Aeon Max Value Supermarket, Naha

24-hour supermarket near Kokusai Dori, Naha

There are four branches of supermarket Max Value, part of the Aeon family but without the department store bit, in Naha. The branch I visited is this one near to Makishi station at the northeastern end of Kokusai Dori. Follow the tracks north out of Makishi station and you’ll see this Max Value on your left. At night, this supermarket is a bastion of light once all the other lights have gone out - it’s open 24 hours which is a fantastic convenience in a part of Japan that seems to like to go to bed early, or at least finish work early. Despite the train station proximity, the “Makishi” Aeon Max Value supermarket has sizeable parking able to accommodate nearly 100 vehicles and access is easy enough from the large road that runs by it. Inside, this is a fairly big supermarket by Japanese standards. Layout wise and in terms of interior atmosphere, there’s nothing that sets Max Value apart from the standard supermarket fare. Still, everything seems to be covered here from fruit & veg to booze and snacks and all the rest of it in between. If you can’t keep yourself fed from ingredients purchased here, then it seems that you’re in need of something particularly specialist. In a sizeable urban area the popularity of a supermarket is probably as good a test as any of a supermarket’s quality, and the Aeon Max Value near Kokusai Dori seemed to be pulling in the shoppers even at the lateish hour that I was there (maybe around 11 pm). There’s an “Aeon Bank” (イオン銀行) ATM just inside the entrance of the supermarket. Aeon Bank’s ATMs will accept cards issued from overseas (VISA, PLUS, cirrus, mastercard e.t.c). Oh, and it’s a bit chilly in here.