コンビニ (konbini), which means convenience store, has become an essential part of many Japanese people’s lives. If you are in a city, it’s hard to walk even for a few minutes without passing a convenience store.
Most convenience stores are open for 24 hrs and 7 days a week. They have pretty much everything you need to survive - drinks, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, magazines, books, stationery, personal care products, cosmetics, cold medicine, and even underwear. It’s hard to believe that everything is densely packed in a tiny store. And a convenience store is not just a place to buy products - you can even pay your bills, send packages, charge your transportation cards, and much more.
The largest convenience store chains are セブンイレブン (sebunirebun - Seven Eleven), ローソン (rooson - Lawson), and ファミリーマート (famiriimaato - Family Mart). They compete to win customers by coming up with their own brands of lunch boxes and desserts.
During lunchtime, convenience stores get very crowded especially in office areas. Low-priced but decent and satisfying convenience store food is a popular choice for lunch. There are even people, especially single young men, who get all breakfast, lunch, and dinner from a convenience store.
If you see a long line at a convenience store, don’t be discouraged to go in. You’ll actually notice that the line moves pretty quickly. People working at convenience stores do their job very very fast. They ring up and put everything in a bag in seconds!
