## The Culinary Joy of a Japanese Road Trip While Japan is famous for its incredible restaurants, eating out for three meals a day over a two-week road trip is exhausting and expensive. One of the best parts of renting a VanTripJapan campervan is the ability to cook your own meals using ingredients from Japanese supermarkets (*Super*). ## Navigating the Supermarket Japanese supermarkets are a paradise of high-quality, pre-portioned ingredients perfect for small campervan kitchens. - **The Produce Section:** Vegetables are pristine. Look for seasonal local produce. Everything is sold in small, manageable quantities. - **The Meat & Seafood Section:** You can buy incredibly high-quality Wagyu beef and fresh sashimi right from the supermarket for a fraction of restaurant prices. Perfect for a campervan dinner. - **The "Bento" and Deli Section (Osai):** This is a lifesaver for tired drivers. Supermarkets offer massive selections of freshly fried pork cutlets (tonkatsu), sushi rolls, and bento boxes. ## Half-Price Magic (Han-gaku) If you are on a budget, visit the supermarket around 7:00 PM or 8:00 PM. Staff will walk around placing yellow stickers on the deli items and fresh sashimi. These stickers mean the items are discounted by 20%, 30%, or even 50% (*Han-gaku*). ## Cooking in the Van VanTripJapan campervans are equipped with portable gas stoves (cassette conro), sinks, and refrigerators. *Tip:* Because water tanks are limited, avoid cooking meals that require massive amounts of boiling water (like large pasta pots) or generate heavy grease. Stick to pan-frying local meats, preparing salads, and enjoying fresh sashimi.