Unique Things That Affect The Consumer Process In Japan

Unique things that I have noticed the short period that I have been in Japan. These things are a big part of shopping in Tokyo.

o   Customer service - always above and beyond, its like nothing you see in the US.

o   Promotion of products through anime, cartoon characters, quirky ads - I would say 80% of ads that I've seen have these traits. I wish it was like that in the US. Its so fun!

o   Plastic food displays - This is the coolest thing to see what you're food will look like before you even go in the restaurant. Its a great way to figure out where to dine while you're walking down the street deciding where to go.

o   Holidays/festivals – There seem to be festivals every weekend. During these times, the streets are filled with vendors selling food and games. There are also items to buy that are specific to that festival.

o   Walk/bike everywhere – Because everyone walks and/or bikes alot, there is a heavy demand for convenient drinks and food, specialty foot care and shoes. As a result there are many vending machines and convenient stores to provide these items.

o   Humidity – Because everyone walks everywhere and it is so humid, there are many products to accommodate this such as small cloths/towels, fans, vending machines with water, and even menthol wet ones.

Different Retail Store Types in Tokyo

Department Store:

Mitsukoshi

Discount Store:

Daiso

Convenience Store

Daily

Supermarket

Life

Specialty

Fujiya Sweets

Category Killer

BIC Camera

Budget for a family in Japan

Budget for a family in Japan

This is an approximate monthly budget for a family of 2 living in the Yokosuka area.

Rent for 1800 sqft (approx.), 3 bd, 2 toilet, 1 shower room – 260,000 yen

Utilities (water, gas, electric) – 24,000 yen

Transit – 8,000 yen

Food – 70,000 yen

Entertainment – 30,000 yen

Health Insurance - Deducted from paycheck

Loyalty Cards in Japan

It’s a little difficult as a foreigner to discover loyalty cards in Japan, but this was a school assignment, so I gave it my best shot. Of my family and new friends in Japan, I didn’t find anyone that used any.

Lawson convenience store

I did, however, easily discover that Lawson has one called Ponta. Just by the visuals of the signage and brochures, I could tell that its a loyalty card. Then a visit to the translated website confirms it. I love how they use cartoon ads and a character to represent it.

One cool thing about this card is that you can earn points not just at Lawson, but at their partner stores like banks, hotels, gas stations, etc. You can also share your points with other people. Then you use your points to get certain items from Lawson.

Starbucks

I have a Starbucks rewards card in the US, so I thought it would be cool to get one in Japan. Before, I came to Japan, I contacted Starbucks to see if I could use my own. They said that Japan has a separate program and that the US card wouldn’t work in Japan.

On one of my initial outings to Starbucks, I obtained a card and put yen on it. With the help of my sister n law, I registered it online. After all of that, I discovered that they don’t yet have a rewards program in Japan. I suppose I can just keep it as a souvenir for now.

Cobranding in Japan

One example I found while getting lost in Japan:

Eneos Dr Drive (Gas/ReCharge Station and Repair/Maintenance)
Cobranding with Bridgestone.

Manufacturer label vs Private label

·         Manufacturer label vs Private label

While I normally go for hot coffee drinks, these looked so tasty and we don’t have anything like this in the US, so I thought I’d try them. I won’t go into all the brands I tried. This posting will just compare Starbucks, Doutor, and Family Mart.

Price

Starbucks and Doutor – 200 Yen

Family Mart – 125 Yen

Packaging

They are all pretty much the same, but the off brand of Family Mart is a little bit harder to punch the straw through the top lid.

Taste

They are all very similar, but the Family Mart brand is not as strong and bold as Starbucks and Doutor.

Overall

Try out all your options and decide which you prefer.  All the combinis have their own version and there is also a few more main brand names. I will definitely miss all of these options!

Lost in Translation: Japanese Marketing that would fail in the US

Calpis – This is absolutely my favorite new soda in Japan. It reminds me of a white Sobe, but carbonated and a little bit sweeter. You can also buy it non carbonated. 

However, no matter how tasty, every time you ask for this, as an English speaker, you can't help but snicker to yourself. The pronunciation for this product would not work at all in the US.  

If you are still not getting it, let me spell it out for you….it sounds like “cow piss”. And the ad below, makes it even more hilarious: "Fill the world with _____". 

So no matter how you try to say it, that’s what you get. The name would have to be changed if they wanted to sell it mainstream in the US. And oh how i wish they would! It is sooooo good!

An American's Japanese Life XXII "Sayōnara Japan"

May 31, 2015

Today was the day that we all feared. The one day that we wouldn't mind to skip. Probably the hardest day that I had to face since I've been here. The day of departure. No one was ready for the long day that we were about to embark on. We gathered of things and did a final check of all our bags to make sure nothing was left behind because we knew that once we left, there was no going back. We met up on the "square" (in front of the Hostel) to turn in our keys and other things we burrowed over the trip. By 10:30 to 11 am, we were gone on our journey back stateside.

We walked to the metro line that we used to get to school. Of course, we were not going to school this time. We sat in the metro line getting our last glimpse of what we have gotten so used to seeing. Lucky for us now, we have our JR Passes so we did not have to take the long train to the Airport. We were able to get on a train that was solely designed to travel to the Airport. Even through it was much faster than the other train, it took us about forty-five minutes to get there.

