Hiroshima to finally get a Costco - too bad you have to pay Y3,000 for parking

I'm sure most people know by now, but Costco decided not to go ahead with the insane 3000 yen/hr parking scheme. Instead, shoppers get 3 hours of free parking when they spend any amount. And 2 hours of free parking on game days. If you stay longer than that, you'll be charged 300 yen per 20 minutes.

If this reduces the hassle of parking caused by slow shoppers then it's fine with me. I never spend less than 10k, and rarely spend more than 2 hours there.

Never said it was Costco's 'fault'....but looking at the website, I don't feel the urge....after the EU horsemeat thingy, cheap processed food isn't all that appealing. But each to her own.

I don't think it's Costco's fault it takes half a day for you to get there... Plenty of other things at Costco as many have pointed out.

Aeon lettuce: 300 to 500 yen for a small head

I've never, ever seen lettuces at that price. If I pay more than ¥150 for a great big one, I feel I'm splashing out. Usually around ¥100~¥120, less at the Nokyo.

But, thanks, you've saved me some time - if the best Costco has to offer is expensive lettuces and American cheddar, I needn't bother going.

All you need to do is really start checking the prices and comparing them. Basically EVERY single item can be gotten cheaper in other places. But, suit yourself. One visit was enough for me....

Aeon lettuce: 300 to 500 yen for a small head

Basically EVERY single item can be gotten cheaper in other places. But, suit yourself. One visit was enough for me....

Prove yourself right. 1Kg of cheddar cheese for less than 1000 yen. Off you go!!

Anyone who needs 2 hours to do shopping is clearly not doing it right.

My wife would say that if you don't spend over 2 hours shopping YOU are doing it wrong!

To each his or her own and here's to people who don't try to force their rights and wrongs down other people's throats.

It's a great idea! I always spend more than that when shopping there. I do not use my time to chat,line up for free samples nor do I push around a large trolley with 3 items of less.

Costco is a business not a sightseeing experience!

Am I going to die if I don't buy things from Costco?.And it is not by force to buy things there,if you can do what Costco officials said,then go but if not,go to another Supermarket because it' s not by force.****

Finally found the original article-

http://www.chugoku-np.co.jp/News/Tn201302200050.html

Basically EVERY single item can be gotten cheaper in other places.

I don't think so. For instance:

The 18kg bags of Lamb and Rice dog food I buy for 2,688 would be 25,000 (6 3-kg bags of lamb and rice at the local pet store) and The Royal Flattie eats 18kg every 7 weeks... The Parmesan Regiano that I buy for 1,350 yen for a pound and a half of cheese is 800 yen per half ounce slice locally The stick-type Electrolux vacuum cleaner I bought for 13,000 at Costco is 32,000 at Midori Three bottles of maple syrup for 1,400 (about 700ml) vs. 700 yen for 250ml.

I could go on, but you get the point. You cannot buy these things locally for less.

They should make it that parking is free to anyone with a membership card. That should help keep non-shoppers from filling up parking spaces.

That is a great idea! Why hasn't anyone else thought of it?

Only blind people use Costco.

All you need to do is really start checking the prices and comparing them. Basically EVERY single item can be gotten cheaper in other places. But, suit yourself. One visit was enough for me....

Putting this downtown is ludicrous.. the costco's in my home area (southern Ontario) are all close to major highways and not in the central hubs of the city. You put these in the suburbs where the people live and can actually drive to

I've never spent an hour inside the Costco here - even on a Saturday right after payday when the checkout lines are massive.

As for the parking fee, I think the little blurb about Costco being close to the stadium has much more to do with this fee than "traffic congestion". Stadium patrons would opt for a large free parking lot than having to pay, so Costco's parking lot would be jammed with baseball fans rather than customers every time a game is being played.

The title of the article is misleading and I'm surprised by how many people seem to have read no further than the title. I'd say that 99.9% of shoppers at Costco will pay nothing for their shopping. Honestly, one does not pop down to Costco to buy a packet of tissues and a cola, one goes to Costco to buy a 12 month supply of tissues and two gross of colas, plus enough baked beans to ensure flatulence in an entire army division and a piece of bacon that would choke an anaconda.

