Inageya Suginami Sakurajōsui shop — Supermarket in Shimotakaido, Tokyo

Inageya Suginami Sakurajōsui shop is a branch of the Inageya chain, sitting on Shimotakaido in Suginami, a short walk from Eifukucho station. A renovation about a year ago opened the aisles up, and the first thing you notice inside is how much room the layout gives you to move between the shelves.

Start at the fish counter. The saikyo-jiki mackerel, filleted and laid in sweet white miso, is the thing worth carrying home; the fish and meat sections generally hold up well. The freezer section runs deep on bagged items, with almost nothing missing from the reach-in cases, so it is a good place to stock up on things you can keep.

On the money side, Topvalu private-label products are the cheap way to fill a basket, and water and bread come in low. Bento boxes sit at the pricier end for what you get. Barcode payments work, and PayPay goes through quickly.

A few frictions are worth knowing. The self-checkout registers added recently can turn into a queue, and the in-store mobile signal is weak enough that you may only get an app open near the entrance. Late at night the ground meat and ice cream can run thin.

The second floor holds a drugstore and a Wellpark, which makes one trip cover groceries and household bits. Parking sits behind the store, reached by turning left off Koshu Kaido, and there is a coin lot next door.