Are you a Lawson-lover, a Family Mart-fan or an AM/PM-addict?

In surveys of repatriated workers, one thing often tops the list of things which will be most missed about Japan; convenience stores, or “combini” as they are so cutely abridged. In a country where snack bars are the last place you’d go to get a snack, and ‘fast food’ can take up to four minutes to arrive, the reason behind their popularity is undoubtedly the fact that they truly are unbelievably convenient.

First introduced to Japan in 1969, there are now a startling 50,000 or so combinis to choose from, and most of them appear to be built on the same single stretch of road. The most popular is 7-Eleven, which has over 10,000 stores, (although you wouldn’t know it from here in Oita which, ever the national trend-setter, has only two of them). This statistic is all the more amazing when you consider that there are only 6,000 or so 7-Elevens in the entire U.S! Lawson and Family Mart are silver and bronze medallists in the Japan Combini Olympics, with around 8,000 and 6,000 stores respectively.

One of the most startling things about combinis is the quality of their food, as well as the variety; many single Japanese are known to subsist solely on combiini bento lunches and ready-made meals. From the strangely addictive niku- and pizza-man dough balls to pre-cooked pastas and curries, they offer it all, and each store has its own specialty in order to lure customers; Lawson is famous for its handmade onigiri, whereas 7-Eleven opted for the inexplicable oden, various shaped foods boiled in fish and soy sauce broth which give the stores that special ‘deep-fried-sweat-in-sauna’ aroma. 7-Eleven’s sales of rice balls alone reach 80 billion Yen (US$700million) per year, (although I’ve always had a problem with the description “rice-ball”; any readers with balls that shape are advised to seek immediate medical assistance…)

However, the real convenience comes from the extras not available in convenience stores abroad. Every long-distance driver knows the joys of the combini toilet; every late-night party-goer the wonders of the alcohol selection; you can withdraw cash from machines, purchase music, sports and event tickets, even pick up mail-order items. Bills can also be paid, and as of this year combinis have gone hi-tech with the ability to pay for any of these services using just your keitai for cash. On top of all this, combinis are also public libraries, a little-known fact that can be confirmed by watching the happy clients as they indulge in the favorite national past-time, “tachiyomi”, or standing and reading. There are rumors that it is illegal to actually buy a magazine in a convenience store, but these were unconfirmed.

Benri desu, neeeee?…

Written by Doron Kelmer and originally appeared in The Tomobo Times, January 2005.