Moi!
Last winter was quite warm but I have already experienced under -20 degrees and there is a lot of snow this winter. I’ve heard cross country ski is very popular nowadays due to Covid-19. The land is quite flat in this area, so it is good for beginners.
Well, I would like to show you Finnish supermarket this time. You may be able to find something light when you aren’t so hungry, Or some drinks or souvenirs. Moreover, you may be able to know a part of the life of Finnish people. Still, it’s quite difficult to travel now but I hope this article is useful in the future.
I took photos at S-Market that situates about 3 minutes’ walk from Seinäjoki Station.
（Address：Puskantie 2 60100 Seinäjoki)
When you plan to buy heavy or a lot of goods or your bag is heavy, you can use a shopping cart. When you insert a coin, the chain will be released. After using it, if you insert the chain of the previous cart from the opposite side where you put the coin, the coin will be returned.
It’s convenient because you can buy for example one banana, not a bunch of bananas. Is it the same system in your country?
If you want to buy an apple, please check this sign. Since all the products have a price/kg, it’s easy to compare the price like when you see the different kinds of apples, for example. And the important thing is the number under the price. In this case ”26” is the one. You remember this number,
then you find this kind of scale. Put the apple and push the number ”26”. Then sticker with bar code will be printed. You just put it on the apple. If you don’t want to put it on directly or you buy several same products, you can put it/them into a plastic bag that is available near products. You can put a sticker on a plastic bag, too.
The selection of products varies from supermarket to supermarket. For example, since this supermarket is near the station, I could find these salads that can be easily eaten on the train. Remember, you usually can’t get a fork or chopsticks at the cashier (in Japan you can get it!). But a small fork is inside the salad (”hetki” brand salad, at least). If the salad doesn’t have any fork, one-time use forks, spoons or knives are sold, too.
We don’t have any Starbucks in Seinäjoki, but Starbucks coffee is available here.
You can find a salad corner, too. You just put what you want into this black container. Then place it on the scale and put the sticker on the container. If you need salad dressing or topping, you can buy them separately.
Not only fresh salad but also warm soup, 
and bread are also sold. The lower right is Karjalan pie that is made of rice. The taste is mild and it will fill your stomach. I recommend it.
I went there in the evening, so there aren’t enough leftovers, but buns called pulla are also available. Upper right is cinnamon roll (＝korvapuusti). It’s very popular.
Warm coffee costs only 1 euro. This is cheaper than usual ones.
If you have an electric kettle at your accommodation, it would be good to buy this kind of powdered soup. The left one, Kantarelli is chanterelle. It contains 3 packs, so it’s compact and reasonable price.
Yakisoba noodle is also sold. You can’t get disposable chopsticks, so bring your own chopsticks or use a fork instead.
You can also buy drinks such as water, juice, and low-alcohol beer or long drink etc at supermarkets. Some are at room temperature, but some are in the refrigerator like this.
* Alcohol is sold from 9:00 to 21:00, and you may be asked for an ID card at the cash register.
Now I can give you useful information. When you buy a PET bottle, can or bottle product in Finland, you will be charged an extra 10 cents or some cents (depending on the product). After finishing drinking, you return the bottles or cans to a recycling machine installed in such a large supermarket. Then, you will get a coupon with the refund amount printed. The coupon can be offset at the time of payment at the supermarket where the machine is located. With such a system, the recycling rate will increase, isn’t it?
It’s difficult to read from the photo above. So the following photo is bigger. Although the language is Finnish, notes say please put a bottle from the bottom, it takes 15 seconds for the coupon to be printed, etc. You can also choose an English version, so you don’t have to worry about it.
When you go to a supermarket, you may find a souvenir, not only food or drink. How about this Moomin’s paper napkin, for example?
I found Marimekko and Pentik’s ones, too. The design of paper napkins is different depending on the season. What kind of paper napkins you can find when you come to Finland (or Seinäjoki)?
Moomin is very popular among children, so you can find toothpaste or other snacks or candies, drinks and so on.
Comparing with other shops or other sightseeing spots, supermarkets are open until late. So you can visit there after sightseeing. You can also compare the items that are sold in your country. For example, you may be surprised by the varieties of sausages (= makkara), hams, milk, cheese, ice creams, bread. Or tofu can be found in cheese section etc… Can you find your country’s products?
Cold days seem to continue but days are getting longer and brighter. Hyvää talvea!(＝Have a wonderful winter!）