As we were checking in our baggage, I got a message for my friends saying that they were sorry that they could not meet us one last time, but wished us a safe flight. I started to get into mine feelings a little bit, but I continued forward on my trip back to America. We made it to the gate after experiences minor problems. Airline Security is never a walk in the park. There at the gate, we enjoyed our last bowl of udon soup and what I call "Real Ramen". Hoping that it would be enough to last me on these twelve hour flight I was going to go on.

The twelve hour flight is worst going then it was coming. I did what I did last time, but this time it just felt better. I slept the first five hours to be woken up to the smell of our in-flight meal. I choose that, since I was still in Japanese airspace, that I would eat the Japanese box lunch. Once again, I was bombarded with the fishy smell. The one thing I will not miss. As the flight continued, I watched more movies and ate more food and before I knew it, we were pulling into LAX in California. If there was one thing I was proud about, it was about having phone service again.

Now we were on the next leg on our trip. Trying to figure out how to survive in LAX for over twelve hours without going insane would be a challenge. I slept, I worked, I made calls, but still after all that was done I still had like seven hours to endure. So I sucked it up, went over to a corner, and cried. The time finally came when we were able to get on the plane for the final stretch home. The only thing between me and Tennessee was a four hour plane ride. Now this flight, even though it was shorter, was worse than the flight from Tokyo. Probably due to the lack of entertainment and knowing that once we touchdown, we're home. Whatever it was, I could not fall asleep for more than five minutes. But at the end, I made it back to Nashville. After grabbing our bags and saying our final farewell to friends, I walked out the Airport into a congested parking lot with noise all over the place. I lifted my head and thought to myself, "Welcome Home".

An American's Japanese Life XXI "Farewell to the ones we'll won't forget"

May 30, 2015

       I woke this morning with a sad feeling in my gut. It is my last day in Japan. My life in this land in coming to its end and truly I do not want it to. I have grown accustom to the location and people that helped me as I traversed through these once alienated lands. The peaceful scenery of a tranquil city bounced around in my head. I sat at the foot of my bed reflecting over all that I have been through throughout the course of this trip. I was not alone to. My other roommates were doing the same and judging by the looks on their faces, they were not ready to leave either. We could not reflect for long because we had our buddies waiting for us outside of our hostel. Our TnCis group was going to have breakfast with some of the Chuo University students. Start the last day strong. Time is our most valuable resource.

 Breakfast this morning was amazing this morning. In my opinion, it was the best breakfast of the whole trip. It was right down the break from our Hostel on the fourteenth story of the Asakusa Tower. So not only did we get Breakfast but we also got a view. This breakfast was like a mixture between American culture and Japanese culture. They had the regular (to us American) eggs and sausages, but they also had the miso soups and sliced fish. This is just a small portion of what they had. As I sat at my table and ate, I could not resist to urge to look out the window. The view was nothing less of breathtaking. The city stretching out into the mountain side with Mt. Fuji in the background. I finally got to see where it was that I was staying at.

On the last day, everyone had last minutes of thing that they were not able to do throughout the trip. I was one of them. I planned on going to the Tokyo Dome area and riding the Thunder Dolphin. So after breakfast, everyone scattered apart. The people who I was going to go with just so happened to leave earlier than expected leaving my behind. But hey, it was okay. Don't let one thing slow your progress especially today of all days. I used this time to thinking and reminisce on the trip so far and then I remembered that there was Jamaica Festival Today. A few friends and I decided to go check it out. It funny because while were there, we met up with some other from the group.

The festival was so live. It was like little Jamaica in Tokyo. There was music, food, and a lot of dancing. Also there was a lot of people that spoke English there, it was the closest thing to home since I've been here. We found the Jamaican embassy and they gave us wristbands. The time for us to get our final supper in Japan.

After eating, we headed back to the hostel. On the way there, we say other classmates with their buddies. Instead to ending the night after eating, we decided to do a mass outing to Karaoke. It was probably the best way to end our trip. Singing and dancing with people who were once total strangers but are now best friends. It was heartbreaking to leave. Seeing their faces for the last time as we all hugged and said our goodbyes. The hardest thing was when our paths split and we walked away. It was our final farewell

Travel Travel Travel

Today marks 40 hours worth of traveling. We leave from our hostel at 11 a.m. Sunday morning, and we arrive in Los Angeles at 11 a.m. Sunday morning. This will literally be living the same day twice. Lost of time was spent asleep, almost the entire flight from Japan-California. Then the wait time for our layover in LAX was ungodly. 12 hours is an absurd amount of time to sit around and wait. Thankfully we made it home safe!

Saturday Free Day/ Last Day

It is with a heavy heart that I must write this post. My trip has come to an end, and this day solidifies that. I have made an amazing journey, encountered incredible people, and build memories that will last a life time. Words will never explain just how thankful I truly am for this experience.

To end this amazing trip we got treated to a first class view of Tokyo. We had breakfast at the Asakusa View Hotel. From this hotel you could eat as much food as you wanted, and see out onto beautiful Tokyo.

We also finally got to visit and ride the thunder dolpin. This was an amazing rollercoaster, and I got to ride along with friends.

Ending the night was quite hectic, I felt my first earthquake. This same earthquake shut down the transit lines, and got my buddies stuck in Asakusa. We ended up staying up until 5am to entertain them!