Japanese Convenience Stores - Why The Conbini コンビニ Is Epic 

Martina here! You can check out my RU-vid channel King Kogi for my next video, Japanese Conbini Hacks ★ Carbonara Pasta + Pizza Steamed Buns

It's been such a joy to see you thriving back in Japan, loved the video and can't wait for more!

I once pressed the "Yes I'm 20" button on the screen without knowing what it was for, nor that the watermelon soda I had picked was alcoholic. Only later did I understand why the cashier looked at me suspiciously. I was 17, in my defense the design on the can was so pretty 😭

It always puts a smile on my face when I see that Martina posted again. Such a great energy you transport! Even through a screen it‘s like sitting next to your friend 👯…

Conbini's held me down when I lived in Japan. Late night food runs, paying bills, printing and faxing for work. They were the best. My apartment was next to 7/11 so I went there most of the time, but I also visited Familymart pretty often. Lawson's is also good, and I didn't go to Ministop that often but the few times I went there I remember them being okay. My personal open is that 7/11 is the best, Familymart is a go to for sandwiches, Lawson's has great desserts, and no real opinion on Ministop.

YOU’RE BACK!! ALL THE NONSENSE and drama of Hacker Woman too!! Keep it coming!! You are going to make it! Trust yourself!

Here in the UK, convenience stores are mainly just that. Conveniently located little shops that stock a selection of essentials for when you don't want to travel all the way to the grocery store. And you will PAY for that convenience.

When I was backpacking through Japan, conbinis were a lifesaver! Whenever I was hungry I would just walk into a nearby conbini and I could always buy something cheap and delicious. It's funny because if I told someone from the states that I was living off of convenience store food, they would think I was super malnourished. But convenience stores in Japan are really on another level.

There's a Ghibli museum!?!? Okay, now I REALLY need to go to Japan....

Went to the konbini almost every day when I studied abroad in Japan. It was so amazing

I went to Japan during Christmas a few years ago, went through kanji reading hell but managed to preorder 7-11 Christmas cake. We got a strawberry shortcake that had real strawberries and tasted incredible. The one thing that I guess surprised me is that convience stores don't have over the counter medicine as aspirin or common cold medicine is usually something you can get in North American ones. But they have pretty much everything else though, even umbrellas if you find yours ever breaks

I loved the video. It feels like EYK vibes and brings me back to those warm and fuzzy feelings. Your videos were always so amazing and interesting. I'd have to stop what I was doing to watch it and see what this one was about. Glad to see a new video up. And see you on KK!

I went to Japan about 3 1/2 years ago, and as someone from the US I was absolutely flabbergasted at how actually convenient conbinis were. I still sometimes dream about them.... If only convenience stores here were even half as good as conbinis lol

In America, the closest I've come to a "next level" convenience store/gas station is Wawa. It has all the typical things you would expect from a convenience store, but their food is top-tier. Pre-made items are fairly decent, and their made-to-order food is fantastic. You just walk up to a touch screen, order your food with a variety of customization options, go pay for your ticket, then pick up your food when they've finished making it for you. As far as I know, Wawa is pretty much on the east coast U.S., and even then not everywhere. They've been in Florida where I am for about 10 years now! Looking forward to trying Japanese conbini whenever Japan opens back up for travel!

I am from Australia and I went to Japan for 3 weeks in 2019 before covid 😅. My favourite thing from the conbini that I got almost every single day were the Ice No Mi, the texture of those things blew my mind, the outside layer would crack on your mouth and then the inside was so smooth. I miss them and wish we were allowed to travel. I want to go back

Martina!!! I missed you!!! Love these Combini videos, can’t get enough!

I’m always amazed by your editing Martina! Lots of little details and dedication. I love it 😎🙌

Martina, I’m from Texas, and we have these enormous travel stops called Buc-ee’s. (Buc-ee is their beaver mascot.). These places are about 66,000 square feet, with 60 gas pumps and 84 toilets. They have yards of snacks, a gift shop, and prepared food. Their barbecue is especially good (try the brisket breakfast tacos!). I’ve been to Buc-ee’s many times but I’m always amazed by the sheer size and selection (does anyone really need 30+ kinds of potato chips?) but the best part is never having to wait in a restroom line. Everything may not really be bigger in Texas, but Buc-ee’s truly is!

