Reading Butter cake creaming method reminded me of something I was taught in school, more years ago than I care to admit, but long enough ago to make it relevant… In many Asian cultures having a refrigerator was (at the time) 'rare'. Not for lack of infrastructure (electricity) or due to economic circumstances but culturally people in Japan (if I recall correctly) preferred to go to market daily and get whatever they needed fresh. Is this still the case?
Equipment – Do You Need a Refrigerator?
cultural-differenceequipment
Best Answer
The Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture says household ownership of refrigerators in Japan in 2008 was 99.6%, so I would guess no.
Here's the data in an excel file.
It's worth noting that lower income countries in Asia have significantly lower numbers, but your question specifies reasons unrelated to wealth. High income Asian country households overwhelmingly own refrigerators.
Microwave Ovens, on the other hand, do seem to follow a pattern only loosely based on income.
None of this is to suggest that people in Japan don't do their purchasing in the manner you suggest. They might just use their fridges for other things, like keeping drinks cold.