[samurai007]

Japanese supermarkets mark down perishable items within the last hour before closing for the day. Also, many stores are closed 1 day a week, and the mark downs on the day before they close are even bigger. These are the times to go shopping, especially for meat, milk, refrigerated fruit juices (like orange juice), bread, fruit, iced coffee (oh how I miss the cheap and good iced coffee I had in Japan!), and anything else with a "sell by" date on it. In my city, each of the 3 supermarkets closed on a different day of the week, so half the time you could go to a store that was going to be closed the next day and in the last hour get some great bargains!

And I too definitely recommend getting a large bottle to drink and carrying it in your backpack, drinking from it as you like through the day. You'll save a bit of money over the vending machine price, and a ton of money compared to buying a drink with your meal in a restaurant.