←back to thread

Price of rice in Japan falls below ¥4k per 5kg

(www.japantimes.co.jp)
126 points PaulHoule | 1 comments | 30 Jun 25 19:54 UTC | HN request time: 0.204s | source
Show context
kondro ◴[30 Jun 25 23:41 UTC] No.44429105[source]▶
The fact the average Japanese person won't even consider trying imported Japonica rice from Australia or USA is madness if budget is a consideration.

But as someone who's tried many varieties of Japonica, there is a difference between the best Japan-grown rice and non-speciality rice grown elsewhere, as well as a difference between fresh (Japanese enjoy eating new rice, which is different from many rice-eating cultures) and old rice.

I pay somewhere around AUD$14/kg for Japanese rice in Australia, but I also don't eat it that often and I'm not that price sensitive.

But also, the average Japanese eats around 1kg of uncooked rice per week. That's ¥800 at the rates in the article (~USD$300/year). Japan's cost of living is generally pretty low, but I doubt +/- $100/year is effecting many people.

replies(21): >>44429124 #>>44429140 #>>44429162 #>>44429204 #>>44429227 #>>44429286 #>>44429334 #>>44429340 #>>44429385 #>>44429410 #>>44429585 #>>44429984 #>>44430120 #>>44430156 #>>44430349 #>>44430442 #>>44430589 #>>44432334 #>>44433101 #>>44433599 #>>44433646 #
boruto ◴[01 Jul 25 04:28 UTC] No.44430589[source]▶
I don't think it is simple to eat a different rice under normal circumstances once you are used to it. In my case even something which is staple variety 200 km away
replies(1): >>44432036 #
1. grues-dinner ◴[01 Jul 25 09:11 UTC] No.44432036[source]▶
Maybe this is my millennial spoiled-for-choice nature, but that seems very strange to me. Though certainly it was (is?) similar in older generations here (overheard in the 80s: "pasta? no, no, we don't eat that foreign muck, it's meat and two veg in my house").

But if I lived somewhere where there are noticeable varieties of rice with local characters, it seems more fun to at least be open to trying them rather than stick with one for my life. Same with fresh pasta variations, olives etc in Italy, say.

Even for things like bread and coffee, I'll usually buy different kinds just to mix things up. Sourdough and Columbian today, rye and Ethiopian next week. I don't really have a "usual" of anything much that I'd be disturbed by changing to an alternative. Sometimes you get hits and occasionally misses, but that just means the you appreciate the hits more!