If there is number one thing I miss from Japan, it must be the easy access to onigiris. You could get them everywhere, fresh, yummy,cheap and with lots of selection. Wish we had that kind of easy and relatively healthy snacks in Finland. Ofcourse rice has carbs but it is way better snack than a cheese burger or sweet buns that most of the "snack places" offer.

My husband is obsessed with the Combini's Fried Chicken. During our trip, almost every morning, he wanted to stop for some fried chicken! lol. But yes, combini are great in Japan!

I like to say that the konbini in Japan is really konbini. When it is inconvenient, I call it in-konbini.

Another east coast (New Jersey) person here to rave about Wawa. It’s definitely the closest we have to anything like a conbini, even if the eggs are always only hard boiled. Rip. What I’d give for an ooey gooey golden yolk! Great video. Love your moss ball plant. 💜

When I saw this was a video with you (Martina) in it I clicked so fast I have never seen one of your videos this quickly before, I’m so excited!!

I am happy to report that some convenience stores, a.k.a. gas stations, in the US are starting to sell decent pre-made dishes. Such as fresh pizza that you take home to bake, marinated meats, pastas, etc.

I live in south-Texas and i like that the gas stations have taquerias (taco stands) that have ladies who make fresh tacos everyday. Also aside from the gross fried food they sell the fried bean burritos, which are AMAZING, its common to eat them with a big soda and add some mustard on them.

In my region of the US, we have Kwik Star. It's technically a gas station, but it sells - really basic groceries like bread and tomatoes and onions and fresh meat - some canned goods and instant ramen and stuff - soft drinks and slushies and TONS of coffee including a machine that does frozen frappes and lemonade slushies to order - also alcohol - frozen pizza, half gallon tubs of ice cream, hot pockets - entire hot pizzas, or pizza by the slice - hot dogs and stuff of course, but they're not as gross as you'd expect - hot soups and sandwiches, there's even a condiment bar to put fresh lettuce and tomato and pickles and stuff on your sandwich - sometimes they even have giant soft pretzels or cheese filled breadsticks, both of which are very good - single serving salads - REALLY good fried chicken and fried chicken sandwiches - wiper fluid for your car or whatever, they are still a gas station lol - there's always an atm too Their food is cheaper and way better than McDonald's (or most fast food places in general) and I've never gotten sick from it. Closest thing America has to a konbini. I actually visited Kwik Star earlier today lol

Where I grew up (the Netherlands) we don't have convenience stores, only like a convenient selection of foods of one of the larger supermarkets so the first time in Japan I was amazed about the kombini. I used to live on the melon pan as a student. Nowadays it's my go to on the day I arrive because I just don't want to bother with cooking with a major jetleg so kombini bento is always on the menu. That they warm it up there is even better so I cannot screw it up hahaha and I kove it that the 7/11 bank machine works with foreign bank cards, so easy to get cash close to home.

I'm from Canada, so like Martina I associate convenience stores with snacks and dicey junk food. But I feel like the big chains are stepping up their game a bit to feel more like a fun and reliable place to get snacks, fast food, hot drinks, and simple but decent to-go sandwiches. But it's still not somewhere I would ever associate with health or quality food.

Great to have you back Martina!

Watching this video makes me miss combinis sooo much. Our convenience stores just really sell junk food, alcohol and tobacco. One thing you didn't mention is how most of them have nice clean toilets, a life saver for going about the cities!

Funny, 7-11 in Sweden are little grocery stores. As a former shift worker a lot of my shopping in odd hours was done there. They do have the slushies and the other crap too though.

Question: Are the conbini's items more expensive than the grocery stores? because normally in the U.S. the convenient stores are not cheaper than the regular grocery store, You're paying for it to be convenient so things typically are more expensive (depending on the item). Iv'e never been to a 7/11 here in the U.S. and have said "This is so much cheaper than the store" NEVER! lol so just wondering 🙃

Oh! I’m so excited to try that coffee! I live in the Bay Area and I did a double take when I heard Oakland ✨ thanks for all your konbini suggestions, we’ll have to find a way to show you around the world konibi hacks!!

