Konbini (コンビニ ou konbiniensu sutoa コンビニエンスストア) Convenience stores in Japan sell everything and are open 24 hours a day, located all over Japan, leaving any grocery store or small shop in the dust.
Inside the Konbini , you can find everything, besides the normal things from a market, you can find snacks, obento (bento), stationery items, ATM, pharmaceutical products, tickets and es 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 a konbini lunch box to save money and not have too much work. Konbini lunches are served up to 4 times a day straight from the factory, you can heat your lunch box in the konbini itself. Not to mention the countless amount of hot and cold drinks to accompany your lunch.
Table of Contents
Konbini networks
There are more than 55,000 konbini spread all over 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 appeared around the 1970s with 7-Eleven Japan, which wanted 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 networks not mentioned in the article, some are usually in a certain region of Japan, others have few stores.
The attendants at konbini use a formal keigo language, and they must know English to better serve the customers. Some of these konbini still promote events, special products, raffles, and various things for the community.
List of Products and Services
See a list of most of the products, advantages and facilities that these convenience stores offer the community in Japan. ing that the list is not even half of what a konbini offers, and sometimes there is something on the list that not all konbini have.
- Food
- Obento (lunch box)
- Onigiri
- Oden
- Various types of bread
- Beverages of all kinds
- Confectionery, Sweets
- Cup noodles and instant food
- Ice creams and popsicles
- Fresh food
- Frozen food
- Kitchen 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 pet products
- Fabric, toilet paper, sanitary napkins, condoms
- Paper bags
- Trash bags
- Some medicines
- Energy drinks and supplements
- lenses
- Office supplies
- Postcards
- Stamps, tax stamps
- New Year postcard
- Congratulations and condolence envelopes
- Stationery items
- Entertainment
- Music CDs, DVDs, video game software
- Toys
- Action Figures
- Mangas and Books
- Card games
- Lottery
- Board games, mahjong, Shogi, GO
- Magazines, newspapers
- Others
- Kitchen utensils
- Umbrellas, Raincoats
- Batteries and cells
- Phone chargers, SD cards, Pen drives
- Prepaid cards
- Prepaid mobile phones
- 花火
- Gifts
- Fishing products
- Car products
- Services
- Cash withdrawal
- Bill payment
- Xerox, Printing, Scanning, Fax
- Public services
- Postal services
- Delivery services
- Moving services
- Tickets for events
- Bus tickets and card
- ing and Tax return
- NHK subscription fee
- Resident card
- Cleaning agency
In some cases, you can go to a konbini to use the bathroom, take out the garbage, or even sleep in the car in the parking lots. Others go on konbini just to flip through magazines and read without buying, some konbini even offer job openings, events and numerous promotions.
The number of advantages that a konbini offers is really great!
To finish, I'll leave some videos for you to see what it's like inside a konbini.