I simply cannot imagine anyone spending less than 5000 yen a trip, and the twice I've been there I've never come out at less than 10 000yen. I also don't particular "enjoy" shopping at Costco, it isn't the sort of place I feel compelled to stop and chat with people or try on endless pairs of shoes. I march up and down the aisles between the crates of stuff, grab the stuff I want, and then get out. My only problem is sometimes the sheer size of the store, but even then I'd have to be pretty darned old if I couldn't walk the store in under an hour.

Anyone who needs 2 hours to do shopping is clearly not doing it right.

"it's quite unfair to non-drivers, who have a tough enough time just 6carrying home the bulk-sized items that Costco offers, to have to subsidize other people's free parking in the prices of the goods. The question is how much the parking should cost."

That's actually a good point, except most customers don't live within cycling distance. I do use a bike trailer to/from my local mall(Burley cargo) with lots of looks in disbelief), but to Costco by SUV. I rarely spend less than ￥20, 000 in two hours, usually more, and that's for items otherwise not available or at ridiculous locally inflated prices.

Love Costco.

I go there by bicycle.

They should make it that parking is free to anyone with a membership card. That should help keep non-shoppers from filling up parking spaces.

It doesn't matter - you'd be screwed either way!

They could keep the parking free, and you'd still take 2 hours just to get a freaking parking spot due to half the region's population there.

or

You could spend half the time getting a spot with less people, but you'd pay thru your nose.

So you're screwed either way.

They should be charging something for parking -- it's quite unfair to non-drivers, who have a tough enough time just carrying home the bulk-sized items that Costco offers, to have to subsidize other people's free parking in the prices of the goods. The question is how much the parking should cost.

I'd like to see Costco put out some real figures so we can see how this 3,000 yen figure was arrived at. The cost of owning the land where the parking lot sits is X; maintenance is Y; miscellaneous is Z; the cost of hosting one car for one hour is f(X, Y, Z), which equals some number of yen. It's more than zero, but probably less than three thousand.

3,000 yen for parking? How about taking the train to Shin-Hiroshima Station and walking 10 minutes?

Of course that would be no good for the people who are going to load up 2 big carts full of stuff, lol.

Read the fine print. If I make a trip to Costco, I spend about 3 hours there and spend about 7 man. I will park for free.

Thing is, I don't go to Costco so much any more, because every time I go, I feel I benefited less. Costco is going down hill.

With the right cargo bike you could avoid the fee and actually haul quite a load. I`ve hauled up to 200 lbs on the back of my Yuba Mundo.

Agreed Costco needs to offer lessons on how to use a western shopping cart. Rule. No. 1: Don't stop every 5 seconds in the middle of the aisle.

Um has anyone never been to a big mall or even supermarket in any decent sized Japanese city? This is standard. This Costco is going to be a huge success, I'll bet money on it.

GOOD! It should be 5000, not three thousand, with free one hour parking if they spend over 10,000 yen, not just over 5000. Whenever a big new shop opens, be it CostCo or a new shopping mall, traffic is utterly disgusting, and most of the people are just window-shopping and want to be among the first to see it open. Whenever that happens, there is so much congestion a lot of people who commute by car or bus usually have to leave up to an hour earlier than normal or be late for work, with cars waiting from 30 minutes to a few hours to get into the parking lot and jamming up the expressways or regular roads.

Once it opens, I recommend waiting half a year before you go. Or better yet, just order from the online shop and have them deliver it to your door.

Actually, shops like Costco and Ikea don`t pay anything for the land.... yes they use it for free

They pay to buy or lease the land. If they buy it, then they pay real estate taxes. If they lease it, their rent is applied by the landowner to real estate taxes. They also pay business taxes.

Slumdog, that's what I suggested.

Great minds think a like. My guess is that Costco will be taking back this idea in a couple of months and instating something along the lines of what we are suggesting.

" Then they should just require a membership card to enter the parking area, as the do to enter the premises."

