The Japanization of the American Convenience Store
By 
As most of you know, I find the average food in the United States to be not good compared to many other countries and it is really at its worst as its low end. Just like any sandwich at any given train station in Europe is better than 99% of sandwiches one gets in the United States, the food at our convenience stores is an abomination of just the very worst food this country has to offer. But it has gotten better lately. A new generation of stores has upped their game. It’s not great, but if I want something that isn’t just fat and carbs, I can actually get that. So if you are on the road, OK, it’s better than it was 5 years ago even and far better than 15 years ago. Sad state of affairs when some hard boiled eggs or a little protein pack of nuts and cheddar cubes is an improvement, but here we are.
When I flew to Japan in 2022, I had a life-changing experience, which I may have shared before. I flew to Tokyo and was of course completely exhausted by the time I finally got to my hotel. Narita is nowhere close to downtown Tokyo and then I had to figure out Shinjuku Station, itself an adventure. I finally get to my room. I just want a beer and a snack and then to my room and hopefully sleep. So I walk outside. Because I was on the edge of Shinjuku, I walk outside my hotel, turn a corner, and BOOM, full Japanese neon world. Whoa! But I see a 7/11 and I’m like, OK, this will do. I walk in and…..what is this? This food looks really good! And so much variety! I ended up getting a package of a tofu and seaweed salad and some other stuff and was blown away. So I began to explore the convenience stores as one does in Japan and the onigiri and the egg salad sandwiches and the tonkatsu sandwiches, and everything else, I mean, one can eat pretty damn well just by going to 7/11 and Lawson’s. I’m like, why can’t we have this in the U.S.? Why do we get Cheetos and those horrifying hot dog roller machines? This is a really good overview of what one can get from a 7/11 in Japan.
Few Americans probably realize that 7-Eleven, the apotheosis of crappy American gas station food, is actually owned by a Japanese company, Seven & I Holdings. While it began as an American company, it was bought out by its Japanese affiliate in the late 1980s after the original business suffered through a spiraling downfall of debt and other financial difficulties. Now the franchise is reinventing itself by bringing more Japanese snacks into its line of U.S. offerings, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Frankly, the company probably could’ve done this way earlier, and seen windfall profits. Who doesn’t like a good rice ball once in a while? According to the Journal’s video, the snacks heading your way soon include ramen, rice balls, milk tea, and other favorites. For a significant demographic, I think it is a lot more appealing than dry, day-old hotdogs, bad coffee, and cigarettes.
I almost cried. You think the world is terrible? I mean, sure, OK, but let’s hold onto the good things, like onigiri!