I live in Germany . For now.. and most of the Gas Stations here have Espresso Bars and PreMade baguette sandwiches and pretzels (of course). Various other sweet bread options as well. Magazine stands are still a thing lol and the alcohol options are pretty nice. Not a lot of still water options at most gas stations I’ve visited but there is plenty of carbonated waters/sodas. Amazing vid @kingkogi , keep them coming !

In Germany we don't have convenient stores like that at all. We have those small corner stores usually near stations where you can buy beer,zigaretts, newspaper,... Other than that if you want food you go to a supermarket or bakery

Yay! Beautiful, Martina!!!! I hope you continue to upload more videos. I've been here from the beginning!

The concept, colors, aesthetics are sooo awesome. So pleasing to the eyes! Good work M!

Hi Martina!!! I love you!! I'm so excited to have more Japanese content and I hope you are doing well ❤❤❤

Love the King Kogi channel. This video here makes me feel like I've come back home after being away and everything is just how I remembered it. Very comforting.

I currently live in Taipei, Taiwan, and I had mapo tofu from familymart for lunch today hehe, used to feel bad when buying premade meals from convenience stores here but then I noticed many Taiwanese doing it too and so didn't feel like a gross foreigner anymore hehe, love this video Martina!

It makes me so happy to see videos from you again! :) keep up the great work Martina!

I visited Japan for a week and went to as many Conbini as possible since I've watched your videos and Mikey Chen's videos! Nothing but positive experiences on my side!

I traveled to Japan with a friend (who is half-Japanese and spoke the language, bless her heart she made the trip so much more enjoyable for me) and we would very often go get conbini dinners on the days when we were too tired to go out and sit at a restaurant to eat. The variety of meals (and desserts) were sooooo amazing, it was stupid fun browsing through all the shelves

I LOVED the conbinis in Japan when I went. Such a great time getting different snacks and drinks literally multiple times a day lol. When I went they did have the Oden out but I was too nervous about my Japanese to ask for it 😅 next time!

EGG mayo sandwich!!!#1 item for all conbini. I hate hate hate egg sandwich. But the ones in japan are so good every now and then I get egg mayo sandwich dreams 😂😂😂

I love this video, it felt so much like one of the old school eyk vids when hacker woman appeared, I'm so happy to see Martina happy and doing so well back in Japan ❤

NIKUMAN. I LOVED going to the konbinis in Japan and my favorite thing to get there was Nikuman. I spent 2 weeks (not long enough) in Japan and had a WHOLE bucket list of food try out and konbini food was on that list. SO GOOD! The breads are also amazing! Melonpan? ALL DAY. Nikuman? ALL DAY. Purin? ALL DAY. I'm from southeast Texas and the cajun food you can get in FRESH is amazing! Chevron had the best convenience stores in town. Boudin Balls and fried chicken. *chef's kiss* Amazing!

I'm from the Upper Midwest, USA and Kwik Trip's are the closest thing I've ever experienced to Japanese konbinis! Junk food, yes, but also fresh prepared meals, yummy sandwiches & wraps, both precut and whole fruits and veggies, frozen green and fruit smoothie machines, healthy snacks and fresh dairy, full bakery assortment with desserts and tons of types of quality bread, and literally the best fried chicken and tenders in the state. No sad roller hotdogs (they took them away a few years ago bc COVID to a tri-state community uproar which I found HILARIOUS bc they're literally the grossest thing 🤣).

I’m from Hawaii and have been to Japan at least 6 times. I love everything about it. I love the combini egg sandwiches and bowls. Everything I tried is quite delicious. I’m waiting to be able to go to Japan soon!

Was not expecting to hear coffee from West Oakland CA!! What a pleasant surprise from the SF Bay area 🙌

I live in america but the university I went to ran the chain convivence store at the corner of the campus! It was a small christian university so the food sold was in compliance to the religion's dietary restrictions, which was basically comfort food for those raised in the religion (best vegeburgers ever). And because the uni ran it, all the students could pay with their student id, which I think was taken from a tuition budget, but it could guarantee a late night snack or gas when your actual bank account was less than a dollar.

