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How I became a Rakuten loyalist

About five years ago, I moved into what Japanese personal finance fans call "Rakuten Keizaiken" — the Rakuten ecosystem. I was inspired by YouTube channels like Liberal Arts University (Riberuda), which promoted the Rakuten Super Sale as a smart bulk-buying strategy for daily household goods.

As a dedicated homebody, I find even short errands exhausting. So discovering that I could stock up on shampoo, detergent, and toothpaste every three months — without leaving the house — genuinely changed my daily life.

The old dread of realising you're out of shampoo on a peaceful day at home, then having to get dressed and go out just for that? Almost completely gone.

The Rakuten ecosystem today

Over the years, Rakuten has scaled back its point rewards, and the deals feel less generous than they used to. That said, it remains an essential part of how I shop. I maintain a running list of household items to buy at the next sale, and I regularly compare prices across Amazon and Yahoo! Shopping — even checking in-store prices when I'm out buying groceries.

For the last two years, Amazon has beaten Rakuten on price about half the time. So now I split my bulk-buying between the two.

How I finally gave in to Amazon Prime

The biggest factor in Amazon sales is whether you're a Prime member — the price gap is significant. For a long time, I couldn't justify the ¥590/month fee. I skipped it two years in a row.

But at last year's June sale, the difference was too obvious to ignore. I signed up, thinking I'd cancel after the sale. Then my husband discovered Prime Video and started using it enthusiastically. Six months later, cancelling was off the table — and we switched to the annual plan to save a little more.

What you get with Amazon Prime

Honestly, I only actively use three: free shipping, Prime Video, and Prime Reading. But considering I used to pay ¥1,590/month just for Netflix, Prime is a much better deal — and I plan to explore the rest of the benefits properly.

Why I still use both Rakuten and Amazon

Rakuten Super Sale is still great value — but coordinating purchases across multiple shops to hit the free-shipping threshold takes real effort. That complexity is one of the ecosystem's genuine downsides.

Amazon Prime, on the other hand, lets you order a single item without worrying about shipping costs. That flexibility has become surprisingly valuable for small restocks between sales.

Want to try it?

There's a 30-day free trial — a good way to see if it works for your household before committing.

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One thing that recently surprised me: the film Kokuhō (starring Ryō Yoshizawa and Ryusei Yokohama) is now streaming on Prime Video at no extra cost. It's been on my to-watch list for a while — I'm planning to finally sit down and watch it soon.

If you've been curious about Amazon Prime, this might be the perfect time to give it a try 🍎