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convenience store (Page 9)

5 reasons Japanese convenience stores rock

Scott R Dixon
Dec 23, 2013
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You have probably noticed that we here at RocketNews24 are huge fans of Japanese convenience stores. And if you have ever lived in or visited Japan, odds are you too came to love these amazing places. But what exactly makes Japanese convenience stores so different and special compared to those overseas? Click below to see five reasons why we think these “conbini” totally live up to the hype!

Japan
(business • convenience store • convenience store food • food • foreigners in Japan • service)

The collaboration of our dreams: KFC crispy chicken flavored potato chips!

Krista Rogers
Dec 20, 2013

Following last year’s wildly popular potato chips collaboration product, Calbee and KFC are back again to ring in the new year with round two. Introducing new Colonel Crispy Chicken flavored potato chips!

Japan
(Calbee • collaboration • convenience store • KFC)

We visit a Japanese convenience store in Hawaii, recommend the Spam

Master Blaster
Nov 19, 2013

Convenience stores play an integral part of life in Japan. The various chains themselves appear to have a life and ecosystem of their own sprouting up and dying off all over the urban landscape in fierce competition. Regardless of which one you choose, be it Lawson, Family Mart, 7-Eleven, Mini-Stop or one of the other countless chains, you can always expect to find some high quality stuff.

No one knows this better than our food reporter Kuzo who has sampled every form of junk food the nation’s convenience stores have to offer. This time, however, he leaves the shores of Japan to test the wares of a remote branch of the famous Lawson Station chain in Hawaii.

USA
(convenience store • hawaii • Lawson • spam)

Oden best-sellers at Japan’s top convenience stores

Master Blaster
Oct 31, 2013

As the temperatures gradually sink into a chilly winter, convenience stores all across this great nation start to kick their oden pots into high gear. For those unacquainted with this Japanese dish, oden is basically any type of food soaked and simmered in a flavorful broth. The type of soup used varies by regions but is usually very savory.

Although not the only place to get oden, convenience stores are thought of as the first place to get it. That’s why Japan’s three biggest convenience stores – 7-Eleven, Family Mart, and Lawson – are all competing to find that perfect ingredient to simmer and sell to the hungry masses.

To help kick-off this year’s oden season in Japan, Excite News has released the five most popular oden foods at each of the big three stores. First up is Lawson!

Japan
(convenience store • food • oden)

Onigiri taste test: Which convenience store will win?

Oona McGee
Sep 29, 2013

Walk into any convenience store in Japan and you’ll see the staples: magazines, drinks, snacks, and the ubiquitous onigiri. And when it comes to onigiri, the world-famous rice ball wrapped in seaweed, one of the hands-down most popular is the salmon variety, with salty, sweet, succulent flakes of orange salmon at its centre.

So which convenience store sells the best salmon onigiri? We decided to conduct a taste test in our offices to declare a winner, pitting the top three – 7-Eleven, Lawson and Family Mart – against each other in a battle befitting the rice ball’s feudal origins. With a set of scales, the slice of a knife and a merchant tester, we begin.

Japan
(convenience store • food and drink • onigiri)

10 awesome ice creams available from convenience stores in Japan

Philip Kendall
Jul 19, 2013

The country may not be especially well known for its confection and frozen treats, but you’d better believe that Japan loves its ice cream. Whatever the season, there are hundreds of varieties to choose from, and chain stores like Baskin Robbins and Ben & Jerry’s attract enormous lines on a daily basis, constantly whipping up new flavours to appeal to the Japanese palate.

Today, we’d like to take you on a tour of the konbini aisu, or convenience store-bought ice cream, of Japan. They may not be quite as sophisticated as your top-of-the-range Häagen-Dazs offerings, but boy are they tasty, and since they’re available for just a couple of hundred yen each you can afford to treat yourself pretty much every day this summer. We hope you’re hungry!

Japan
(convenience store • cool • food • ice cream • papico)

Convenience store freezer diver flamed by ice-cream loving Netizens

Cara Clegg
Jul 17, 2013

Sometimes the heat here in Japan really does get too much, but this mystery guy’s cool-down method seems to have backfired. Angry Japanese Netizens are up in arms at the possibility that the selfish iceman may have sullied precious ice-cream with his stinky sweat.

