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Imagine Eating a Three-Course Meal at a 7-Eleven

Why a purveyor of junk food and Big Gulps in the United States is a beloved source of fine cuisine in Japan.

Published October 24, 2024

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Onigiri with whitebait from a Tokyo 7-Eleven. Photo: Getty Images

When planning a two-week trip to Japan with my boyfriend, I never expected that daily visits to 7-Eleven would be on the itinerary.

Yet I found myself popping my head into local convenience stores, or konbini, multiple times a day to see what unique concoctions I could find. Cream sandwiches on soft white bread studded with seasonal fruit. Onigiri rice balls with the crisp seaweed wrapper ingeniously separated by an easily removable layer of plastic. Skewered chicken skin dripping in teriyaki sauce, reheated until piping hot behind the counter.

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