Slumdog, that's what I suggested. It would also provide COSTCO with customer shopping time data, and help reduce parking congestion. Shoppers who spend more could get a preferred customer status.

Actually, shops like Costco and Ikea don`t pay anything for the land.... yes they use it for free.

And where did this come from? Granted they probably don't purchase the land, odds are they are renting or leasing it from the owners. Same would be said if the owner happened to be the government.

It's unthinkable to believe that any landowner would allow a store the size of COSTCO to use their land for free.

@Nessie: Do you have a cycle wagon behind you? A self build or did you buy? Genuinely interested. Plus, isotope free veg is an option. Beautiful.

@YongYang

No wagon, just a 50-liter trekking pack that I wear. I do a fair bit of cycling, and I won't say it's the way to go for everyone, but it's a good workout for me. I only go every six weeks or so. Part of the ride is on a small highway, so a cycle-trailer wouldn't be practical. But I think they were selling those tyke wagons at Costco, so that's an option. I'm happy with my pack.

On 30,000-yen-plus trips, when I really stock up, I drive m'lady in her car. That's when I get wine, canned goods and the most perishable stuff, like macarons, shrimp and salmon. And I prepare a Costco feast to thank m'lady for the use of her horseless carriage.

I think Costco Hiroshima does offer a parking option for customers planning on staying for less than an hour, inviting short time patrons to use the nearby parking meters for 100 yen for 10-20 minutes

They are simply trying to avoid a parking bottleneck.

Then they should just require a membership card to enter the parking area, as the do to enter the premises.

Non-issue for me. Have never spent less than JPY 10,000 upon a visit to Costco.

Some Japanese should take a Shopping cart drivers license, Its a nightmare there, they don't know how to deal with the big carts and block the store everywhere!

I never spend more than 2 hours in Costco but I always spend more than 15,000 Yen. So, no problem for me personally but, as a whole, I can't agree with that new policy. It will give Costco a bad image and I think it might be wiser for them not implementing it.

sounds fair enough to me. You park there, you buy, simple as that. It is not hard to spend over 10K at COSTCO because the whole point is buying in bulk, and not like you shop there on a daily basis. What is all the hoopla about? They are simply trying to avoid a parking bottleneck.

i think that makes sense. it's not your everyday supermarket; otherwise you'll have people coming just to browse for hours, "window shopping". that would take up valuable parking spaces for genuine shoppers.

Park someplace else and walk.

@Nessie: Do you have a cycle wagon behind you? A self build or did you buy? Genuinely interested. Plus, isotope free veg is an option. Beautiful.

@FPSRussia: Ah, the 'I am special' complex. No you're not. Once you've been here 20 years, you'll realise that you're just human, like everyone other human around you.

Reckless, the article is sbout Hiroshima not Tokyo.

Elbuda Mexicano: dude there are about 6 near tokyo

This is such a hyped-up non-issue. If a customer goes there for 2 - 3 hours and doesn't reach the ￥10,000, then what the heck are they doing in there?

If it's a problem of people going to the baseball stadium, then how about customers swiping their membership card on entry and exit? That would reduce the freeloaders.

I can understand the fees, but they should increase the time. People don't just run in and out of Costco. You like to lounge, browse, and eat. Doing all of that for 2+ hours and having to pay for parking on top of that is extreme.

Kimo, I don't think Costco kills off local businesses. They're two market groups. If the local business's offered what Costco did, then perhaps I'd agree with you. Also, while yes, plenty if fat people shop at Costco they're not targeting the lower income fat folks. That Walmart. Costco is middle class who can afford the membership fee. You don't like the good? Don't buy it. However things like soap, shampoo, dishes... Are much, much cheaper at Costco than what you pay here even when things are on sale.

And Chubu has yet to have one... Thanks local business union for thinking of yourselves and not supply what customers want. Seems one will open by the chubu airport which is so out if the way for anyone it's silly. Better then nothing I guess.

And thumbs down? Regardless of what I post... I embrace the thumbs down now!

Stupid, costco dont even give you bags so without a car how are you going to shop?

