Written by Sk. Nishat Abdullah-san
Japanese super markets are familiar to people due to their comparatively lower price than convenient stores and departmental stores. Among the different super markets in Tokyo, Gyomu Super is famous to the customers for its inexpensiveness. I feel reasonable to think it as good news as Gyomu super has taken a huge measure to become Muslim friendly. They have started to sell different types of food items which are certified as Halal. They do not have any specific corner for Halal food. Even in front of the shop, there is nothing written like this. But, when I was shopping within the market, I saw they have marked with “Halal” sign wherever they have placed a Halal certified food in their showcases. When the 1st Halal sign drew my attention, I became curious. I started to discover more and more Halal marked indicators here and there in the show racks. I discovered Halal certified chicken imported from Brazil sold in an unbelievably reasonable price. I also found a variety of chocolates, biscuits and wafers with Halal certification been sold here. I remembered the difficulty I faced in my early days in Tokyo to find a biscuit or cookies that I could eat without any suspicion. Among the other menus sold in Gyomu super, the spaghetti, different curry packs are important to mention. Gyomu super is a market with wide area filled up with vast items. I think different times they add or remove different items in their display. I found some items not to be consistently sold here, but on an average, they were mostly available all the times.
Gyomu Super has many branches in Tokyo, but I could visit only the branch of Shin Okubo and Ueno Okachimachi. Among them the branch of Ueno Okachimachi is richer in Halal foods. In the branch of Shin Okubo, I found to sell the Halal chicken, but they did not arrange any special indicators for Halal. I think Muslim brothers can check the Gyomu super nearby their houses and find whether the Halal food of their choice is available or not. As Japanese departmental stores of same companies, follow the same principle and sell similar kinds of goods, there should not be much difference. I think the selling of Halal foods for Muslim customers in departmental stores of Japan is a starting of a journey which is destined for far.
