The Japanese reinvented the convenient store
The conbini (convenient store) is a ubiquitous concept on every street corner in Tokyo. They have a bit of everything and you can find any “emergency” product here.
From cup noodles to paper undies, the conbini makes life much easier. You can even find Fancl beauty products, nail polish, staplers, gas cans, paper clips, light bulbs, ice packs…. Goodness, whatever you could dream up of getting at 3am in the morning, go to the cobini and they would sort you out.
My personal favourite is Seven Eleven where they stock healthier bento sets. Apparently they don’t use MSG, less salt, and oil. They even have vegetable sticks, hiyayakko tofu (raw tofu with spring onion, ginger, bonito flakes and soy sauce; pictured below), and a variety of salads. You can find pasta, ma bow tofu with rice, zaru soba, and other “side dishes” (which is what the Japanese coin as small portions of food wrapped in plastic).
And of course it has an awesome variety of onigiri (rice balls wrapped in seaweed) which I stay away from as it’s full of simple carbs. I used to have one or two everyday as a snack but I put on weight so I stopped. It’s a great take-away option if you are in a rush, though. I just treat myself to one if I take the shinkansen (bullet train) on a holiday or only if I know dinner is going to be super late at 9 or 10pm.
What’s even better is they state the amount of calories on whatever food you are buying. Let me just say that it has saved my waistline as I steered away from 1,000 calorie kariage (fried chicken) sets and pork cutlets with penne pasta and cheese.
In Singapore, our convenient stores would just have junk food, snacky nibbles like biscuits and crackers, soft drinks, booze, cigarettes and condoms. But our culture is different because we have late-night supper hawker stalls so getting food in the middle of the night is not a problem.
I think the conbini is a great idea for a 24-hour city like Tokyo. While I was teaching English, I would get late-night cravings because of the crazy hours I kept. I bought pop corn, Haagan Daz ice cream, nori chips, cup ramen (Nissin seafood is the best!), batteries, light bulbs, rubbish bags, shampoo, sandwiches….and many other things I forgot to get in supermarkets at normal hours.
If you are going to visit Japan for the first time, the conbini is quite an interesting place to hang out for a few minutes — it encapsulates how busy Japanese folks are, how prepared they are for any scenario, and how much they love food. Oh and try to look out for otakus who browse manga porn or soft porn mags in the corner.
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August 13th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
awww why 7e, so boring, wat about lawtons and all those other brands? the one that has a yellow green red walking man logo and some others that i cant remember the names haha
August 13th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Haha! Okay I know it sounds boring but the others like Lawson and Family Mart are alright, but Seven Eleven has the best-tasting snacks and bento boxes. I think the walking man logo you are talking about is Sunkus which is a little rough around the edges. To me, it’s like second tier conbini, along with Mini Stop.
August 16th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
I know, I absolutelty HEART Japanese ‘conbinis’.
At all odd hours, I can buy emergency dog food for my mutt, skincare products (!), do drycleaning, send mail, withdraw money and eat yummy but unhealthy Bentos!
I cant remember what Singaporean convenience stores are like but I think when I lived in Singers, I bought “Lo Mai Kai” and some buns once.
Convenience stores in Australia rock too. Esp the ones opened by the Lebanese because they sell cheap and oh-so-good BACLAVAS!
August 16th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
That’s right, you can get Chinese buns and lo mai kai (sticky rice) from the steamer they set up. I think hot sandwiches, too, if I recall.
I would check out the Lebanese convenience stores in Sydney on my next trip. Aussie conbinis are truly well-stocked too. I remember buying toothpaste once. I will try a baclava — the kangaroo said they are awesome sweet pastries to devour.