Onigiri
Rice balls with a filling inside: salmon, tuna mayo, pickled plum, kelp. The flavour is printed on the wrapper, and many stores add an English label. The classic first konbini meal.
The konbini is not just a convenience store. It's breakfast, a cash machine, a post office, a printer, a ticket office and a midnight dessert stop, usually a few minutes' walk from wherever you are. 7-Eleven, FamilyMart and Lawson are the big three, and once you know how they work, daily life in Japan gets a lot easier. Here's everything a first-timer needs, from opening an onigiri in one piece to answering the cashier's questions with confidence.
Rice balls with a filling inside: salmon, tuna mayo, pickled plum, kelp. The flavour is printed on the wrapper, and many stores add an English label. The classic first konbini meal.
Soft white-bread sandwiches. Egg salad is the famous one, and fruit-and-cream sandos are a dessert worth trying at least once.
Fried chicken, croquettes and, in colder months, steamed buns and oden simmering in a pot. Point at what you want and the cashier will bag it.
Full meals in a box. The staff can heat them for you at the register, or there's often a microwave you can use.
Pudding, roll cakes, mochi and seasonal limited flavours that change every few weeks. Matcha versions appear constantly.
Bottled green tea with no sugar, canned coffee, and in winter a warmer cabinet with hot drinks. Many stores also have a self-serve coffee machine: buy the cup at the register, then pour it yourself.
Konbini ATMs, especially at 7-Eleven, are one of the easiest places to withdraw cash with a foreign card. Look for the English button on the screen.
Utility bills and some online shopping orders come with a barcode slip you can pay at the register. Very handy in your first months living here.
The multi-copy machine prints documents and photos, scans and copies. Many let you print straight from your phone with an app.
Concert, museum and event tickets can often be bought or picked up through the store's machine or the register.
You can send parcels and luggage across Japan from the register, and pick up some online orders too.
Umbrellas when it suddenly rains, phone chargers, socks, toiletries, a shirt for an unexpected night out. The konbini has you covered.
One of the best Tokyo plans costs almost nothing: grab two drinks and a few snacks from the konbini, then walk to a park or along a river. It's the kind of easy, no-pressure first hangout that turns a new acquaintance into a friend. For more ideas like this, see free and cheap things to do in Tokyo, and if you're new in the city, our first month in Tokyo guide covers the rest of the basics.
Buy Me a Matcha is the only app made for English speakers to make real friends in Japan. See people near your station who also want new friends, send a matcha, and if they send one back, pick a café (or a konbini coffee and a park bench) and meet one-on-one.
A konbini is a Japanese convenience store, such as 7-Eleven, FamilyMart or Lawson. Besides food and drinks, they offer ATMs, bill payment, printing, ticket pickup and parcel shipping, and many are open 24 hours.
Often, yes. Konbini ATMs, especially at 7-Eleven, are one of the easiest places in Japan to withdraw cash with a foreign card. Choose English on the screen. Your bank may charge its own fee.
Very little. The cashier may ask if you need a bag, if you want your food heated, if you want chopsticks, and how you'll pay. "Daijoubu desu" (no thanks) and "onegaishimasu" (yes please) cover almost everything.
Pull the tab marked 1 down the middle of the wrapper, then pull corner 2 on the left and corner 3 on the right. The seaweed wraps around the rice and stays crisp.
Yes. Credit cards, IC cards like Suica and PASMO, phone payments and cash are all widely accepted at the major chains.