Cover From Tokyo’s Family Mart to Paris’s Citypharma, discover the supermarkets and pharmacies that double as cultural landmarks. (Photo: Vecstock / Freepik)
From Tokyo’s Family Mart to Paris’s Citypharma, discover the supermarkets and pharmacies that double as cultural landmarks. (Photo: Vecstock / Freepik)
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Pharmacies and supermarkets in global cities offer insights into health, beauty and food traditions
In many destinations, the most revealing window into local life is not found in a museum or landmark but in everyday spaces like pharmacies and supermarkets. These are places where visitors can quickly understand how a city eats, heals and spends. While they may appear ordinary, they often reveal cultural details that cannot be learned elsewhere. Pharmacies might stock remedies rooted in long-standing traditions or packaging that reflects local aesthetics, while supermarkets can demonstrate national tastes through entire aisles devoted to one product. Travellers increasingly seek these locations not only for errands but also as part of their itinerary, recognising them as practical yet telling cultural markers.
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1. Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo’s supermarkets are remarkable for their presentation and precision. At Mitsukoshi and Seibu department store basements, entire food halls are devoted to seasonal produce and elaborately wrapped fruit. Convenience-style chains such as Don Quijote and Family Mart reflect the city’s fondness for novelty snacks, limited-edition drinks and packaged meals that change with the seasons. Pharmacies like Matsumoto Kiyoshi attract visitors with shelves of Japanese skincare, hair treatments and over-the-counter remedies that rarely make it abroad.
2. Paris, France
French pharmacies such as Citypharma in Saint-Germain-des-Prés are staples for travellers who come specifically to purchase dermatological lines like Avène and Bioderma. Supermarkets such as Monoprix reveal another side of daily life, where wine, cheese and fresh baguettes are offered with the same casual accessibility as bottled water. These settings compress France’s celebrated food culture into the space of a weekly shop.
3. Seoul, South Korea
In Seoul, supermarkets such as Lotte Mart and E-Mart occupy multiple floors, combining groceries with household goods, electronics and fashion. Visitors often browse for snacks like honey butter chips or instant ramen varieties that never leave the domestic market. Pharmacies, whether independent or in chains like Olive Young, highlight South Korea’s twin focus on health and beauty, with shelves devoted to K-beauty serums, collagen powders and herbal tonics.
4. New York City, USA
Pharmacies such as Duane Reade and CVS are fixtures on almost every block, doubling as community shops where toiletries, food and travel items sit beside over-the-counter medicine. Their late-night accessibility has made them part of the city’s fabric. In supermarkets, diversity is the key feature. A visit to H Mart in Queens offers an encyclopaedic selection of Korean products, while Fairway Market and Trader Joe’s in Manhattan draw shoppers with speciality imports and New York staples.
5. Bangkok, Thailand
Supermarkets such as Tops and Gourmet Market showcase both local produce and international goods, from durian and mangosteen to imported European cheeses. Pharmacies and convenience stores often stock traditional Thai herbal remedies such as ya dom inhalers alongside modern pharmaceuticals, reflecting a balance of old and new approaches to wellness.
6. Los Angeles, USA
In Los Angeles, supermarkets are sometimes destinations in themselves. Erewhon has become synonymous with the city’s wellness culture, with aisles of organic produce, niche supplements and high-end ready meals. Its smoothies and branded merchandise have become part of its identity as much as its groceries. Pharmacies, often part of larger drugstore chains like Rite Aid or Walgreens, are used by visitors as practical stops, but it is the city’s supermarket culture that has gained particular visibility.
7. Toronto, Canada
Toronto’s supermarkets reflect the city’s reputation for multiculturalism. Farm Boy has gained a loyal following for its emphasis on fresh produce, prepared foods and Canadian-sourced items. Neighbourhood supermarkets such as T&T focus on Asian imports, while Longo’s highlights Italian-Canadian tastes. Pharmacies, particularly those operated under Shoppers Drug Mart, are popular for their extensive beauty sections, which stock both international lines and Canadian favourites.
From Tokyo’s convenience aisles to Paris’s dermatological counters, these pharmacies and supermarkets illustrate how everyday spaces can offer cultural insight. They are functional stops that also double as markers of local taste, ritual and routine. For travellers willing to wander beyond the traditional sightseeing list, they provide an unfiltered view of what matters most to the people who live there.
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Chonx Tibajia is a senior editor at Tatler Asia’s T-Labs team, where she writes widely on lifestyle subjects including beauty, style, entertainment and travel. She has a long career in journalism, including roles as a columnist at The Philippine Star, and is the founder of the creative platform Pineappleversed. Beyond Tatler, her bylines appear in regional lifestyle and business publications, showcasing a broad portfolio that spans beauty trends, travel guides and culture pieces.
