Drugstores the Top Shopping Destination for East Asian Visitors to Japan

A recent survey asking about people’s shopping habits when visiting Japan was conducted by Geelee Media Group through its website Let’s Go Japan, which provides tourist information for people from Taiwan and Hong Kong wanting to visit the country. The survey received 2,634 responses.

Asked where they shopped when they visited Japan, 89.9% said “drugstores,” followed by 86.9% with “supermarkets,” and 85.9% saying “convenience stores.” The percentage of respondents who said “department stores” was 76.4%.

At 80.7%, “toiletries” (including toothbrushes, shampoo, and bath salts) was by far the most popular category of daily necessities visitors to Japan wanted to buy, while “cosmetic items” was a distant second at 62.3%.

Many of the respondents gave “face wash” and “toothpaste” as items they wanted to buy at drugstores.

Asked about medicine they want to buy in Japan, remedies for “stiff shoulders, back pain, muscle strain” were overwhelmingly popular with 71.9% of respondents. A further 64.8% listed medicine for “insect bites, skin inflammation,” 64.3% wanted “fever reduction, pain relief,” and 62.9% “eye drops.” Only 1.8% said they “don’t plan to buy medicinal products”, an indication that most tourists from Taiwan and Hong Kong purchase medicine when visiting Japan.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)