Japanese convenience stores are simply amazing—if simply for the variety and quality of goods they serve in their mini establishments. Japanese conbini food are not hot dogs. The sheer variety of conbini food you’ll encounter for the first time would be surprising, to say the least. So much so that there are lots of topics centered around budget eating in Japan with just convenience store food.
During your strolls on the streets of Tokyo, getting hungry, or quenching that impulse for a snack won’t be a problem. You also won’t feel guilty snacking because a lot of the food sold at conbinis are way healthier compared to the food sold in the convenience stores in Western countries. Why can’t we take their example?
Onigiri
This triangle-shaped delicacy wrapped in crunchy seaweed is both delicious and rich with fibers. Onigiri is the name for riceballs stuffed with various fillings, wrapped in seaweed. The price for one onigiri is usually around 100 JPY. They’re both cheap and filling. Eaten between lunch and dinner, two to three pieces of onigiri could already make you full.
Daifuku
Daifuku is a popular Japanese confectionary, some people know the term “mochi” better. Mochi is the dough used in making daifuku. Daifuku is commonly stuffed with sweet fillings. Sweet red bean paste is the traditional filling of daifuku. There are a large variations of fillings. One notable daifuku I encountered during my travels is a whole-strawberry fruit filled daifuku. Yum!
Seafood Futomakizushi
Futomakizushi literally means “fat rolled sushi”. These sushi rolls are slightly larger compared to the regular makizushi. They’re very filling and simply delicious. The seafood futomakizushi often has a large variety of fillings such as salmon trout, cucumber, crabs, and other fillings. These are beautiful, colorful sushi rolls great for both a big meal or a snack.
All the makizushis you can find
Not just futomakizushi—any makizushi you can find is something worth digging into. Makizushi is “sushi roll”, which are popular finger food in East Asia. They are plentiful in the convenience stores. FamilyMart and Lawson sell a good variety of these makizushi bento. There are kappa-maki, which is sushi made out of cucumber, shibazuke-maki, which is sushi roll with pickled eggplant, and many other mouthwatering varieties.
Dorayaki
Dorayaki is a Japanese confection that resembles pancake, with red bean paste called “azuki” as its filling. The store 7-Eleven once sold a modified take on dorayaki, attractively shaped like a crepe, a bit smaller than the regular dorayaki, served with maple syrup. Dorayaki price generally ranges from 100 JPY to 300 JPY. They’re a very addictive type of sweet snack that gives you much lighter taste compared to sweets made out of chocolate and cheese, for example, thanks to the taste of red bean paste.