Cycle. I bike about 45 minutes there. The only problem is cold perishables, but now they have dry ice. I've never left Costco without spending less than 10,000, usually closer to 20,000. Excellent for veg, especially Romaine lettuce and bell peppers. Good for wine, too. And cheese.

Tokyo needs about 20 Costcos! Only 1 crappy Costco here in Tokyo, and it is all the way out in Machida!! WTF??

Jeff, I don't blame the kids. I blame their parents. Plenty of parks but not often used - at least in my area. Ikea has the right idea by having child minders. Mom can shop and gossip all she likes a d the kids are out of harms way getting quality playing time. I don't blame the kids for acting wild. I would too in their circumstances.

I hate Costco. 4 hours in a Costco? Get a life. There is a huge obesity problem in America and it comes from people shopping at box stores. These stores are for businesses.. and yes you can and should go in and get out of Costco.. get the things you need and get your fat butt out.. it is not a place to hang out and entertain your kids. Do you see the kind of people that shop at Costco.. they are all way to fat.. carts full of food they could never eat. I go get some beer, some water.. some fish and then I have to stand in a huge line.. and realize that the meat was not good of a deal.. I have to freeze it.. that the fruit is not organic and it has been imported and sprayed.. that the beer is not that much cheaper than buying it at another store on sale.. that I should buy a water filter and not waste so much buying water bottles.. that I dont need two gallons of pasta sauce.. that if I buy that big bag of food.. I will force myself to eat it.. ok.. I dont have a gang of kids but then Japanese dont either.. Hiroshima.. wow.. Costco in Hiroshima.. they will also kill off many local businesses.. other local stores will go out of business. You come to realize that restaurant buy steak and other foods from there and then sell it to you at a huge mark up.. what happened to organic foods.. locally grown produce.. grass fed Kobe beef.. wild caught fish .. none of which you find at Costco. The Chicken is huge.. and I cheap for Rotisserie and it is hard to do that yourself .. but I worry that they must be fed steroids to be that big... The pizza and hot dogs are good deal but it gets old and it is not healthy .. if customers complain they will reduce parking.. most of the time is looking for a parking spot and having to walk long way to the car.. Costco... I hate everything about it..

Their kids are running around like its a park.

Don't blame the kids...if they're like the kids in my neighborhood, they don't have a real park to run around in. Ah, Japan, the country with the "world-class infrastructure."

tmarie: Not sure why people are commented on not being able to take a car. They do delivery. At a decent price.

What I don't understand is why your post got three down votes. Most stores - even the small mom and pop places in the country - will arrange a scheduled delivery if you ask. It's neither difficult or expensive.

I'm about 200km from the nearest Costco, so in the summer I take the bike and ship everything. Parking is dead simple, and for some reason ever since I upgraded to armored riding leathers I find the isles a lot less crowded... :p

If this is true its no big deal, anytime I go its Y20-30,000.

Now if I lived closer I may be tempted to pop in for a few items now & then but not often. As for crowns I NEVER go to costco on weekends or national holidays or when kids are on summer break, its just frigging insane!

So mon-fri for me & its a breeze!

Now if costco would only make people pushing carts GET A LICENSE but the majority in Japan CANNOT drive a shopping cart if their lives depended on it!

Other than that & I am good

1 Good Bad

HimajinFeb. 25, 2013 - 09:08AM JST

I followed this article, and as I dug deeper I found that this is based on a Tweet, which means it may not be accurate. Similar articles in Japanese are all citing the same Tweet as the source of the "3,000 yen an hour" figure. Costco Hiroshima's site doesn't mention parking fees, other than a statement that during their membership drive from March 1 to March 22, parking is free for anyone who signs up.

Sogo Department store and the local gym parking here charge a MAX of 3,000 and 5,000 for the day respectively, but if you buy a certain amount, or get a stamp in the case of the gym, you get a couple hours free. It's to keep people from parking there who have no business there. 3,000 yen an hour doesn't make sense at all.

I only found the reference to Chugoku Shimbun- Middle Japan region newspaper. Where they got the information is unclear.

