Keeping fit: Grocery stores (Yaoichi, Fresco, Misugiya, Kaldi Coffee Farm, Mediya)

I am a sucker for fresh beautiful foods, and, at times, enjoy cooking them for myself. My Japanese neighbor suggested I buy my fruits and vegetables at Yaoichi (八百一), where there is a beautiful selection of produce. The prices are a bit higher than other grocery stores, but the quality is unparalleled. I've often opted for the cheaper Fresco produce, only to get it home and find that there is something so terribly wrong with it, it is inedible (avocados rotten on the inside, unshucked corn hiding shrivelled kernels, etc.)

I also found that the selection of seafood and yogurt at Yaoichi is much better than at other markets. For instance, on a wild hunt for Hokkaido uni for a dinner party, I only found two places that had uni: a fishmonger in Nishiki market and Yaoichi. Yaoichi's uni was cheaper, and to the naked eye, much fresher.

That said, according to my neighbor, it is much more economical to buy your fish and meat from Fresco. I'm not big on animal flesh, so I can't bear out this claim, but it does seem that there is big turnover in the fish department at my local Fresco. This is also where I buy the majority of my dry goods and staples.

However, for the sake of convenience, I often find myself shopping in the underground mall attached to the Kyoto City Hall subway stop: Zest Oike. Here you can find a supermarket (Misugiya) with a small but decent selection of fresh and dry goods, as well as a spirits corner. Across the way is the Kaldi coffee farm, where I buy my coffee and can find good prices on import groceries (as well as WAY overpriced imports), like canned diced Italian tomatoes for 98 yen a can and cava or rose for 1000 yen!!! Kaldi has a coffee point card. Ask for one, as I was not offered one with my first purchase.

Of course there is also Mediya for import groceries and higher end wines and liquors.

By far the best place to buy liquor is Yamaya. The selection is bonkers and the prices are the best I've seen in the city. There is bicycle parking out front!