Ayyyyy Martina! Thanks for giving us the content we love and are here for!!!

I miss conbini and discounted bentos at the supermarkets 😭 Thank you for saving me for over 3 years!

In Switzerland we basically don’t have convenience stores, as in stores that are everywhere with long or 24/7 opening hours. The nearest thing are small gas station shops or kiosks, which have a very limited selection, are not as ubiquitous and in terms of the healthiness of the food they are not as healthy as Japan but are probably healthier than North America. So you do your grocery shopping at supermarkets, which are closed in the evening and on Sundays (safe a few exceptions in big train station). But they do carry a wide selection of mostly healthy take away foods and alcohol. The most fascinating thing about conbinis to me are these additional services like paying the bills and buying tickets and such. The closest thing here is that you have to buy the official garbage bags of the city/commune with the added fees at the supermarket.

Went to Japan last year right before COVID stopped everything, I feel so lucky. But yes the conbini's were a godsend. We could have good, quick and cheap meals to start the day, get cheap snacks/drinks for our shinkansen trips, and grab late night snacks on the way back to our place. Not only that but they had pretty much anything we needed on the fly. Vaseline, hair ties, nail clippers, shoe insoles, etc. I miss them a lot and can't wait to go back.

Hey Martina! I have a question… how do convenience stores in Japan compare to the ones in Korean 🤔. When I visit family in Korea I’m always amazed and love the food there, so I wanna know are they the same? It’s great to see you as always 🌟❣️

Martina!! Came here from KingKogi - the only reason I am re-subscribing to EYK. Great content - looking forward to more!!

When I was on vacation in Japan I absolutely loved eating butaman 🐽 (steamed bun with pork) from conbini!

So, I'm from the states, NJ specifically, and we have Wawa, which is AMAZING! Obviously it doesn't have what Japanese convenience stores have, but you can have a nice meal from there.

When I was in Japan, it was so convenient when it was my time of the month. The cashier would use a brown bag to cover my essentials. Also, many regrets buying/drinking alcohol but thank god for pocari sweat

Oh man. I was feeling all nostalgic (なつかしねー) until you mentioned oden towards the end of the video. And then. My six years of living in Japan came rushing back and I had a savage pang of jealousy and longing. Thank you for the sights along memory lane, but also how very dare you❤️

I'm so happy to see you again Martina!!!! I hope you've recovered well after your move and can't wait to see more content from you 🤗🤗

Lawson's has/had these AMAZING umeboshi strips. We were there in late 2018 and our travel buddy recommended them and I was instantly hooked. I brought so many of them home with me and have been so bummed that we haven't been able to go back to Japan so I can get more.

Loooved Japanese conbinis when I was there! I loved the canned coffee the most ☕

When I was an exchange student in Japan, Family Mart became my go-to conbini, mostly because it was the closest (7-Eleven and Lawson were too far for me to go to everyday). From my dorm there were two shops on two opposite ends I could go in less than five minutes.

One of my favorite things about konbinis in Japan is the following: free, CLEAN public toilets

Most definitely our family are fans of conbini. I was a fan of Family Mart but after our last trip I think Lawson edged them out slightly. So I reckon Lawson are tops with a close tie for second place being 7-Eleven and Family Mart. We love everything from the fried chicken, the onigiri, THE SANDOS!!!! And regular grocery items like snacks, and chocolate and milk and sake. Have I said how much I love conbini yet? Oh, my favourite snacks are the dorayaki - pancake sandos filled with butter and maple syrup (you can get them filled with red bean paste too) and purin - little cups of oh so delicious creme caramel custard. I have at least one a day of each while we're in Japan. 😍😍😍😍😋😋😋

Live for your videos and just started making myself ice cream coffees they’re addictive Love your vids!

I learned something new from Hacker Woman 😀. Trade operator made an appearance as well lol! Loved this video Captain Martina! 🙌🏻👏

My favorite item that makes me cry because i miss it so much is 7-11 has a mochi taiyaki with custard and vanilla bean filling, omg so good and so cute and so squishyyy.

You know what is MORE epic than a Conbini....MARTINA! Nuff said

My coworker and I often stop at family mart after work to eat fami-chiki and complain about life 😆

Yes to the minis!! And We also stop at every conbini to have a look inside haha

I have been to a Japanese conbini! I was amazed by the cakes! Even the packaged ones were so moist and fluffy. Also I developed an addiction to Pretz and I bought a ton of them from an online shop when I was back home (Chile) xD I live in Poland now and convenience stores also have some cool things here! I am vegetarian and there is a local chain called Żabka that has vegan sandwiches, vegan pre-made meals and a good selection of vegan friendly snacks, so I love going there and trying the different options they offer. It's not like in Japan thought, things are not made fresh every day. They are pre packaged and last a few days.

Where I am from in the US, the convenient stores attached to some gas stations has the same kind of selection but it is much more expensive than going to the grocery stores.

7-11's Hiyashi Chukka was so good when I had it. Also, Lawson had this amazing little lemon cake, I still dream about that thing.

I so love Family mart’s & Lawson’s natto onigiri. They’re the best. Also Lawson’s egg sando.

I want to go now! Ours are boring, but in PA....they have sit down convenience stores with EVERYTHING and known for really good fast meals.

The coffee!! I'm so glad Trade still sponsors you. I've been holding off until I finish moving. Sending love from Ohio!

Hi Martina, when my daughter and I were in Tokyo we had all our dinners from the Lawson family combini near our hotel. Before our first trip there she had watched your videos and knew so much about life in Tokyo, so thank you! We tried just about everything and were amazed at the quality of the food and the choices! We are Australian and here you would only eat out of a 7/11 if you were drunk or had a death wish 🤣🤣🤣🤣> we are so happy that you are back in Japan and we are planning our third (for me), fourth (for my daughter) trip to Japan…… 💖 💖

Is it just us that get so excited about supermarkets?? When we think about traveling to Japan we always think about going to this shops :D

Love you Martina! Not sure we really have an equivalent to a conbini here in England. There are like mini versions of our supermarkets, sometimes even called Tesco express, co-op ect. They can have enough food to be healthy and buy your week's shop but there's very little variety and any 'fresh' food is usually a little stale. They don't even have slushy machines at our ones here 😭😭😭💔

Bread. One thing I often didn't see in a conbini was bread. From my experience go to a bakery/cafe bc they only carry sliced white bread in the conbini and it's often sold out by afternoon. Also, the number on the bread bag is how many slices there are in the bag, ex. 4, 5, 6 are common 4 being much thicker sliced than 6

Lawson is my go-to for the fried chicken/ egg sandwiches/ delicious fluffy desserts, but 7-eleven is where I buy the yummy steamed buns! Well...I would if I could ever find the curry buns anymore.....

So interesting, the conbinis you are talking about remind me of the local Japanese grocer in my town. It seems they took some pages out of the convenience store book.

When I was on a vacation in Japan, I always go out late at night just to buy food even though I’ve been eating a lot the whole day. They just have a lot to choose from. Everyday I find new things that you don’t typically see in a Filipino convenience store. Do a konbini hopping next time! Hopefully you’ll make videos with other RU-vidrs there in Japan.

Wow! I thought Korean convenience stores were amazing but this is literally next level. In Russia, where I’m from, convenience stores are very sad, a place where you would only go for an emergency refill, when you ran out of drinking water or salt. Also a popular place for kids to buy ice cream or some snacks and soda (and old men because of cheap boose). They literally don’t sell any ready-to-eat meals, not even pre-made sandwiches like they do in Europe. Same thing used to be true for gas stations but recently there are a lot of really nice ones, that will have a variety of hot snacks and fresh coffee but they do charge pretty unreasonable prices, which is a shame.

