Book excerpt: A Guide for Food Buying in Japan takes the mystery out of shopping for Japanese food as well as household necessities while staying in Japan. Part 1: Before You Shop outlines what the shopper will encounter when shopping in Japan including the different kinds of local markets, and the methods of pricing and labeling products, and Japanese Kanji and Kana with Romanization and pronunciation of the Japanese ingredients and common necessities found in Japan. Part 2: Food and Household Needs describes different types of products, when and where they may be found, and how they can be incorporated into daily menus and recipes. A Guide for Food Buying in Japan includes comprehensive lists in Japanese and English of popular ingredients as well a household items. Basics from milk, eggs, salt, pepper, soba, tempura to laundry detergents, cleaning supplies and personal hygiene products--all indexed for easy reference. This book helps guide the shopper through each process in shopping for food or personal household products in Japan. The items are listed out clearly along with pictures to help identify the products.