Convenience stores are a common sight in Japan, open 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.

Japanese Convenience stores FamilyMart, and Lawson, dominating the city centers. You won’t only
find snacks, boxed lunches, and freshly brewed coffee but also alcoholic drinks, everyday items, and
a lot more in these stores.ATMs, multifunctional printers, and free-to-use toilets make Convenience
stores indispensable for Japanese daily life.

Shopping, food, taking a break, killing some time, paying bills, stationery, evacuation shelter
– Convenience stores serve a broad variety of purposes.

Students
Many Japanese students head to the Convenience stores after school. Chatting at the eat-in corner,
playing some online games using the free Wi-Fi, and so on – it’s a social gathering spot. Even if
there’s nothing special to do, it’s always worth checking out the magazines and comics sold at the
shop, just to take a break and relax after class. Especially in the evening, students returning home
from club activities stop by to grab a quick snack before dinner.

College Students & the Working Population

The multifunctional printers at Convenience stores are great to copy one’s notes, scan a document,
print photos, or even send a fax. Everyone who does not have a printer at home uses
the Convenience stores instead.

Multifunctional terminals also handle utility bills and several administrative procedures. That saves
busy office workers a trip to the town hall, open even late in the evening and during the weekend.

Children & Women

A lot of Japanese elementary school and junior high students go to cram school after their classes
and Convenience stores serve as well-lit spots of reassurance even after dark. That also goes for
women walking home by themselves late at night, when Convenience stores act as isles of safety
and reassurance that are always open.

People Living by Themselves

A lot of Japan’s online shopping sites let you ship your order to the nearest Convenience stores
where it can be picked up at your leisure. A lot of them also accept mail that you want to send,
making them incredibly convenient for people who live by themselves and always miss the delivery
due to being at work the whole day.

Homemakers

Convenience stores offer a nice variety of food and side dishes that can quickly be picked up when
there simply wasn’t enough time to prepare a full meal. That’s especially helpful for Japanese
housewives who are responsible for making food for their entire family every day.

Seniors
The readily made dishes available at Convenience stores offer both sufficient calories and nutritional
balance, important for senior citizens who cannot or do not want to cook for themselves anymore.
Except for particularly remote areas, there always is a Convenience stores  within walking distance,
offering both food and a bit of exercise.

FamilyMart, and Lawson stores opened in the mid-1970’s. Back then, the owners of the three
franchises were all large supermarket chains.
FamilyMart started out as independently opened small stores and Lawson was originally a dairy
shop in partnership with a leading food company from the United States. Back then, Japan was in
the middle of an economic boom that also had a lasting influence on people’s lifestyles and
consumer behavior. Convenience stores offering a variety of products and services even at night,
were the answer to these new needs.

Store number: Domestic: 16,715, Kanto: 5,560 (FamilyMart, as of September 2018), Domestic:

13,992, Kanto: 4,560 (Lawson, as of September 2018)
Free Wi-Fi: 20 minutes/session, 3 sessions/day (FamilyMart), 60 minutes/session, 5 sessions/day
(Lawson)
ATM (*1): 24h/365 days (FamilyMart), 24h/365 days (Lawson)
Tax exemption : 900, Metropolitan area: 153 (FamilyMart, as of late October 2018), Domestic:
152, Metropolitan area: 61 (Lawson, as of late October 2018)
Delivery (courier) service: Yamato Transport (FamilyMart), Yu-Pack; Japan Post *4 (Lawson)
Multifunctional terminals (printers, ticket machines, etc.): “FamiPort” (FamilyMart), “Loppi”
(Lawson)
Eat-in (*4): available(7-Eleven, FamilyMart, and Lawson)

New product releases (*5): Every Tuesday, 22 items (Kanto)/week (7-ElevenFamilyMart), Every

Tuesday
41 items (nationwide)/week (Lawson)

Other services: Cleaning, bike share, car share, etc. (only some stores in Tokyo) -FamilyMart,
Fresh food delivery (only some stores in Tokyo and Kanagawa), Driver’s license acquisition, travel
agency services (Lawson)

2  Stores offering tax-free service:

FamilyMart: http://www.family.co.jp/services/other/taxfree.html
Lawson (excluding Natural Lawson): http://www.lawson.co.jp/service/others/in/lang/en.html