Can I find........

Will I be able to find the following items in Japan?
Will it be better to bring it with me?

Tapatio Salsa Picante hot sauce

Canned Chopped Clams (for making clam chowder)

If Tapatio is the brand then you are unlikely to find it here, but I have seen hot sauce available in import stores. I'm pretty sure I have also seen canned clams, but am not certain on this. It may not be legal to bring in the clams as they are an animal product and there are restrictions on importing that kind of thing.

Thanks, guess I'll play it safe and buy them here and bring it with next week along with my Vicks inhalers....lol

Salsa Sauce is available at almost every ordinary-sized supermarket, but it's not Tapatio. I forgot the brand's name, but it's local and always the same jar and is labeled "Salsa" in English alphabet. I recall that it has no or very little artificial preserves or flavorings.

Boiled canned clams are available at most supermarkets too. Ask for "asari no mizu-ni kan-zume". They don't come with the shells and they're not flavored, but I'm not really sure if they're chopped. But then again, all you need is either a knife or a pair of kitchen scissors. Fresh clams, shells off, are often available too.

However, I think it may be a lot easier to find hot clam chowder than to find readily-chopped clams.