringer Hut, a Japanese chain of fast-food restaurants, specializing in Nagasaki dishes Champon and Sara udon, in Japan. You can find Charumera Champon at supermarkets in Japan.

This is my previous entry related to this product.
■Myojo Charumera Champon, Japanese Noodles

4. Nissin Chicken Ramen (日清チキンラーメン)

Nissin Chicken Ramen

Nissin Chicken Ramen is a noodle brand and the first marketed brand of Japanese instant noodles produced by Nissin Foods since 1958. Compared to Marutai instant ramen, Nissin Chicken Ramen doesn't taste like ones ramen restaurants serve, but I love this one. It's like delicious snack. :) If you want to try the original instant ramen, you can purchase Nissin Chicken Ramen at most supermarkets in Japan.

This is my previous entry related to this product.
■A Package from My Mother-In-Law in Japan

5. Agodashi (あごだし)

Yamaki Yaki Agodashi

Agodashi, fish based broth made from dried flying fish, has been very popular in Japan these years. People in Japan use agodashi for making miso soup, udon soup, ramen soup and etc. I specially like agodashi made of charcoal-grilled (炭火焼) flying fish. You can find many agodashi products at supermarkets in Japan.

This is my previous entry related to agodashi.
■Review - Marutai Nagasaki Agodashi Soy Sauce Ramen

6. Somi Shantan Deluxe (創味シャンタン DELUXE)

Somi Shantan Deluxe

Somi is one of the most famous food manufactures in Japan, and Somi Shantan was first released for restaurants in Japan in1961, and it's actually used at many restaurants there. It's excellent condiment, so you can cook like a pro with this one. This condiment for home cooking used to be Ueipa which was made by Somi and sold by Hiroki Syokou, and indeed I used to use Ueipa when I lived in Japan. However, Somi stopped to continue doing business with Hiroki Syokou in 2015, and now Ueipa isn't allowed to use same ingredients anymore, but Somi Shantan is only authentic one. You can add teaspoons of it to make fried rice, soup, stir-fried vegetable and so on. You can purchase Somi Shantan at supermarkets in Japan.

This is my previous entry related to this product.
■Don Quijote (Donki) Haul - What He Got in Japan

7. Calbee Jyagariko Cheese (カルビーじゃがりこチーズ味)

Calbee Jyagariko Cheese

Jyagariko, Jyagarico, is crunchy potato snacks made by Calbee. I like Jyagariko Cheese flavor. This product can be found at Japanese supermarkets in the U.S. (slightly expensive though), so if I don't have any extra space in my suitcase, I will skip this one (or I will eat it up in Japan).

This is my previous entry related to this product.
■My Top 10 Favorite Japanese Snacks

8. Yaokin Umaibo (やおきんうまい棒)

Yaokin Umaibo

Umaibo is a puffy stick snacks made by Riska and sold by Yaokin. It was first released in 1979. There are so many kinds of Umaibo you can choose from, and my favorite one is Natto Flavor, which you might not like. If you love natto, you might be surprised at its flavor. It tastes like natto but more delicious than natto actually. ;) I think that Cheese Flavor and Corn Potage Flavor are loved by everyone. The coolest thing about this product is that it's only 10 yen each! If you purchase 10 of them, they only cost 100 yen! You can purchase Umaibo at most supermarkets in Japan.

This is my previous entry related to this product.
■6 Japanese Products Loved by Foreign Tourists in Japan

9. Japanese Commercial Bread (市販のパン)

Japanese Bread My Husband Purchased at Convenience Store in Japan

You know that bread is everywhere in the world, but Japanese commercial bread is not as same as one U.S. supermarkets sell. That's why I always purchase some when I visit Japan. Even if you try Japanese sliced bread, you will notice that it's very different! You can choose thickness of each slice of bread. For Pasco Chojyuku (Pasco 超熟), 4-slice one is the thickest one, and if you toast it, it turns crunchy texture on the outside but its inside is still fluffy! 10-slice one is thinner than 4-slice one, but it's still thicker than regular U.S. sliced bread.

Pasco Chojyuku

I also love Yamazaki Double Soft (ヤマザキダブルソフト), it's very thick and incredibly soft.

Yamazaki Double Soft

This is Japanese curry bread, which is called curry pan (カレーパン) in Japan. Japanese curry bread is deep-fried bread with curry pastes in it. The bread is coated with panko before being deep-fried. I think everyone loves Japanese curry breads!

You can purchase Japanese commercial bread at supermarkets and convenience stores in Japan.

This is my previous entry related to Japanese bread.
■Japanese Breads Haul - Convenience Stores in Japan

10. Shiseido Parlour Hayashi Beef Retort Pouch (資生堂パーラーハヤシビーフ)

Shiseido Parlour Hayashi Beef Retort Pouch

As I mentioned in my previous entry, Shiseido, which is the largest cosmetic company, has restaurants, Shiseido Parlour. Their restaurant is very fancy and high-end, so I would like to try their retort pouch instead. I would like to try their Hayashi Beef, which is one of Shiseido Parlour's traditional menu.

This is my previous entry related to this product.
■6 Popular Products form Shiseido Parlour Shop - Shiseido Parlour Ginza Tokyo (Shiseido Restaurants, Cafe and Confectionery Store)

11. Fish Products from Tsukiji Fish Market (築地市場)

Tsukiji Fish Market Haul - Nov 2016

When my husband has a chance to go to Tokyo for a business trip, he always goes Tsukiji Fish Market to eat delicious fresh sushi, and he purchase some fish products there. I visited Tsukiji Fish Market several times when I lived in Japan, but it's been a long while since I went there. This coming winter, we will go to Tsukiji Fish Market and purchase some fish stuffs. :) I'm not sure what we purchase there though.