Konbini (コンビニ or konbiniensu sutoa コンビニエンスストア) are convenience stores in Japan that sell everything and are open 24 hours a day, every day, and are spread throughout Japan, leaving any grocery store or small market in the dust.
Inside the Konbini, you can find everything, in addition to the normal things from a market, you can find snacks, obento (lunch box), stationery items, ATMs, pharmaceutical products, tickets and passes for events, prepaid cards, bill payments, seasonal products, you can find absolutely everything, we keep a huge list at the end.
A large number of people prefer to have lunch with the lunch boxes from a konbini to save money and avoid too much hassle. The konbini lunches are placed up to 4 times a day straight from the factory, and you can heat your lunch box at the konbini itself. Not to mention the countless hot and cold drinks to accompany your lunch.
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Konbini Chains
There are more than 55 thousand konbini spread throughout Japan, in some places you can find one on every corner. Not to mention that these convenience stores belong to large chains like Seven Eleven, Lawson, Family Mart, and others. The konbini emerged around the 1970s with 7-Eleven Japan wanting to expand its business.
Currently in Japan, the ranking of konbini is divided among the following chains:
- Seven Eleven – 16,319 stores
- Lawson – 11,606 stores
- Family Mart – 10,547 stores
- Circle K Sunkus – 6,359 stores
- Ministop – 2,218 stores
- Daily Yamazaki – 1,600 stores
There are several other chains not mentioned in the article, some tend to be in certain regions of Japan, while others have few stores.
The attendants of the konbini use a formal keigo language, and must know English to serve customers in the best possible way. Some of these konbini even promote events, special products, raffles, and various things for the community.
List of Products and Services
See a list of most products, advantages, and conveniences that these convenience stores offer to the community in Japan. Remembering that the list does not even cover half of what a konbini offers, and sometimes the list includes items that not all konbini have.
- Food
- Obento (lunch box)
- Onigiri
- Oden
- Various types of bread
- Drinks of all kinds
- Confectionery, Sweets
- Cup noodles and instant food
- Ice creams and popsicles
- Fresh foods
- Frozen foods
- Cooking products
- Meats, poultry, and fish
- Spices
- Tobacco and cigarettes
- Chinese buns
- Health and Beauty
- Cosmetics
- Accessories
- Stain removers
- Soap, Shampoo, Deodorants
- Sewing products
- Food and products for pets
- Fabric, toilet paper, sanitary napkins, condoms
- Paper bags
- Garbage bags
- Some medicines
- Energy drinks and supplements
- Contact lenses
- Office Supplies
- Postcards
- Stamps, tax stamps
- New Year postcards
- Congratulations and condolence envelopes
- Stationery items
- Entertainment
- Music CDs, DVDs, game software
- Toys
- Action Figures
- Manga and Books
- Card games
- Lottery
- Board games, mahjong, Shogi, GO
- Magazines, newspapers
- Others
- Kitchen utensils
- Umbrellas, Raincoats
- Batteries
- Phone chargers, SD cards, USB drives
- Prepaid cards
- Prepaid mobile phones
- Fireworks
- Gifts
- Fishing products
- Car products
- Services
- Cash withdrawal
- Bill payment
- Xerox, Printing, Scanning, Fax
- Public services
- Mail services
- Delivery services
- Moving services
- Event tickets
- Bus tickets and cards
- Accounting and Tax Declaration
- NHK subscription fee
- Resident card
- Cleaning Agency
In some cases, you can go to a konbini to use the bathroom, throw away trash, or even to sleep in your car in the parking lots. Others go to konbini just to browse magazines and read without buying, some konbini even offer job vacancies, events, and numerous promotions.
The number of advantages that a konbini offers is truly large!
To finish, I will leave some videos for you to see what it’s like inside a konbini.
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