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: