Japan’s Ubiquitous Convenience Stores Are the Pride of the Nation
Convenience store sweets enchant reporters from all over the world
What did you think was the most striking thing about the (controversial) Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games held this summer amid the COVID-19 pandemic? Skateboarding? Artistic swimming? Fencing? Judo? Or International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach’s long speech at the opening ceremony?
Nope. Something unexpected stole the show: Japan’s ubiquitous convenience stores. Many reporters from many different parts of the world posted pictures and comments on social media in praise of snacks and sweets they got at Japanese convenience stores.
Convenience store sweets won the hearts and minds of journalists from around the world
For example, Singapore-based Channel News Asia journalist Matthew Mohan tweeted:
Toronto-based CBC News reporter Devin Heroux tweeted:
These tweets caught my attention. Convenience stores, known as “konbini,” are literally ubiquitous in our country. Most of them offer around-the-clock services 365 days a year and are an essential part of Japanese lives. According to a survey conducted by Nippon Software Service, we had 56,948 convenience stores in Japan including 7-Eleven, Family Mart, and Lawson — three convenience store giants.
A wide range of goods and services
Convenience stores sell various kinds of food, including snacks and sweets, onigiri (rice balls), sandwiches, bread, bento (boxed lunches), nikuman (steamed bun filled with meat and vegetables), and oden (Japanese hotpot with ingredients like daikon [Japanese radish], tofu [bean curd], and boiled eggs.) They also sell alcoholic beverages, including beer, sake, and wine, and all kinds of hot and cold beverages, such as coffee, tea, water, juice, and milk. Convenience stores also carry cosmetics, toilet paper, batteries, notebooks, newspapers, magazines, and many other daily goods.
They also offer a wide range of services:
- Terminals for purchasing tickets for sporting events and concerts
- Copy machine and fax
- ATMs for cash and banking services
- Payment of utility, phone, and insurance bills
- Parcel and postal deliveries
My favorite (recommended) 7-Eleven sweets
I am a sweet-tooth Japanese translator who often buys confectionery at a nearby 7-Eleven. Here are some of my favorite 7-Eleven sweets.
Giant Cone
This chocolate ice cream cone comes in three main flavors: Chocolate Nut, Cookie & Chocolate, and Chocolate & Milk. All of these are crispy and the cones have chocolate coatings on the inside, stuffed down to their tails with chocolate.
Pucchin Pudding
This is one of Japan’s best-selling pudding products. The pudding is made from selected raw milk, condensed milk with rich sweetness and much body, and richly-flavored butter blended with carefully selected domestic eggs that bring out the thickness and body of the milk. The caramel is marked by a harmonious balance between its sweet scent that brings out a sense of the pudding’s milk and its flavor. If you place the container upside down and snap a little tab on the back, you can release its contents onto your plate. Watch this video.
Jersey Milk Pudding
When I ate this pudding product for the first time in 2017, I fell in love with it at first bite. It features a combination of thick and full-bodied Jersey milk and cream. I have been a hostage of its soft and smooth flavor that’s milky and creamy since my first taste of it.
Morinaga Milk Cocoa
This beverage product just made its nationwide market debut on August 31, 2021. It is the handy version of Morinaga’s standard Milk Cocoa, powdered milk cocoa series. I am such a hot chocolate lover that I like this sweet beverage very much. I savor every drop of its sweet taste. Because it is in a container with a cap on it, it is very handy.
Eclair
Look at this golden custard wrapped in a chocolate-coated soft puff pastry! It’s moderately sweet, which enchants my tongue all the better. The custard looks like it’s about to spill out. The moment it comes into my mouth, it feels soft and smooth on the tongue.
Soft Mont Blanc with Italian chestnuts
Mont Blanc is the name for the mountain in the Alps that’s the highest in Europe, as well as a luxury fountain pen brand, and a chestnut cream cake. I am sure most of you would choose the cake if asked to pick one from among these three. This Mont Blanc cake sold at 7-Eleven is made from a sponge cake dice, pasted chestnuts, and whipped cream on top of whipped custard, topped with whipped chestnuts that smoothly melt in the mouth. It is priced at just about 300 yen ($2.70 US dollars), including consumption tax!
Now that you have been through this story, you should be totally fascinated by Japanese convenience store sweets!!
