Foreigners rave about Japanese convenience stores! What’s different about them?

Wednesday 29/05/2024 | 15:49 PM

Convenience stores are popping up all over the world. In Japan, they are called “konbini” for short. Why are they so highly praised when the same type of business is found all over the world?

Let’s take a look at the surprising things about Japanese convenience stores.

Bentos are beautiful and tasty!
I think the first thing that most people notice is the quality of the bentos.

What do you think? Beautiful and tasty bentos and above all, the price of one is cheaper than eating in a restaurant.

It’s also great that you can buy them 24 hours a day.

Moreover, you can also get soba.

The soup and noodles are packaged separately, so there is no risk of the noodles absorbing the soup. The fact that this is achieved with simple packaging is Japanese otaku (“geek”) technology.

Sweets are so fulfilling
Convenience store sweets are so fulfilling that you’ll wonder if you need to go to a cake store!

You can buy sweets of this quality late at night, so they make it hard to maintain a diet.

Toilets
Most convenience stores will let you use the restroom, although many do not have them in urban areas. They are a lifesaver when you’re experiencing stomach trouble.

Multi-function copiers with too many functions

Starting with just the ability to print, these machines have become more complex and can now do many things. You may know about photocopying and faxing, but they now sell event and soccer tickets, you can purchase insurance and order documents in conjunction with government services. Furthermore, you can upload documents to the internet and then select them at any convenience store in Japan and print them out.

While I have been away from Japan, the functions of these machines have changed so much that when I came back, I no longer knew how to use them.

Japan’s unique and perverse specifications have become so complicated as a result of seeking convenience not found in other convenience stores. This is typical of Japan. The machines are convenient, but how many people actually know how to use them?

Even more amazing are the foreign staff working in these convenience stores. It is said that many of them are Vietnamese. Convenience store cash registers and multifunctional machines are becoming more and more multifunctional, with a large number of products, both cigarettes and snacks.

It is astounding that foreigners are doing the job of explaining this. Perhaps the most amazing thing about Japanese convenience stores is their foreign staff!

ABE KENGO