Sushi from the grocery store gets an extra touch of class thanks to one tiny tweak.
If you’re in Tokyo, the obvious places to try sushi are at a restaurant or one of the city’s seafood markets (yes, the city has more than one). But there’s another place where you can get your hands on tasty morsels of Japan’s brightest culinary star, and that’s at the supermarket.
Japanese supermarkets are stocked with packs of sushi and sashimi that’re sliced and ready-to-be-eaten. They come with little packets of wasabi, and you can also ask the staff for soy sauce packets and disposable chopsticks. The quality of the fish is remarkably high, and the value is unbelievable, especially if you go at night when many supermarkets discount their sushi to half price.
▼ This beautiful buri (yellowtail) cost me just 225 yen (US$2) at the grocery store a block away from my apartment.
If you’re living in Japan, supermarket sushi can be a great way to stretch your food budget, and even if you’re a tourist, it’s an amazingly cheap meal that’s great for when you don’t have time for a sit-down meal but still want to experience part of what makes Japan awesome.
There is one thing that keeps supermarket sushi from being the ultimate quick, self-contained meal, though. While you can eat off the tray, it takes something away from the experience when you don’t have a dish to hold the mixture of soy sauce and wasabi into which you dip the sushi. Thankfully, one supermarket chain has solved this problem, as shown in this photo from Japanese Twitter user @chibannf.
スーパーの寿司のパックが進化してる!!!これだよこれ、これこそが求めてたもんだよ! pic.twitter.com/3zQr0dxMRQ
— chiba@最近沼にin (@chibannf) April 8, 2017
After picking up a pack of sushi from supermarket chain Summit, @chibannf flipped the lid over and discovered an indentation in the plastic, positioned specifically to create a soy sauce dipping section!
Granted, you could pour the soy sauce into an upturned, non-indented tray too. Speaking from experience, though, that makes it difficult to properly mix in your preferred amount of wasabi, and even if you’re passing on the spicy green condiment altogether, a tray with no indention spreads the soy so thin across its surface area that you end up having to smear the soy onto the sushi instead of dipping the piece and eating it like sushi is meant to be. Squirting the soy sauce directly onto the sushi causes its own set of problems, as it tends to make a mess and it’s difficult to regulate just how much soy you’re squirting out.
“THIS! This is what I’ve been wanting for so long,” @chibannf tweeted excitedly, and if you’d like to experience this Japanese innovation for yourself, a list of Summit’s central Tokyo locations can be found here.
Source: Togech, Twitter/@chibannf
Insert image ©RocketNews24
Follow Casey on Twitter, where he’s tempted to run off to the grocery store sushi corner right now.


Spritz soy on your sushi with handy and delicious Sushi Spray
Supermarket sushi becomes a hot topic with foreigners on Reddit, but is it any good?
Hong Kong supermarket’s new offering may take crown as “murderer of sushi”
Manga shows a revolutionary way to eat sushi that makes it more delicious than ever
Do you really know how to eat sushi? Probably not!
10 times to avoid traveling in Japan in 2026
Ramen restaurant’s English menu prices are nearly double its Japanese ones, denies discriminating
Tokyo fish market breaks New Year auction record as single fish sells for over 500 million yen【Vid】
Things get heavy with the Gold Lucky Bag from Village Vanguard
We ate sushi made from Japan’s most expensive tuna ever【Taste test】
This quiet forest cafe in Japan lets you read all day in the house of a famous author
Here’s what our bachelor writers ate over the New Year’s holiday in Japan
The Purple Lucky Bag from Village Vanguard is an extra-large waste of money
Fewer Japanese people traveling domestically, government blames birth rate, others blame foreign crowds, costs
Four Shinto shrines to pray for love at in Japan to start the New Year
Japanese beef bowl chain Sukiya’s 2026 Smile Box lucky bag basically pays for itself
Starbucks Japan ready to get Year of the Horse started with adorable drinkware and plushies【Pics】
Hayao Miyazaki says Happy New Year to Studio Ghibli fans with new art for Year of the Horse
Cup Noodle tries an authentic Jiro-style ramen, but something’s not quite right
Top Japanese cosplayer Enako returns to Comiket after 6 years, creates mayhem with admirers
The best Starbucks Japan Frappuccinos we want to drink again in 2026
We revisited Sweets Paradise after a decade to see if Japan’s dessert buffet still delivers
That time Seiji called JASRAC to ask why he didn’t get paid royalties for his song being on TV
Pizza Hut Japan’s hot lucky bags are perfect for a New Year’s pizza party
Majority of Japanese mayors say foreign residents are essential but most see good and bad effects
7-Eleven Japan starts new temporary luggage storage service in over 300 branches
Disillusionment at Tsukiji’s tourist-target prices led us to a great ramen restaurant in Tokyo
Starbucks teams up with 166-year-old Kyoto doll maker for Year of the Horse decorations【Photos】
Tokyo considering law requiring more trash cans following litter increase in heavily touristed area
Tokyo’s Tsukiji sushi neighborhood asks tour groups to stay away for the rest of the month
Tokyo event lets you travel back in time, for free, to celebrate 100 years since Showa era start
Japan may add Japanese language proficiency, lifestyle classes to permanent foreign resident requirements
Sanrio theme park in Japan announces plans to expand into a Sanrio resort
Lacquerware supplier to emperor of Japan and Pokémon team up for new tableware
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Japan’s deadliest food claims more victims, but why do people keep eating it for New Year’s?
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Starbucks Japan reveals new sakura drinkware collection, inspired by evening cherry blossoms
Updated cherry blossom forecast shows extra-long sakura season for Japan this year
How should you add wasabi to sushi at a conveyor belt restaurant?
Should you add wasabi to your soy sauce at a sushi restaurant?
Seven reasons to eat sushi (other than because it tastes great)
Liquid wasabi from Shizuoka is our new favorite form of awesome sauce
How to eat sushi like a sensei 【Video】
Sushi-flavored potato chips?!? Could our world really be so beautiful? 【Taste test】
Preserve your sushi’s form and your dignity with this one easy sushi-eating life hack【Pics】
Put down the soy sauce! We try a new “expert” way to season your sushi【Taste test】
How to have a great meal at conveyer belt sushi chain Kura Sushi even if you hate raw fish
New rotating sushi pens from Japan bring the fun of a restaurant to your desktop
Kura Sushi opens new high-end revolving bar restaurant in Tokyo
Carb-free sushi? Japanese sushi restaurant ditches the rice in its new menu items
Wasabi and sashimi bagels on sale now in Japan! We buy some and invent the Japanese dip sandwich
Here’s the reason why your expensive ikura sushi often comes with some cheap cucumber slices
Japan’s sushi that’s actually cake fools the eyes, blows the mind, pleases the stomach【Photos】
Should you dip your egg sushi in soy sauce before you eat it? Survey asks Japanese diners
Leave a Reply