LD's Guide to Japan

Conbini (コンビニ, also sometimes written in English as ‘konbini’ or ‘combini’): It is the common-use shortening of “conbiniensu sutoa,” which if you sound it out in that very special (read “horrifying”) Japanese way, you might be able to decipher its meaning: convenience store. But forget everything you know about convenience stores in any other place of the world outside of Japan. In America, convenience stores are sad, dreary places where children go to get slurpees and adults go because they’re drunk and don’t know where else to go. Conbinis, however, are shiny, clean places where pretty much EVERYONE, at one point or another, will visit on a regular basis. This makes conbinis a central and fascinating part of modern Japanese life and culture.  Let’s take a closer look at what makes these enigmatic stores so important and so, well, convenient (yes, I said it).  I’ve broken it down into two categories: Accessibility, and Available Goods and Services.

Accessibility.  According to the Japan Franchise Association, as of August, 2009, there are 42,345 conbinis in all of Japan (for comparison, there are just over 31,000 McDonald’s locations worldwide).  This is a country of only about 146,000 sq. mi. (378,000 sq. km.)—roughly the size of California—which means there’s one conbini per every 3.45 sq. mi. (about 1 per every 8.94 sq. km.) of land.  And that’s without taking into account the fact that almost 80% of Japan’s land space is mountainous, where humans (and, of course, conbinis) are quite scarce.  So in habitable areas, no matter where you are, there is pretty much always a conbini within walking distance.  And if you’ve ever been to one of Japan’s major cities, you know there’s a conbini on just about every block.

Also, most conbinis are open 24 hours, and those that aren’t will at least stay open well after the grocery stores and other similar shops close (generally around 8:00).  When you live out in the country like me, it’s a beautiful thing to see the lights of a conbini shine like a beacon in the middle of a dark sea of rice fields at night.

Available Goods and Services.  Despite their generally small size, there is a very large variety of products available at conbinis.  You can go there to grab a snack or a drink, some beer or cigarettes; You can pick up a bento for lunch or dinner, which are delivered to the stores and restocked every few hours to make sure they stay fresh (although they’re generally not the healthiest eating option).  You can hit up a conbini for some everyday-use items, some toiletries, or pick up the latest issue of your favorite magazine (or if you want to be really Japanese, just stand in the store reading it for an hour and then leave).  The available merchandise might be slightly different from store to store, but it’s basically almost all the same no matter where you go.  In some larger conbinis you can do your grocery shopping (no meats, I would guess, but I have seen fruits and vegetables for sale at conbinis before).  In areas (like Shimbashi, where I lived in Tokyo in 2007) that are heavy with businessmen, the conbinis will tend to cater more to that market by selling a higher number of cigarettes and liquor, adult magazines, and even go so far as to sell cheap businesswear and underwear for the salarymen that have been out drinking all night and need a change of clothes to go back to work in (a surprisingly common occurence).

Conbinis also offer a great many services.  They usually have ATMs and copy/fax machines.  They often offer instant digital photo printing.  Some have a delivery service.  You can buy tickets to concerts, sports events, and even travel tickets (bus/train) at conbinis.  You can pay for items you purchased online (credit/debit cards are not nearly as widespread here as they are in the US, so many websites give people a bar code so they can pay in cash at a conbini).  It is even possible (and in some cases necessary) to pay your gas, water, electric, cable, internet, cell phone, and/or insurance bills at a conbini.  And if you’ve ever walked around in a big city in Japan you may have realized there’s one other thing conbinis provide that is quite a rarity: public trash cans (usually stationed outside, by the entrance).

So if you’re ever in Japan, be sure to drop into a conbini (which may be inevitable, anyways), enjoy the staff yelling “Irasshaimasse” (“Welcome”) at you as you walk in, and take in that little microcosm of modern Japanese life.