There are many reasons why we all love Japan. The kind and hardworking people. The clean streets. The toilets that wash your butt for you. Anime, manga and maid cafes. Another reason we love Japan is…the glory that are Japanese convenience stores. Here’s a post with 14 things you’ll find in a Japanese convenience store, as I take a trip to a Seven-Eleven store near J-List!
I Visited a Convenience Store Near J-List and Took Random Pictures For You
Seven-Eleven is the fantastically successful chain of Japanese convenience stores that have taken over in Japan and much of Asia. Originally an American chain, it came to Japan when a supermarket executive decided to drive across America to look for the “next big thing” for his company to try. They decided to start licensing the Seven-Eleven brand and became so successful, they eventually swallowed their American parent. Which is why you sometimes see weird Japanese snacks in Seven-Eleven stores in California, at least.
The is one of four or five Seven-Eleven chains near J-List. A strange thing happened to this store once: it used to be much closer to the road, but one day was suddenly moved back 20 meters to leave more space for patrons, including large trucks, to enter. Seven-Eleven is an extremely strong company and has massive sway over its licensees. They actually require that every store will be torn down and rebuilt from scratch every ten years to ensure the customers always have the best possible experience possible.
The first thing you see when you step inside the store is…a wall of masks. Yes, Japan is still masked up, and 100% of the time when out and about we’re expected to wear masks.
Turn right and you’ll arrive at the “bread” corner. The Japanese word for bread is pan, and they have a lot of things here we wouldn’t call by the term “bread,” like sweet bread we’d think of as doughnuts, bread with chocolate inside, pizza bread, and of course Melon-pan.
Anime is used to market products all the time, of course. Hell, anime is even used to market feminine products in Japan.
There’s a whole class of snacks intended to be eaten with alcoholic drinks called o-tsumami, like these Kaki-pea, spicy rice crackers with peanuts. My favorite version are the wasabi flavored kind.
Another favorite of mine is Cheese-Tara, little strips of cheese with dried tara fish along the sides, which gives it a nice texture in the mouth. By the way, living in Japan will cause you to learn the names of fish in Japanese but never know what they’re called in English. (The Internet tells me tara is cod.)
Another great product to buy in a Japanese convenience store is dried, smoked squid. The longer you live in Japan, the better this stuff gets. Just don’t forget to brush your teeth before going to bed after eating this stuff.
Sandwiches are another cornerstone of food in Japanese convenience stores. They have normal offerings like tuna, ham and egg salad sandwiches, but man, Katsu-Sand, or pork cutlet sandwiches, are my all-time favorite. They were supposedly invented as good that geisha could eat without messing up their make-up.
There are always random sandwiches for sale, too. Would you like a strawberry and whipped cream sandwich?
Since many Japanese families are tomo-bataraki where both parents work, it’s nice to have a way for women to get some delicious meals for their families without taking time to cook…and that’s a role that Seven-Eleven, and other Japanese convenience stores, strive to fill nicely. Enjoy some frozen pasta or pizza tonight!
Lots of other selections, including “Hamburg Steak.” The perfect food for any single guy.
Not getting enough fish in your diet? You can grab several delicious and already cooked fish types here. Just microwave and go. You can get anything in a Japanese convenience store!
Rice is the staple food for all of Asia, but if you haven’t already prepared rice in your rice cooker, it can take an hour to be ready. Just grab these microwavable rice packs instead! We really appreciated this when Mrs. J-List and I got through our COVID stint in February.
Want instant noodles? Japanese convenience stores have them, too. By the way, in case you wondered at the high number of products with the Seven-Eleven brand on them, that is part of the company’s branding, basically crowding out more famous brands with its own versions in about 80% of the store. I’m honestly not a fan of this, but they execute well and all products are tasty and high quality.
This is the Bargain Corner, where products whose freshness dates are approaching are sold cheaply. Actually, owners had to fight a lawsuit against Seven-Eleven Japan to get the right to discount products as a way of getting rid of them. Before, the company insisted that all unsold products should be destroyed at the store’s expense to protect the mighty brand of the company.
Thanks for reading this blog post about what you can find in a Japanese convenience store. Hope you’re having a great day!
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