Anyway I joined Costco briefly and then found its not good value- you can get cheaper food at local shops.

@yongYang. Hahaha WRONG. They don't stand out. I stand out. Stop looking in my basket! I guess with a parking time limit they will eat their food and go.

Also a word of advice about American culture. You never out ketchup on the sausage. Unless of course you're a little freaky like me.

@FPS Russia: You're imagination running wild, people only 'stare' at you when YOU stare at them and start imagining the Bogey man!

Customers who make a purchase of 5,000 yen or more receive one hour of free parking, and two hours of free parking with a purchase of 10,000 yen or more. This means that customers must spend at least 5,000 yen per hour during their visit or face a parking fee of 3,000 yen. Does anyone else think this is crazy?

No, it's not crazy. Spending 10,000 at Costco is easy.

Also, if you're going to Costco, and you spend less than 5000, you don't need to be going there in a car.

DOH!

is there NOT for a TOTAL free ride.

Not sure why people are commented on not being able to take a car. They do delivery. At a decent price.

As others have stated, you go to Costco to spend more than 10,000 yen, so if they offer complementary parking not a big problem. They are really combating traffic congestion, especially people who waste gas driving to get two or three items.

If people didn't take the piss, like the baseball fans coming in to park, and or just come to feed the kids on the samples, sure, no parking fee BUT people WILL be rude, take the piss and laugh in your face IF you don't guide them. Happens anywhere, needs to be established that COSTCO or any business is there for a TOTAL free ride. Well done COSTCO, say I.

I just joined costco, was my first time there today, in USA, however, I see right away, save, and go there and really stock up, so you limit your amount of times patronizing...I liked it...very busy...

I hope the other Costco's don't follow suit. That's ridiculous. I cruise in there something just to have a slice of pizza. I almost always take one whole pie home for the family. Totally uncalled for IMO. I'm guessing its being done to cut someone in who objected to having a Costco there so they can profit from it.

You don't want to go ther without a car.

I have one question though. Why do Japanese patrons look at me like I don't belong there? I'm not out of place, you are.

I rent a car every now and then and stock up at my nearby Costco - each time costs 20,000 or more, and I'm done in 2 hours, so what's the big deal?

While I generally like Costco, any more than 2 hours in there would drive me insane with the amount of screaming brats and crammed isles.

Most malls near big Japanese cities have steep parking fees that get waved if you spend X amount of yen. I like Costco, but I don't like going there. So when I go there I stock up.. so I don't have to go so often.

This is a good idea. Why anyone would feel the need to spend more than an hour in a supermarket they have probably already been to is beyond me.

What do shoppers way to do there - laze around like Roman emperors, maybe get a head spa while their searching for pickles and take a leisurely 45 minutes to eat a hot dog? 

Get in, shop, leave.

Simple. 

Costco is a shop, people, not Club Med! :-)

Costco should lead the way and charge the same fee for any bags customers want.

Stupid, costco dont even give you bags so without a car how are you going to shop?

I drop ¥20,000 most times so it wouldn't be an issue. I frigging love having the Maebashi Costco near me, it's like a transportation portal back to the U.S.

How dare housewives go shopping with their friends and kids and i suppose they can only afford the car park fees because they don't pay taxes!! Fuming!!!!

Actually, shops like Costco and Ikea don`t pay anything for the land.... yes they use it for free.

Nearly - heartthrob is hilarious!

While the price is crazy when you first look at it, it's the same as many other places here. Spend x amount if yen, parking is free for a certain time. Has anyone ever gone to Costco and not stocked up on things?

The way Japan treats Costco is a nightmare. Yes lady, leave your kids at home. Every time I've been there's been an army if housewives together blocking aisles while chatting. Their kids are running around like its a park. Frankly, I stopped going because of the behaviour of the locals. Shame they don't do Internet shopping. Flying pig for me. No fees, large quantity, heartthrob same price, no parking, no screaming kids or chatty housewives.

They got the time points wrong. If they would do this at all, it should be at least 3 hours free if you buy 5000. Period.