You make the best videos Martina! Thank you

In the Netherlands we don't really have convenience stores. Mostly the supermarkets (albert heijn :p) are just everywhere and rather compact. If you are in a city and want a snack, there is probably one within 5 minutes walking. There are 'to go' shops in and around train stations though, that sell the very basics as well as more specific travel food items, usually at a slightly higher cost. Buying a coffee and a croissant at a self-checkout before jumping on a train is a classic.

I wish Canada would adopt this method of combini. Thankfully when I visited H-Mart in Toronto they did have a similar experience to what your describing in Japan

I specifically want to have a ruffle through a Japanese Conbini, I know my options will be slim but it's fun just to look and if I can literally try an umeboshi rice ball I would be more than happy since I've always wanted to try. I grew up in New Zealand (where the equivalent to a conbini is confusingly called a "dairy") and they are anything but convenient besides being dotted around more than a grocery store, the selection is minimal (but they usually have a better selection of ice lollies/popsicles than in Scotland) like as a vegan in a dairy I was much more hard pressed than it seems I would be in a conbini, and they charge you more than you'd pay for the same item in a grocery store (we called this the "price of convenience). They did sometimes offer hot chips, sausage rolls, or pies from a warmer thingy too, they used to get overrun when the schools got out. They could also heat up these big cookie time cookies you could get so they'd go all nice and soft, that was my highlight of those when I was a kid. I eventually moved back to Scotland and they call them a "corner shop" here (or something offensive) even though they're not always on a corner, they have a better selection than what I grew up with (except for with candy and icies) and the prices are a bit better but still a bit marked up from grocery stores and unlike literally every other store some will have a minimum transaction amount before you can pay with a card, but it's kinda random which ones it is so it can catch you off guard. Sometimes they carry juice/soda that other places don't though so that's fun. There is a bigger nationwide thing which I feel is actually closer to a conbini called the Co-op (and a similar thing called Scot-mid) which is priced pretty much the same as a grocery store, and it carries most of the general "genres" of food in a conbini, like there's sandwiches, little salads, a bit with some baked goods, drinks, and basic grocery items as well as simple off the shelf pharmacy stuff (paracetamol, sticky plasters, etc). It's kinda like a mini grocery store which is kind of how conbinis seem. They don't offer heat-n-eat stuff though (like ramen), unless it's in a tin and you take it home and cook it yourself. In both places they generally either operate shorter hours on a Sunday or don't open at all, but in the UK if you forget something on December 25th they'll sometimes be open for part of the day. This has been a weirdly in depth series of thoughts about conbini v dairy v corner shop.

It's so silly but boiled eggs at a tiny 7 11 blew my mind! I have never seen anything like that in Australia. I am so excited to go to more conbinis in my next Japan trip, yay!

My mind is blown that Americans/Canadians do not have the ability take a quick walk at 10.30pm "to the local" to get anything and everything from groceries, ready meals, toothpaste, lotto tickets, cigarettes and cooking ingredients - you have small versions of supermarkets with the suffix "Express", "Local" or "Mini" added on here which are dotted around within walking distance until you reach the outskirts of any given city. I have 4 within a 10 minute walking distance, all different brands. I love not needing to get a car.

I would love to re subscribe if we get more of these type of videos we love!!! Foodies UNITE!!!

yessssssssssssss konbini chicken is my fav, along with the plethora of fruit juice boxes. their desserts are amazing as well!

One thing I'd like to add.. considering how amazing all the food and selection is, it can be a big lifesaver if you are like me and can get easily overwhelmed / anxious while in Japan. If you aren't up to going out to eat and interacting with humans.. you can grab some stuff from the konbini and relax in your hotel for a bit :)

7:42 don't u mean.... AMAYONAISING?! i'm here all week

I remember picking up an onigiri in akihabara and Google translate telling me it was roasted hawk flavour 🤣

Please try Daily Yamazaki's red bean whip cream bread ! This bread is like OH MY GOD.

In Wisconsin we have Kwik Trip, and even though its a gas station they have fresh produce and meat, hot meals, heat and eat food, and a decent selection of groceries and alcohols 😀 Conbini’s look much higher quality but people in Wisconsin definitely do their grocery shopping while getting gas 😂