Japanese Convenience stores are actually true to their name
Convenience stores (コンビニ) in Japan are just that, convenient! First off, they are everywhere and most are open 24/7. They offer a wide range of hot and cold food items all of which are quite fresh. When I studied in the US, I realized how helpful and useful convenience stores truly are in daily life. I missed every single food offered at the conveni while studying abroad.
The three biggest conveni chains in Japan are 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, and Lowason. According to the official websites of these companies, the data as of 2020 shows that 7-Eleven has 20,929 stores, FamilyMart has 15,673 stores, and Lowson has 14,425 stores in Japan. It’s kinda crazy that there’s so many convenience stores in Japan, isn’t it? Especially in Tokyo, you’ll see one of them every freaking 5 minutes if you walk in the city (I’m not joking)
As some of you guys know, there are some 7-Eleven stores in the US too. If you’re from the US, you probably imagine 7-Eleven as a small kiosk at the gas station that sells the typical fares of cheap processed snacks and drinks. It’s kind of bland, nothing to write home about. However, the Japanese 7-Elevens are totally different from the ones in the US. They’re neat, clean, and convenient, so I usually grab something from one almost every morning because I can have quick food and drink such as rice balls (onigiri), lunch packs (bento), snacks, and coffee before going to university.
These are 7 of my favorite conveni foods at 7-Eleven! You should definitely try them!
1) Onigiri
Onigiri (rice balls) is a typical Japanese food which everybody likes! I usually get some onigiri at the conveni at the train station and have them for breakfast and lunch before my class at university! It’s the perfect food to eat when you’re short on time in the morning because you can have it quickly whenever and wherever you want. The best part though is that each onigiri is just 100 yen (1 USD). There are so many varieties of onigiri. The following are the most popular onigiri in Japan and some of my favorites!
- Tuna-mayo
- Ume (Pickled Plum)
- Konbu (Seaweed)
- Katsuo (Katsuobushi, Bonito Flakes)
- Tarako (Cod Roe)
2) Salad Chicken (Boiled chicken)
This is a packaged boiled chicken breast. It’s available in a variety of flavors, such as smoked, basil, garlic, etc. Some friends of mine who workout at the gym buy salad chicken before going to the gym because it’s very high in protein! You can also slice it and mix it with salad for your meal! It’s very convenient food for people who don’t have time to cook but want to maintain a healthy diet.
3) Conveni Sweets
Conveni sweets are trending in Japan in the last few years because the quality is surprisingly high. The flavor can’t be beat. You can easily have amazing sweets, which taste freshly baked at home. You should try one of them as a post-work reward. There’s also variety of cake available by the slice such as strawberry shortcake, chocolate cake, and chestnut cream cake (mont blanc).
- Cream Puffs
- Pudding
- Eclair
- Cakes
- Tiramisu
- Baumkuchen
4) Temaki Sushi (Hand-rolled Sushi)
You can even have sushi at conveni! It’s amazing, isn’t it? One of the best Temaki sushi is Natto-maki (fermented soybeans). A lot of foreigners hate it because of its smell and texture (reminiscent of dirty socks) but we Japanese people love this stuff! You should give it a try if you’ve never had it before!
- Natto
- Salmon Wasabi
- Tuna Mayonnaise
- Shrimp Mayonnaise
- Kanpyou (dried gourd shavings)
- Seafood Salad
- Kimchi Natto
5) Hot snacks
These are the best and there are a variety of them at the conveni! They are warm and savory. The most popular hot snacks are fried chicken, corn dogs, french fries, smoked sausage, Chinese steamed buns and yakitori. You can get them at the checkout counter, so you just need to ask the cashier! You can just point out what you want so don’t worry if you don’t know the name in Japanese. They usually don’t have hot snacks late at night, so you should try to get them before it’s too late in the day. Here are Chinese steamed buns you can buy at 7-Eleven!
- Pork bun
- Sweet bean-paste bun
- Whole sweet bean-paste bun
- Pizza bun
- Pork cheese bun
- Special pork bun
6) Oden
The perfect food to eat in winter, Oden is a one-pot fish cake stew with ingredients such as eggs, daikon, and vegetables. The broth is a light dashi seasoned with soy sauce. At the conveni you can pick out as many or few ingredients as you like. You can go simple with just one ingredient (daikon is the most popular!) or try them all, sometimes there’s as many as 18 options! It’s the perfect pick-me-up on cold days, and it’s available right at the counter of the conveni. Here’s a ranking of the 7 best conveni oden!
- Radish
- Boiled egg
- Konjac
- Hanpen (Japanese fish cake)
- Satsuma-age (Fired Japanese fish cake)
- Konjac noodles
- Mochi-ginchaku (Rice cake wrapped with deep fried tofu)
7) Bento (Lunch box)
There are a variety of bento at conveni with affordable prices (3-5 bucks usually). You can have tasty Japanese, Chinese, and Italian styles! One of my favorite bentos is Shrimp Doria. Doria is a Japanese western-style rice casserole dish with a creamy white sauce. You should definitely try it!
Conveni sell not only food but also daily necessities like towels, tissues, underwear, personal hygiene products, socks, ties, stationeries, hair products, and so on. You can just run to the nearest conveni if you need something quickly! It’s very useful since they are at every corner. Almost anything you could ever need is just a 5 min walk away.
Check out 7-Eleven official Website! You can see other interesting Japanese conveni foods and learn how to buy hot snacks and oden at the counter.
Images from 7-Eleven Official Website.