r/japan • u/SkyInJapan • 3d ago
Leafy vegetable prices surge across Japan after prolonged rain
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20261002/p2a/00m/0bu/012000cSHIZUOKA -- Prices of leafy vegetables have surged at supermarkets across Japan, apparently due to prolonged rainfall nationwide, prompting sighs from shoppers at a supermarket in this central Japan city on Oct. 1.
At the produce section of the Tagoju Nishinakahara store in the city of Shizuoka's Suruga Ward, mizuna was priced at 376 yen (roughly $2.38) including tax, while lettuce and cabbage were each 322 yen (about $2.04) a head and a quarter head of Chinese cabbage was 290 yen (approx. $1.84).
"Vegetables are something I eat every day, so it's a problem when they get expensive," said a local woman in her 60s who was holding lettuce.
Store manager Katsumi Masuda said, "Leafy vegetable prices were stable in July and August, but from around mid-September we had no choice but to raise them. Rain has continued not only in Shizuoka but across the Japanese archipelago, and in every growing region, vegetables are underdeveloped and becoming difficult to secure."
High prices are expected to continue from October onward. However, prices have not risen for root vegetables such as carrots, onions and potatoes because of strong harvests. Masuda said, "Prices for root vegetables, cut vegetables and frozen vegetables are stable, so I hope people will make good use of them."
According to the Shizuoka Local Meteorological Office, late September in Shizuoka Prefecture was marked by frequent rainfall due to an autumn rain front and moist air, with some areas receiving heavy rain. Precipitation totaled about twice the normal level, while sunshine hours were limited to around two-thirds of normal.
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u/GeriatricusMaximus 3d ago
Stop putting prices in dollars. It means nothing to us as living here.
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u/AverageHobnailer 3d ago
Means nothing to Americans either since it's still cheaper than veg in the US and they get paid $100k a year.
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u/PastaGoodGnocchiBad 3d ago edited 3d ago
Prices are shown in yen though? Why do you care about the additional info you can just ignore? I don't like what the USA is doing to the world but showing prices in a stable currency makes sense. A 2026 yen much, much farther in value to a 2017 yen than a 2026 USD to a 2017 USD. When you see a post mentioning yens you have no idea of the actual value unless you look at the date, or at the value in USD.
And this is r/japan, most readers are not living in Japan so USD prices are helpful to them (compared to japanlife for example).
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u/elvenrunner92 3d ago
I know Drugstores aren't usually the best place to find vegetables and I confirmed that after seeing a head of lettuce for 799¥...
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u/AbekobetaHawawa 3d ago edited 3d ago
I just saw whole cabbage yesterday in Tokyo for 198. I was planning on making a batch of sauerkraut and thought it was a tad too expensive, but it certainly wasn’t 322 yen expensive.
Edit: Time for sauerkraut. This one was 250.
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u/justhere4thiss 3d ago
I’m in Yokohama and went to buy some and the ones that are 1/4 a cabbage was 270 ish. 😬
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u/Just_Base_8624 3d ago
cabbage was small? 198 is a normal price on Tokyo? I think it is still reasonable price even in this weather condition.
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u/AbekobetaHawawa 3d ago
I can get them for under 100 yen sometimes. Today the greengrocer is 139 for a normal size, 250 for a large.
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u/hobovalentine 3d ago
We should probably start growing more water spinach next year.
These plants love a lot of water!
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u/tsukihi3 [栃木県] 3d ago
I can confirm, the ones in our garden grew like mad.
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u/hobovalentine 3d ago
They’re pretty easy to grow but thrips love both water spinach and watercress so you either have to use super fine netting, pesticides or grow them in water.
I had success with them until July once the thrips came and destroyed both lol
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u/tsukihi3 [栃木県] 1d ago
We had some holes in our leaves and that was about it; we didn't really take particular care with it. Things grow quite well where we are surprisingly!
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u/AbekobetaHawawa 2d ago
My jalapenos seem to be loving it in Tokyo. Nice corking too. I expected they would do worse.
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u/hobovalentine 2d ago
Peppers do really poorly in mid summer heat so I’m not surprised.
Gotta watch out for slugs though.
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u/AbekobetaHawawa 2d ago
Not too many slugs on a fourth floor roof patio, fortunately. Lots of tiny moths during the rain though. I’m harvesting them red and freezing them for a ferment.
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u/CatsianNyandor 3d ago
Nationwide? Idk, not in my northern area at least. Haven't had any unusual amounts of rain at all. But I guess it was just a general "there was lots of rain in many areas" kinda nationwide? Oh well. Prices go up here if it's sunny, rainy, cloudy, windy.
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u/Ballsahoy72 3d ago
Too much heat prices go up. Too much rain prices go up. Too many foreigners eating Japanese food prices go up
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u/FelixtheFarmer 3d ago
A lot of our vegetables just rotted in the rain. Autumn cucumbers and beans couldn't take it and the lack of sunshine made everything else grow much slower. Other farmers we know are saying the same, autumn tomatoes in poly tunnels are getting blight unless heavily drenched in fungicides. Seed potatoes couldn't be planted because soil was so wet, carrot seedlings damped off because fields flooded.
Some crops actually liked the rain, ginger seems to be fine and Jerusalem artichokes too. Reseeding is happening but that will take time to grow and filter through