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How to actually eat healthy here?
Seems like they put additives in many things. Some pretty bad ones too. I don't eat conbini except once when i first got here, but I am scared to buy anything even at supermarkets because what if they have additives? I am pretty sensitive to these additives and at times things I thought had none actually had pretty bad ones.
How can I get nutritious food; meat, vegetables, fruits and carbs without worrying about additives? Is there any grocery stores or places you guys can recommend? Are grocery stores actually safe against these additives if you buy whole foods? (Fruits/meats/veggies)?
edit: Also do they use bad pesticides for fruits? should one avoid eating fruit skin?
ngl you might be overthinking this a bit. just stick to the "nama" sections at any supermarket and you're golden, the raw meat and unbagged veg are literally just from the farm. for fruit skin i wash with a little salt and water and eat everything domestic, japan's pretty strict on pesticides compared to most places. if you're really worried about additives in everything else, hit up a place like bio c'bon in azabu juban for the peace of mind, but honestly cooking from scratch with supermarket basics is already way cleaner than what most people eat
one thing nobody's really getting into is how much of the "healthy" stuff at normal supermarkets is actually just processed junk with a health halo. like those "genmai" brown rice balls at the store are loaded with sugar and preservatives. stick to the actual whole grains section and cook them yourself, it's way cheaper and you control everything.
for produce, i'd recommend finding a local yasaiya (greengrocer) instead of the supermarket. there's one near me in shimokitazawa called yasai no oka that sources directly from farms in chiba and kanagawa, they'll tell you exactly what was used on each batch. the markup is maybe 20% more but the quality is noticeably better and you can actually ask questions.
also worth mentioning that a lot of the "additives" people freak out about in japan are just natural flavor enhancers like kombu dashi or shiitake powder. not everything labeled as having "additives" is bad, some of it is just traditional cooking methods they have to list legally. if you're really sensitive tho, just buy from the organic section at bio c'bon and cook everything from scratch, that's the only way to be 100% sure.
yeah the health food myth is real but its more about portion control and variety than actually clean ingredients. if you're near any big station, check for a "mu" (organic) section in larger supermarkets like tokyu store or odakyu ox, they have dedicated zones with additive-free stuff. not everything is labeled well in regular aisles so sticking to those sections helps.
for fruit skin, i just peel everything from regular stores tbh, especially imported stuff. but if you go to a local greengrocer (yasaiya) the seasonal domestic stuff like apples from aomori or mikan from ehime is usually fine with a good rinse. the farmers market at unhcr or the one in azabu juban on saturdays is where i get my produce now, the farmers actually tell you what they used or didn't use.
one thing nobody mentioned is cooking oil. most restaurant and prepped food uses cheap vegetable oil blends that mess with some people. get a good bottle of rice bran oil or grapeseed oil from a place like kaldi or natural house, makes a big difference when youre frying your own meat and veg. and for salt, swap regular soy sauce for usukuchi or tamari, way less sodium but same flavor.
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Where can I find crispy, pan-fried bacon similar to a certain international style?
if u have a costco membership the kirkland thick cut is the move, 4 packs of 500g for around 2500 yen and it crisps up proper in a cold pan. for smaller runs, precce in azabudai hills & the basement at isetan shinjuku both carry imported US & danish brands in the chilled case, just read the label for "thick cut" or "smoked" and not "loin". also worth knowing japanese bacon is often wet-cured so pat it dry before frying or it steams instead of crisping
kaldi coffee farm is hit or miss but their smoked bacon from denmark shows up pretty regular, the 200g pack runs about 600 yen. what actually works better for me is asking the butcher counter at peacock or life to slice the block bacon thick, like 5mm, they do it for free and it crisps way better than the pre-packed stuff. also fwiw cheap bacon crisps faster, the fatty supermarket kind at 300 yen a pack works fine if u cook it from cold in a dry pan and pour off the fat as it renders.
tbh the gyomu super store brand bacon is surprisingly decent for crisping up, its not thick cut but if you cook it low and slow it gets pretty crunchy. the key is the dry cure vs wet cure thing, wet cure steams. also check hanamasa if you have one nearby, they sell big packs of american style bacon thats actually smoked and firm.