Japan
(combini • convenience store • hygiene • ice cream • internet • Lawson)

Convenience stores’ room-temperature drinks get warm reception on hot days

Rachel Tackett
Jun 19, 2013

Whenever I’m forced to suffer the humid heat of Tokyo’s hot and rainy summers, I’m grateful for the large number of vending machines and convenience stores, all ready to sell me a nice, cold drink. It seems that not everyone shares my excitement, however, as a large percentage of Japan’s residents have shown distaste for chilled beverages. Some quote health reasons, while others just don’t like cold drinks. Lucky for them, the convenience store, Daily Yamazaki, is ready to meet their call.

Japan
(convenience store • Daily Yamazaki • drinks)

Lawson Convenience Store Goes Dragon Quest X Crazy, Puts In-Game Goodies Up for Grabs

Philip Kendall
Mar 21, 2013

Never shy of running a cool promotional offer or two, Japanese convenience store Lawson has announced that it will be transforming one of its Tokyo outlets into a video game castle to mark the launch of the Nintendo Wii U version of hugely popular game Dragon Quest X. Even better, visitors to the store will be able to bag themselves a whole host of themed goodies and even unlock in-game items during the promotional period.

Japan
(convenience store • cool • Dragon Quest • Lawson • video game)

Register Rage: Osaka City Official Arrested for Allegedly Punching Out Register’s LCD Display

Master Blaster
Feb 11, 2013

On 6 February, Osaka Prefectural Police announced that a 45-year-old man working for the Osaka City Construction Bureau had been arrested on suspicion of destruction of property.

In what could best be described as “register rage” the man was upset with the speed of the cashier and took his aggression out on the store’s age verification check with his fist.

Japan
(convenience store • crime • Osaka)

Our Reporter Picks up 1kg Curry Rice for Half Price, Wades His Way Through It

Philip Kendall
Dec 13, 2012

Just over a month ago, the poor relation of the convenience store chain family that is Save On unveiled a dish that it hoped would appeal to the hungry man on a budget and entice customers through its novelty value: an enormous 1 kg (2.2 lbs) tub of curry and rice. Even by western standards, the dish looks intimidating, sitting there taking up nearly twice the shelf space as its brethren and with a deep dish brimming with thick, dark-brown liquid and gut-filling fluffy white rice.

Since the dish is not yet available in all Save On stores, the gluttonous RocketNews24 team — famous for its food challenges like the 1,000 cheese slice Whopper and the 30 patty cheeseburger eatathon — was itching to try it but hadn’t been able to track one down until recently.

Luckily, late last week our reporter Yoshio was able to pay a trip to Saitama prefecture to pick up one of Save On’s monster curry tubs. And, even better, they were on sale for half price! Without stopping to wonder why such a gargantuan amount of food could possibly be on offer for such a meagre sum, our hungry writer bent at the knees, grabbed one with both hands and headed to the register.

Japan
(challenge • convenience store • curry • food • half price • kilo)

High School Class Commits Robbery En Mass, Causes International Incident

Jessica
Nov 19, 2012

Back in high school, the best my friends and I could come up with to cause a ruckus was a little underage drinking, but kids these days can manage to bring countries to the brink of war with their shenanigans. Lawless whippersnappers!

China, Korea
(convenience store • politics • robbery • true crime)

【Noodle Theft】 Petty Thief Shows Us Where the Line Between “Gutsy” and “Idiotic” Lies

Philip Kendall
Oct 4, 2012

When I was a kid, there was a period of about a week in school when everyone became obsessed with making “jokes” using “What’s the definition of…?” set-ups.

As well as failing to make anyone laugh, they rarely made much sense and were always both immensely long-winded and contrived…

Allow me to share an example:

“What’s the definition of ’cheeky’? Throwing a brick through someone’s window, then knocking on the door and asking for it back!”

Oh my sides….

