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The Ultimate Battle for Ham Sandwich Supremacy – we rank Japan’s convenience store sandwiches

Katie Pask Jul 8, 2020
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Who will take the crown in the battle for the top?

Sandwiches. Is there anything better? Of course, Japan being Japan, you can find a number of unique sandwich fillings wherever you go, ranging from the delicately beautiful all the way to the objectively disgusting. But there are times where you just don’t feel like being adventurous and yearn for a simple ham sandwich. Luckily, Japanese convenience stores have you covered, as you can find packaged sandwiches in stores nationwide.

We decided to taste test sandwiches from the three big hitters when it comes to Japanese convenience stores – Lawson, Family Mart and 7-Eleven. All three sandwiches are enticingly named “Juicy Ham”, but was that all they had in common? How did they taste? How juicy was the ham? And more importantly, how sensible were they? Fear not; SoraNews24 has done the hard work so you don’t have to!

The stage was set, with the three combatants ready for battle. All three sandwiches had ham and cucumber inside, with the Lawson and 7-Eleven sandwiches costing 250 yen (US$2.30). The Family Mart version was marginally cheaper at 239 yen (US$2.20). The Lawson sandwich had mustard mayo, but that’s not all that was impressive about the Lawson ham sandwich…

Check out the meaty filling in the Lawson sandwich! Phwoar!

When lined up against the other sandwiches, it’s easy to see the difference. The Lawson sandwich is jam-packed with ham, although it’s worth mentioning that the Lawson sandwich only comes with two sandwiches per pack, whereas the other two come in packs of three. It could be that the same amount of ham is present in all three sandwich varieties, but in the Lawson sandwich it’s been crammed in, like trying to shove all your clothes in your closet.

▼ Even for ham fans out there, this is a ridiculous amount of ham, surely?!

So in the category, ‘Sandwich Sensibleness‘, we decided to give the Lawson sandwich a 0. Look at it. Would any sane person be able to eat so much ham in one sandwich?

As for the taste? Well, the Lawson sandwich definitely has a hint of mustard, but really they should consider changing the name of the sandwich from ‘Juicy Ham’ to ‘Overwhelming Juicy Ham’. The amount of ham is just too much. It kind of feels like you’re just eating ham straight from the packet. The bread, mayo and cucumber have no impact at all. Sorry, Lawson.

How about the remaining competitors? The 7-Eleven sandwich had a strong mayonnaise taste, but there was a hint of spice in there too. As we checked the ingredients list, we noticed the mayonnaise had horseradish in it. Now this was a proper ham sandwich. Not overdoing it on the ingredients, just a simple ham sandwich.

The Family Mart sandwich actually goes by the full name ‘Standard Popular Juicy Ham Sandwich’, and as the name suggests, it was kind of basic. Nothing to write home about in particular, but also nothing to complain about either. Just your run-of-the-mill ham sandwich. It’s probably no one’s favourite sandwich, but you wouldn’t regret buying it, either.

So in the end, it all depends on your mood as to which sandwich you might prefer. If you want something unsurprising and predictable, go for the Family Mart sandwich. If you want a sensible, well-balanced sandwich, the 7-Eleven version is the sandwich for you. If you’ve lost all sense of reason and just want to let go of your inhibitions, the crazy ham-packed sandwich is waiting for you at your local Lawson. Although Lawson’s Overwhelming Juicy Ham is nothing compared to this 20-slice beef sandwich from Subway!

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[ Read in Japanese ]