List of Amazing Items I Discovered at a Japanese Convenience Store During the Covid-19 Outbreak

In Japan, konbini is where you go to experience a piece of heaven. Short for "convenience stores" (con-veni = konbini), konbini offer a wide variety of everyday food, snacks, drinks, and even daily necessities like laundry detergent, stationaries, and bathroom amenities.

photo: bathroom amenities

And during this Covid-19 outbreak, where literally every other store closed around my neighbourhood, konbini played a huge role in keeping me (relatively) sane. So without further ado, here is a list of all the amazing discoveries I have made at convenience stores in Japan during quarantine. Hope you get to try some of them during your next trip to Japan!

1. LEMON-DOH

When I first started living in Japan, I had a mission to try out all the interesting-looking canned cocktails from convenience stores all around my area. And I finally found the one, when I had Lemon-Doh for the first time. Called a "sour", this type of cocktail drink is super popular in Japan - it's a mix of shochu (Japanese spirit) and soda, and in this case, lemon liquor.

Lemon Doh offers several flavours according to the degree of alcohol. The one pictured has the highest degree of 9% - and is nicknamed the "ogre lemon". They also have 3%, 5% and 7%, so you can choose your flavour and degree of alcohol according to how you feel. It's not too sour, refreshing, and has an amazing aftertaste. 100% recommended!

2. MINI HI-CHEW

This one I discovered a while ago on one of my (almost) daily konbini runs, and it has been my favourite ever since. They are basically mini-sized Morinaga Hi-Chew that come in 4 different flavours (lemon, grapefruit, kiwi, and grape), and are just the perfect size to munch on throughout the day. And the best part about this? It comes in a ziplock bag so you never have to worry about finding small pieces of hi-chew at the bottom of your purse!

3. FAMILY MART KAMADASHI-TOROKERU-PUDDING

This one has got to be one of my favourite discoveries during the Covid-19 outbreak. It's offered exclusively at Family Mart, one of the three major convenience store chains in Japan, and is so good it's almost indescribable. "Kamadashi-Torokeru-Pudding", translated "Oven-Melting-Pudding", just melts in your mouth and is so creamy that the flavour just dissolves on your tongue.

It literally tastes like it could be a signature dessert from a famous patisserie, and I am not even exaggerating. It's not too sweet, especially when you mix it together with the faintly bitter caramel sauce at the bottom of the pudding. It's a perfect combination of creamy bitter-sweetness and is going to be absolutely worth your money, I guarantee!

4. DAIRY ICHIGO MILK

Perhaps I am biased about this one since I just love anything strawberry, but this strawberry milk I found at 7-11 is my absolute favourite. As mentioned on the package, it uses 60% real milk, so it's not too sweet and very milky. It's almost like drinking milk with a pleasant strawberry aftertaste, so it's very refreshing and doesn't feel too heavy.

I usually like to have this after I take a long shower - trust me, it's the best thing ever! It also comes in different flavours, like cafe au lait and yogurt, so you might have to try them all to find your personal favourite.

5. NORI-SHIO POTATO CHIPS

This one has been a popular flavour of potato chips in Japan for a long time now, and for a good reason too. Nori, the Japanese word for "seaweed", is of course, widely used in Japanese cuisines so it's no surprise there's a chip flavour for it.

I like this one because it's not too salty as I often feel about other flavoured chips, so I don't usually feel bloated after eating a bag of this. There are other really interesting potato chips in Japan though, like the uni (sea urchin) flavoured chips, so it might be fun to experiment with all the different flavours!

6. CRATZ PEPPER BACON FLAVOUR

This one has been raved among my Japanese friends as the snack that goes best with beer, so I decided to try it myself. And boy, they were right. These are basically bacon-flavoured pretzel bits (why has no one thought about this before?!) that go so well with beer or any drink for that matter.

They offer different flavours, like spicy chicken and edamame, but I personally like this one the best. There's something about pepper and bacon that go so well... and especially as a pretzel flavour. Definitely worth the try!

Lastly...

And here it is. My recent konbini discoveries that saved me from going crazy during quarantine. I hope you guys enjoyed the list and hope you can try them on your next trip to Japan!