Thankfully, though, a 16-year-old in Wakayama prefecture, Japan has done us all a favour and made an example of himself, putting an end to the eternal mystery “what’s the definition of ‘stupidity’?”

Japan
(cheeky • convenience store • crime • Noodles • ramen • stupid • theft)

Why 7-Eleven Quite Literally Dominates, and Why You Won’t Find One in Shikoku… Yet

Philip Kendall
Sep 18, 2012

Although it’s sometimes forgotten about, Shikoku, one of the four large islands that make up mainland Japan, is as much a part of the country as Hokkaidō in the north and Kyūshū to the south. People eat rāmen, do karaoke and play pachinko, exactly like everywhere else. Take a drive around the island and, just like every other part of the country, you’ll find literally hundreds of convenience stores. Lawson, Family Mart, Mini Stop, Coco Store; they’re all here.

All, that is, except 7-Eleven…. Read More

Japan
(7-Eleven • business strategy • convenience store • domination • Shikoku)

Hatsune Miku 7-Eleven Parody Video Will Give You Nightmares

Steven
Aug 24, 2012

If you weren’t in the know (and by the know we mean Japan), Japanese convenience store chain Family Mart and Hatsune Miku are running a promotional campaign from August 14 to September 10 to celebrate the Vocaloid’s 5th birthday.

To spread word of the campaign, Family Mart created a 15-second television commercial featuring Miku singing the store’s signature jingle and posted it to YouTube on August 17, though a ripped version had been posted to Japanese video sharing site Nico Nico Douga a few days earlier.

One group of enterprising viewers saw the video and immediately got the idea for a parody, which he posted to Nico Nico and YouTube on August 19. The parody, titled “Miku LOVES Seven Campaign [Fiction]”. features a super deformed Hatsune Miku singing the Japanese 7-Eleven jingle and is absolutely terrifying.

Japan
(convenience store • creepy • Family mart • funny • Hatsune Miku • music • Nico Nico Douga • otaku • Vocaloid • YouTube)

Hello Kitty Gets Steamed…Again! We’ll Wait to See How She Tastes

Kay
Aug 24, 2012

It seems there’s never a shortage of character-themed steamed buns (niku-man in Japanese) coming onto the market in Japan. In the past, we’ve seen buns modeled after Hatsune Miku, Spiderman, slime from Dragon Quest and Puyo Puyo to name a few. So who’s the newest character to be steamed into a tasty little bun? It’s none other than our beloved “cat of all trades”, Ms. Kitty! Read More

Japan
(Circle K • convenience store • food • Hello Kitty • nikuman • steamed buns)

Rey Ayanami’s Spear of Longinus is a Large and Unsightly Broken Churro

Steven
Aug 20, 2012

On August 15, Japanese convenience store chain Lawson launched a Evangelion tie-in campaign to promote the November release of the film Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo.

Like any other Japanese convenience store promotion, Lawson is selling a small collection of limited-edition Evangelion goods and snacks. Among them is a package of 2 “churro sticks” called “Rei Ayanami’s Spear of Longinus,” supposedly modeled after the iconic weapon.

Japan
(convenience store • Evangelion • food • Lawson • Rei Ayanami)

What do Japanese People Put in Their Rice Balls? Top 22 Most Popular Onigiri Fillings!

Steven
Aug 20, 2012

If you ever visit Japan and want to sample one of the staples of local cuisine, find a convenience store and grab an onigiri, or rice ball. Easy to make, plentiful in variety and an essential component of any bento lunch, the onigiri is to Japan what the sandwich is to the West.

But with so many different fillings, how do you know which onigiri to try out? If you want a taste of the REAL Japan, you need to eat what REAL Japanese people are eating, which is why we’d like to share with you this REAL list ranking the most popular onigiri fillings in Japan.

Japan
(convenience store • food • onigiri • survey)

A New Convenience Store (Just Probably Not Convenient For You)

Danielnishina
Apr 23, 2012

The Japanese convenience store chain Poplar has announced its newest store opening in none other than Tachikawa Detention Center. As in the clink, the joint, the hoosegow: jail. Read More