Costco has more than 700 stores in 12 countries around the globe — and its Japan stores are some of its best (COST)

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• The first Costco store opened in the US in 1976.
• Since then, it has expanded to Europe, Australasia, and Asia.  
• We compared the experience of shopping in its stores in Japan versus the US.

A love of Costco transcends all geographical borders.

While America created the Costco phenomenon, its operations now extend far beyond the confines of this country and into Australasia, Europe, and Asia. 

Costco opened its first Japan location in 1999 and since then has grown its presence to 26 stores, which span the breadth of the country. 

The Japanese arm of the business is a wholly owned subsidiary of Costco US. While it stocks several US brands and Costco private-label products, there are some big differences between the experiences of shopping in both locations. 

Find out how different the two stores are below:

From the outside, the warehouse-style layout of this Costco store in Tokoname, Japan, looks similar to Costco in the US.

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One of the biggest bonuses about shopping in Costco Japan is that its stores are open seven days a week, 364 days a year. It closes on January 1. US stores, on the other hand, are closed for major national holidays. Inside, walls of bulk-sized products line the store ...

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... which is exactly what you might see in the US.

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