Grocery shopping American style: a day trip to Costco

Summary

A trip to Costco wholesalers in Saitama. A shopping experience unlike anywhere else in Japan: Rotisserie Chicken, huge pizza, freshly baked apple pie, wine, clothes, toys, books, electronics, frozen food, fresh food, cheese, meat, Mexican, Korean, Indian and much much more,

**Has parking**Saitama Prefecture**Any age**Half day Activity**Admission free (For members) **10:00-20:00**No holidays**

Website

Website - English

Location/Access

3-1-2 LaLaCity, Shinmisato,
Misato-City, Saitama,
341-0009, Japan
81-48-950-0800


Directions/Map

By Train: The closest station is Shin-Misato 新三郷 on the JR Musashino Line. 武蔵野線.

By Car: By car, head for the Smart IC if coming from the Kashiwa/Tsukuba direction 柏・つくば　on the Joban expressway, or the Misato IC 三郷 if coming from Tokyo.

Important note: membership

If you wish to shop at Costco (or even enter through the door), you'll need to become a card carrying member of the store. The queue to sign up is always long on the weekend, so make sure you come early. You will find the sign-up area in the car park on the 1F.

The details can be found on the website here.

Activities

Shopping, shopping and more shopping! There is an Ikea next to Costco, so why not make it a day trip of it and shop for some furniture as well?

The range of products available is very impressive, and also somewhat biased towards goods of American origin, which is great for us foreign folk living in Japan. (The Author is not actually American, but years in Japan have led me to accept Americana as an acceptable substitute for my own culture).

Remember, Costco is not all about food, and there are many 100s of items including electronics, fashion items, clothes, cosmetics, medicines, DVDs, toys, alcohol amongst many others. Make sure to take plenty of cash with you, as non-Costco-branded credit cards are not accepted at the till!

Also, don't be afraid to give in to the "impulse purchase" at Costo; their 100% satisfaction guarantee means that you can simply return any item you are not completely satisfied with for a full money back refund.

Food

There is a huge amount of both fresh and processed food. The highlights for me were: Giant Pizza, Rotisserie Chicken, freshly baked Apple Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Cookies, Croissant, Pain au Chocolat, and Tiramisu.

After shopping, there is the option to purchase whole Pizza, hotdogs, Ice cream and other fast food to eat at the seating areas provided within the building. There are also drinks machines dispensing soda.


Cost

The cost is in-line with what you would expect from a Wholesale store. This means that things are certainly cheaper than buying the equivalent in central Tokyo, but also remember that the volume is large, as the business model is to sell in bulk.

Note that there is so much here, at such good prices, that you may load your trolley to such an extent that you could easily get up to the 50,000-60,000JPY mark at the till. Once again, don't forget to bring plenty of cash!


Rating

A great shopping experience; something for all ages.

Pros: Loads of goods at reasonable prices. Goods from back home that are not available in other parts of Tokyo. A great returns policy allowing you to shop without fear, as you can take back anything you are not 100% happy with for a full refund.

Cons: A little far from central Tokyo, and not really an option for those without a car. You need to pay a yearly membership fee before they'll let you shop.


Rating: 8/10

It's Yummy! Family themed pension in Nasu

Summary

**Has parking**Outside of Tokyo**For Elementary School Kids**Weekend**Under 30,000JPY for a family of four, 1 night**

Website

Yummy Pension (Japanese Only)

Location/Access

栃木県那須郡那須町 大字湯本206-508
Tochigi-ken, Nasu-gun, Nasu-Machi, Oazayumoto, 206-508
+81 (0) 288-53-6400


View Larger Map


By Train: From Ueno station, take the 東北本線 Tohoku honsen to 黒磯駅 Kuroiso station. From there, take the 東野バスー那須湯元本行 Toya bus, towards nasu yumotohon, and alight at 新那須バス停 shin-nasu bus stop. From there, it is a ten minute walk to ペンション・ユミィ・アネックス Pension Yummy Annex.

