In Japan, anything can be found at a convenience store such as high-quality food, souvenirs, or even underwear! Not just products but they also offer services that will make your life so much easier such as ATMs machines, ticket reservation for events, mailing parcels, photocopying service and more. These stores are truly convenient and aim to make your life easier within a walking distant.

 

 

Convenience Stores in Japan

These stores are usually open 24 hours every day of the year, and there are usually convenience stores in every 1-2 kilometres. Currently, there are over 50,000 convenience stores in Japan, you will see that the top 3 major brands are 7-Eleven, Lawson and FamilyMart. There is no doubt that these stores are competing again each other to be Japan’s number 1 convenience store, but the truth is, they all offer similar services when it comes to your daily necessities. There are currently around 21,000 7-Eleven stores in Japan, 14,000 Lawson stores and around 17,000 Family Mart stores across Japan.

 

 

The Three Major Brands of Convenience Stores in Japan

7-Eleven definitely has majority of the market shares when it comes to convenience stores in Japan. With it being the first ever Japanese convenience store, the brand definitely holds its reputation of offering quality products and services, not only in Japan but in other countries around the world as well. Japanese 7-Eleven is popular for its fried food especially the “Nana” chicken that has been loved for its restaurant quality taste.

Family Mart started out as its own small independent stores but it has grown rapidly to where it is right now due to its adapting services in order to compete with big stores like 7-Eleven.  Lawsons was originally a dairy shop in partnership with a leading food company from the United States, it definitely has a homely atmosphere every time you enter the store. It even has its own home brand called UchiCafe SWEETs which produces a lot of bakery and sweets that you should definitely try!

Japan is wonderful in countless ways, but their convenience stores are also travellers friendly and great for those who don’t speak Japanese, truly convenient in its own luxury.

 

 

 

 

 

Things you can do

If it is your first-time visiting Japan, you might be surprised at the number of things that can be done at convenience stores. We will introduce some of the services they offer that may come in handy for your trip to the wonderful land of Japan!

 

 

1. Pay utility bills (Electricity/Gas/Water/Phone/Internet)

This is quite a regular service in Japan, it is nothing exciting, but you can pay for your monthly bills at the convenience stores in Japan. Usually, people will often take their bills to the local stores and pay them at the cash register. The cashier will give you a stamped slip to confirm the payment has been made. Save yourself all the traveling time and cost by heading to your local stores and pay for all your bills such as electricity, gas, water and phone bills all at once!

 

 

2. ATM Machines Available for International Cards

 

 

This one is great for travellers, instead of finding your ways to the bank or ATMs, you can withdraw cash through ATM machine at the local convenient stores. Usually there is a little cost with the domestic banks (around 100-200 yen depending on the time), however there are more extra transfer fees if you use international cards (around 300 yen combining with your bank charge). But it will save you the time and stress when you are in an argent need for money and it will make your trip much smoother.

 

 

3. You Can Send Packages from a Convenience Store

 

Photo: koneta.nefty.com

 

Got parcels to send via mail? In general, Japan relies on a lot of posting services, so you can expect these services to come in handy while you’re living here. To save a trip to the post office, you can buy prepaid letter packs and stamps, so all you need to do is seal your mail and pop it into the nearest post-box. Mailboxes are installed in Lawson, Lawson 108 and Ministop.

 

You can also post your letter pack at some convenience stores. Some stores will also send or receive takkyubin (courier) packages for you, e.g. through Yamato Kuroneko. You will need to look for the relevant signboard outside or ask the cashier if this service is available.

 

 

4. Eat in at a convenience store

 

 

Many Japanese convenience stores will actually have allocated seating areas for customer to eat. Don’t get it confused, it is not a dining area where you can sit and talk to your friends for hours. It is often for those in a time rush, e.g. heading to work or school, so it is great to be able to sit and enjoy a quick meal and move on with your day. Usually, some stores will also provide boiling water for when you want to make ramen and other soups.

 

 

5. Bathrooms

 

Photo by Faizal Ramli

 

This one is especially great at sightseeing places that travellers often go to explore Japan. For the most part, bathrooms are not quite easy to find in Japan, only places like shopping centres have public bathroom. So, you will find that some convenience stores in Japan actually have toilets for you to use and it is free of charge.

 

 

6. Free Wifi

 

 

Free Wifi is great when you are lost or cannot get proper internet signal in some areas. Most convenience stores will kindly have free Wifi for you to use in time of need.

 

 

7. Printing and Scanning Documents

 

 

No printer at home? No problem—take your documents/photos to the convenience store, on a USB stick, SD card or the like, and put it through the multi-function printing machine and you can almost print anything you need! Black and white copies/prints cost about 10 yen per page, and a range of sizes are available. 

As strange as it sounds, Japan still heavily relies on sending important documents by fax which is the reason why these necessary faxing machines are being offered to some people who do not own a fax machine at home.

 

 

8. Have Your Packages Delivered to a Convenience Store

Other than sending the packages out, you can also use the convenience store location as a pick-up spot for your parcels. This just means that the courier will drop off your parcel at the specific stores and you can pick it up from there! How convenient!

 

 

9. Donations

Want to donate but not sure where? Yes, you can also donate to various organisations at  convenience stores in Japan, and you will receive a receipt that confirms your money has gone towards a good cause. Not only you can buy delicious meals from the stores, but you can also deliver good cause to the world by donating through convenience stores. 

 

 

10. Order Gifts

 

 

Gifting season can be difficult especially when you don’t have the time. You can give year-end gifts that are offered through the convenience store catalogue without going to a department store during that busy time of the year.

 

 　　　　　

Photo: mark-sweet.com

 

 

11.Concert Tickets, Highway Bus Tickets and Airline Tickets

Yes! You can buy tickets for concerts, events, bus or train tickets, all at the convenience store! This is a great and easy way for travellers to purchase tickets on the go, especially if you don’t have access to internet or printer to print your tickets. They will do it all for you! You can use the machines to purchase tickets from there, save yourself the trouble of purchasing the tickets through agencies and such.

 

 

12. Bento Reservation

 

Photo: biz-journal.jp

 

Last but not least, they also offer bento reservation. If you need a large amount of lunch boxes, for things such as a local event or school event, you can also pre-order bento boxes and have it delivered to you or pick up from the store.

 

 

 

Sources

Matcha-jp

Conveni24

News.livedoor

Wow-j

News.merumo

Jnavi.yoiwork

 

Photos

Diamond-rm

Resources.realestate

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