Everyone knows I love a convenience store in Japan – one of my longest posts I have is about my love for Japanese convenience stores and vending machines, actually.
The food is so fresh, affordable, it constantly changes and it’s literally there for us at any time of day.
There are also, to the surprise of many first time Japan visitors, many healthy convenience store options in Japan.
But this blog post is about making meals using just convenience store bought meals and ingredients. I also want to share options that you might not know about if it is your first visit.
I hope this helps if you are trying to save money, have arrived late or just need something fast to eat back at your room as you have sleepy children etc.
Please note that some convenience stores have eat-in areas and regardless if the don’t you can still make use of the in-house microwave ( for items you have purchased at the store.). It’s good to remember that it’s not polite to eat while walking so it’s best to heat up any meals back at your accommodation or warm them up and carry them back to eat right away.
Oooh and one more tip? The microwave’s at the convenience stores are CRAZY strong. So you might want to heat up food in short increments as those mighty Japanese industrial microwaves have super zapping power.
I’m going to write this blog post assuming everyone reading here is looking for a meal to either make up quickly or heat up once they are back at their temporary Japanese “home.”
7-Eleven’s Macaroni Gratin ( there is another type often available too called a “5 Cheese Macaroni Gratin”)
The packaging does say what it is in English and is around 260yen.
Found in the freezer section.
Allergens: it does contain milk and flour
To me, it tastes like a mixture of a cheesy lasagna and mac & cheese.
Heating instructions: Remove outer bag and then 5 mins 30 secs at 500W or 2-3 mins at 1500W
This is definitely not healthy food but I like to eat it with convenience store bought salad to make it more of a “real meal.”
Lawson also stocks a 3 cheese shrimp gratin and Family Mart has a Kongariyaki (grilled top/broiled ) shrimp gratin which is similar with seafood added.
While at Lawson (convenience store brand) …
These fried chicken options are LIFESAVERS (especially if you have picky eaters with you.)
This one pictured below is available at Lawson convenience stores – it is called “Karage-Kun” (pronounced “ka-ra-ge-kun”) and inside contains approx 6 pieces of Japanese fried chicken. Be sure to get the REGULAR flavour and the other option is a bit spicy and one of the other flavours sometimes available contains cheese. (see here for other Japanese convenience store tips and our favourite foods sold here in this blog post.)