By Car: From Tokyo, head towards 浦和I.C. Urawara I.C. From there, take the 東北自動車道 Tohoku jidoshado around 148km to 那須I.C. Nasu I.C. After alighting here, head 19km towards 那須街道・湯本 Nasu kaido/yumoto on 県道17号 route 17.

Activities

Being located in an onsen resort, the main appeal is obviously the hot springs. Yummy has 5 of these, and all are 貸切, or privately reserved baths. These are reserved on a first come first served basis; there are 5 tokens waiting at the reception desk and once you have the token the bath is yours for the next 30 minutes*. This is great, as it means that the whole family can relax in the bath together, without interference from other guests.

There are 3 bath located on the 3rd floor, and 2 baths on the ground floor of the building. The 3 baths on the 3rd floor are 露天風呂 or outside baths, and are designed around the following themes: waterfall, night lights and sleeping bath. All three baths have a fantastic view of the surrounding countryside and each has enough unique charm as to make it worth your while to try and experience all three over the course of your stay. The 2 baths located on the ground floor are in comparison quite unspectacular, and you wouldn't be missing out on much by giving these a miss.

*Note, in the morning, there bath must be reserved in advance, by writing your name on a form, again on a first come first served basis, and it will cost an extra 210 yen per time slot reserved. There is no such cost occurred for evening/night bathing however.

This being a pension for families, there are a whole host of other activities to keep you occupied during your trip. These include: Table tennis on the ground floor, an electronic dart board in the reception, and a play area on the 2nd floor with an assortment of slides and toys. By far the most interesting activity though, is the Sony Playstation 2 located in each room. For game software, simply head down to the reception and choose from an assortment of around 30 titles. All of the above activities can be enjoyed without additional charge.

Food



The food is easily the best thing about Yummy, which is maybe not surprising considering either the name, or the owner's alleged former occupation as a chef. The style is European, and consists mainly of steak, fish, and crab. Dinner begins promptly at 6pm, in the dining hall on the first floor, and continues until 7.30. An interesting feature is the ability to add "all you can drink/eat" items to your course, including steak/crab/cake and wine/sake. We chose to add all but the cake option, and although the additional steaks we ordered did not match the standard of the first that were served (we felt a little cheated as the first steaks were to die for...), nevertheless we were overall pleased with both the quality and quantity of both the food and drink served.

A children's meal was provided for our 3 year old, and this was already waiting on the table by the time we sat down to eat, and a child seat was provided for our 1 year old, making it very easy for us, as a young family, to enjoy the meal.

Cost

The cost of overnight stay, use of all facilities, and food and drink was just under 30,000JPY for our 4 person family.

Rating

This hotel is 100% family orientated, which was demonstrated by the fact that every single guest that stayed there on the same night a us was a family with children in the age ranges 1-3. This is great for people with young kids, as it means you can truly let your hair down and relax without having to worry about your child making a scene in the dining room or breaking something expensive in the lobby. Both the food and the outside baths were highlights of the trip, with the Playstation and play room area adding extra value to the experience. Little touches, such as a baby seat in the downstairs bath area, make this a very family themed place and ensure that those with young children can relax and enjoy themselves here.

However, perhaps as a downside of the family-orientated nature, the facilities are quite shockingly poorly maintained. There are stains on the carpets, rust on the fences, the wallpaper is aged and discolored, the outside car park is covered with weeds, the inside bath has mold on the walls, and there were even some dead insects inside the inside bath when we entered at around 4pm, which is only 1 hour after check-in time, suggesting the baths may not be cleaned out every day. If you can live with this, it allows you to fully relax without having to worry about your children spilling something in the room and ruining the decor. If, however, you prefer your hotels to be spic, span and modern, then you may find this pension to be a little outside your comfort zone.

Pros: Good food, all you can eat/drink, playstation 2, "at home" feeling, themed baths

Cons: Poorly maintained, a little unclean in places, no real English language support, a possible "bait and switch" strategy with the steak.


Rating: 7/10 Not without its flaws, but the best pension I've been to in Japan in terms of being accommodating of young families. If you can live with the slight dilapidation then there's plenty to enjoy here.