When visiting Osaka, I always make sure to stop by Tamade instead of Don Quijote. This time, I found out that there is a Tamade store near Shin-Osaka Station and I visited without hesitation. The unique atmosphere of the Ailin district store seems to have faded, making it a relatively easy store to visit. The impression of being cluttered remains the same, but this store is smaller in size so the selection of items may be a bit limited. Don't forget to buy the popular eco-bag for 98 yen, and then head to the deli corner. The deli options in packs for 100 yen are excellent. Even if the price goes up to 110 yen, the cost performance is still great. I bought fried rice and cream pasta as snacks for the Shinkansen ride. The fried rice is not just ordinary, it has scrambled eggs and ham in it. I also bought cheap oolong tea, a bit oily but worth it. The pasta couldn't be microwaved, but it still had a taste that a café owner would make for a super special price of 138 yen. For people from Kanto region, Tamade is better than Don Quijote (laughs).

Koikey-kun's Potato Chips commercial is famous for Calbee. They were selling a unique snack called Stick Potato. It is compact and easy to carry compared to regular potato chips. I bought a box of Honey Butter flavor! They also have Nori Shio and Calamuchu Barjo versions.

There seems to be a supermarket Tamade near the business hotel, so I bought a bento there. Although I was worried about buying sushi packs and raw food at Tamade because the hotel doesn't have a microwave, it was okay to eat and the prices were normal, slightly cheaper. The clientele seemed to be as expected for Tamade. The lady at the cash register was surprisingly friendly and nice. Thank you for the meal.

Visited Super Tamade again in May 2016, about a year since my last visit. If it were closer to my home, I would go more often... Today's purchases: - Onigiri for 148 yen - Natto Maki for 128 yen At first glance, the prices may seem similar to convenience stores. However, the quality is great! The onigiri includes two small ones wrapped in seaweed with dashimaki tamago, one seaweed-wrapped onigiri, red wiener, and pickled daikon - all for 148 yen! And the dashimaki tamago is delicious. The natto maki is also similarly priced to convenience stores but much larger. One piece cut into two halves is equivalent to two convenience store natto maki rolls! It's really affordable. This is too cheap! Bought groceries on a holiday. This is the closest Super Tamade to my home, about a 15-minute bike ride. Ended up buying dinner from the deli section - it's so cheap! - Sukeroku for 128 yen, dashimaki tamago for 125 yen, onion tempura for 48 yen, pickled ginger tempura for 48 yen, and squid tempura for 68 yen. The Sukeroku set includes 4 sushi rolls and 2 inari sushi for 128 yen - a surprising price! The sushi rolls are a bit simple, but not bad. The inari sushi is juicy and delicious! Next, the dashimaki tamago. It's a bit light in flavor, but you can taste the dashi and there's seaweed inside - good! And the tempura! I dipped it in homemade tempura sauce, and the tempura pieces are generous in size! Of course, they're not as crispy because they've been sitting for a while, but the moist batter absorbs the tempura sauce well and tastes amazing. All three items together cost just over 400 yen. This is really too cheap! For solo business travelers, making fried foods can be a hassle, so it's really great that fried foods are affordable here! I might end up visiting this store every weekend (laughs). Thank you!

Coco - I saw it on Tabelog and decided to review it. Osaka specialty?! Super Tamade Unagi - cheap? Produced in Kagoshima Prefecture for 498 yen, but that's before tax! Be careful, ma'am, if you look closely, it's only half a piece, haha. But if it's from Kagoshima Prefecture, is it cheap?! Sashimi assortment for 398 yen - also before tax, but still cheap. A 2-liter bottle for 138 yen before tax - not bad for those who can take it home. But in the end, it's still subject to an 8% tax, so it's not super cheap. Other supermarkets also offer similar prices. Ice cream at 30% off - limited but available. Well, in the end, it's still cheap. Places like Coco or Japan have flashy signs, but when you actually look at the prices... rice dishes and side dishes are cheap after all. It's hot, so buying drinks is a relief, right? Buying side dishes, meat, sashimi, fish is a bit... it's still summer, and there are options online, but for something that's supposed to be super cheap, it's limited. And they should really go back to displaying prices including tax sooner.