Hello everyone, and welcome back to "How to Save Money in Japan" with Navio!
In the previous article, we learned how to save money by drinking from drinking fountains, that you can find in various places including train stations. Today, I'm gonna share with you guys on how to save money from food.
Unfortunately, this one is not free, but still!
So here in Japan, we can find many types of 弁当 (bento) / lunch box in convenience stores or supermarkets.
Bento is supposed to be a set of lunch, including rice, vegetable, and of course egg / meat (chicken katsu, hamburger, fish cake, fried chicken, and many more). But no one said that you can't eat it in the morning for breakfast or for dinner, too!
Especially for students, like me, who have a lot of assignments to do and are not good at all at cooking, bento is the answer! haha.
Because it's easier to buy a ready-meal, rather than cooking it by yourself. Of course, it will be more expensive.
I learned this from a friend of mine last year.
Because bento is a fresh-made food that has to be eaten the same day or maximum one day after it’s made. Usually, it is made in the early morning and has to be eaten before afternoon of the next day.
When the night comes, and all those bento boxes didn’t sell that well, the staff will put these magical yellow seals,
30% OFF, 20% OFF, sometimes even 50% OFF.
How awesome! You only have to spend ￥266 on a ￥380 bentou. You save ￥114 per box. Just multiply it by 30 days, and you just save around ￥3000!
You might want to check the store around 11:00 PM or above, and race with the other customers who also want to buy them. Of course, sometimes the selection will be a little limited...
The discount is also available for side dishes like fried chicken, potato croquettes, squid rings, eggrolls, inari sushi, and so many others. If you cook your own rice it'll save you a lot of time and effort! Yay!
I don't buy bentos everyday, but sometimes when coming home late, I stop at a supermarket nearby, and buy this kind of "discount-bentou" and eat it for the next day’s breakfast.
All you have to do is heat it in the microwave and that's it! :)
Hope it's useful! Happy saving!
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