The Unexpected Place You Can Get Very Affordable, Exceptionally Tasty Meals In Japan

Whether you're heading to Tokyo's Tsukiji Outer Market for tasty traditional eats or Osaka, nicknamed "Japan's Kitchen," you'll have no shortage of places to try authentic cuisine, delicious street food, and trendy themed cafés during your trip to Japan. If you're looking for an extremely low-budget and surprisingly tasty option open all day and all night, you might just want to grab something at a convenience store. As surprising as it might seem, in Japan, convenience stores like 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Ministop, Lawson, and many others have much more than just road trip snacks.

If you're trying to travel throughout Japan in a super affordable way, eating at convenience stores for some of your meals might be the way to go. While you shouldn't expect high-end cuisine, convenience stores (called Konbini) are exceptionally clean, bright, and pleasant, with tasty food and great customer service. Many even have free Wi-Fi. You definitely still can get a wide variety of prepared snacks here — and it's totally worth it to try some chips and candy in flavors you may not have heard of before. However, you'll also find full meals that won't disappoint. You'll even have the option to heat it at the store.

When you go into a Japanese convenience store, you may be overwhelmed by the choices — especially as different locations may sell slightly different things, even if they're in the same chain. It's fun to explore by grabbing a random package off the shelf without whipping out your translation app, but if you want to guarantee a delicious snack, there are a few Konbini staples you won't want to miss. 

One is onigiri. These yummy rice triangles wrapped in seaweed are the perfect thing to eat while on the go (though walking and eating is considered a bit of a faux pas in Japan, so maybe just eat it standing in one spot). Often, you can pick one up for the equivalent of less than a dollar, and many have delicious fillings inside. If you like seafood, grab yourself a salmon onigiri, or for something even more basic, just grab a salted rice ball. They make for a great snack.

If you like the idea of fish for dinner, look at the grilled fish section. These meals come in a microwavable packet and are surprisingly good when heated up. Make sure to look at the bento boxes, too. You'll find plenty of meat options, along with some flavorful noodle meals. If you're looking for something crispy, consider the fried chicken that is often right by the checkout. These may be impulse buys, but you won't regret trying them.

If you've ever stopped into a 7-Eleven or one of the many other convenience store chains around the world, you probably didn't have many food options, but Japan has a surprising amount of full meals available for purchase. Considering 7-Eleven is an international brand, it can be very surprising that there are such major differences. While there have been plans to try to bring some of the high quality meals Japan's convenience stores are known for to America, those delicious offerings have yet to materialize. The answer may lie in the difference between the size of Japan and the U.S.

In Japan, individual store managers tailor their offerings to the preferences of their local consumers. That requires a lot of freedom for each store and a robust infrastructure shipping out different foods to different stores. The food at Japanese convenience stores are generally considered tastier than their American counterparts because they often have very fresh food. Both of these can be harder to accomplish across large distances.