2 hours from pulling a parking ticket at the entrance until getting to the exit gate just isn't enough. With crowds and kids, you'll spend 15-20 minutes just circling, parking, getting the kids out, finding cards, going down that long escalator, and doing it all again in reverse on the way out.

When we and our 4 kids go, we like to take our time looking at all the stuff, loading up our cart, and then we eat lunch there. In fact that's the whole point--it's a destination and it's why we go. The main event. You don't just "pop into" Costco in Japan. It's a huge production. With all the milling around and walking and lining up, 2.5 - 3 hours is the normal range for us.

It would suck to have time pressure there. We'd buy less stuff too, and skip the lunch. In fact the very idea runs against the grain of the Costco experience, which is like "ample, extra, cheap, bounty". Take those fun parts away, and the conclusion is: we won't bother to go at all. Or we'd drive to the Kobe one, which is about the same distance.

I followed this article, and as I dug deeper I found that this is based on a Tweet, which means it may not be accurate. Similar articles in Japanese are all citing the same Tweet as the source of the "3,000 yen an hour" figure. Costco Hiroshima's site doesn't mention parking fees, other than a statement that during their membership drive from March 1 to March 22, parking is free for anyone who signs up.

Sogo Department store and the local gym parking here charge a MAX of 3,000 and 5,000 for the day respectively, but if you buy a certain amount, or get a stamp in the case of the gym, you get a couple hours free. It's to keep people from parking there who have no business there. 3,000 yen an hour doesn't make sense at all.

Getting and out in less than an hour is impossible. Not having a car to haul all the junk out to your house is not an option. But 3.000 parking is ridiculous!!!

this is where the scooter comes in handy, eh?

I gues that they rather drive to the costco in Kobe then

This is just poor planning. There are plenty of suburban areas immediately outside of the downtown Hiroshima area that could have supported a Costco much more easily, and since everyone goes to Costco by car anyway, the non-urban location wouldn't have been much of an inconvenience. But with all the land opening up in the major development around the Hiroshima Station/Mazda Stadium area, Costco saw a juicy opportunity and jumped the gun before giving it proper thought.

Traffic congestion is a way of life here in Japan...its a weak excuse to charge for parking.

gaijinfo:

That's right! Greed! After all, property in Japan is FREE, so when companies buy it, they should let us use it, whenever we want, for FREE!

Sarcasm aside - Shoppers at COSTCO - unlike any other outlet in Japan - ALREADY PAY AN ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP FEE to shop there...................................Also NOTE: that property values in most mega-cities around the world are comparative with Hirorshima ( if not even higher) - HOWEVER Costco in those communities still provides FREE PARKING.

@kringis: at the West Tokyo location, it's always crammed and busy. When we take a car, we always, ALWAYS need to wait for a parking spot, same goes for the Misato/Chiba location. Seems COSTCO is more popular here in Japan than 'in your country.'

Kind of crazy. If baseball fans is the supposed to be the problem, why give anyone who uses a Costco card at the checkout free parking? Or impose the fees only on days there is a game? Seems a little dunderheaded to me...

3-4 hours in CostCo? 1050 parking spaces not enough?

The Japanese must really like their CostCo and enjoy wasting time. In my country the car park is always half empty and half an hour is ample time to buy what you need.

Simply greed

That's right! Greed! After all, property in Japan is FREE, so when companies buy it, they should let us use it, whenever we want, for FREE!

The way I see it, two things will happen.

1) They'll have no problems getting customers, regardless of the parking cost. After all, blowing a couple hundred bucks at COSTCO is pretty easy, so most people won't end up paying much for parking

2) They'll realize that this price is too much, and is biting into their profits, so they'll lower the parking price, so they can get more profits. Meaning that they'll lower the price because they are greedy.

Imagine that! Economics at work!

Simply greed ........... traffic congestion & cars waiting in long lines to gain parking at a mall are not a novelties in Japan.................. This is just an excuse for COSTCO to suck out more cash .....................

Anywhere that wants Y3000 for parking can say goodbye to my custom.