7-Eleven: My Sanctuary in an Unknown Land

December 6, 2016

I almost want to tell people that I spent my time in Japan with a hospitable and welcoming host family because every time I enter a 7-Eleven here, it feels like a sanctuary to me. At the beginning of my exchange trip, as I wandered around with limited Japanese language abilities, a phone that lacked data, and absolutely no knowledge of how to survive in the country, 7-Eleven was the one safe haven I could return to, time and time again. 7-Eleven was one of the few places my phone could receive Wi-Fi at, so every time I got lost searching for something new to do, I took solace in the fact that within a few hundred meters or so from wherever I was, there would be a chain store for me to recharge at. When friends asked to meet me somewhere outside of my dorm (my only guaranteed Wi-Fi zone where I could contact people with my phone), the first step, after determining where we wanted to go, was to find out where the closest 7-Eleven was.


While people always expect Japan to have high-class food and know it specifically for the importance it places on quality over quantity—a principle diametrically opposed to American cuisine beliefs—they don’t expect Japanese delicacies to be found at convenience stores (or konbini, as they’re known in Japan). Friends and family, concerned about my dismal lack of cooking skills, have asked me what I do for meals, and my honest answer is 7-Eleven. At least one of my meals every two days comes from a convenience store, and 7-Eleven is the drug of choice. The variety of options in Japan is astounding; picking from a Family Mart or Lawson’s or Sunkus, which all can be located within minutes of each other and all offer more or less the same selection, can be challenging, and yet all produce great results.

In America, I would not be caught dead eating a breakfast burrito from 7-Eleven. If I did eat from American convenience stores, chances are that, within a short time, I might actually die as a result of whatever unknown ingredients are in this American “cuisine.” In Japan, there is no fear of that kind. In fact, eating at convenience stores is one of the things that I anticipate missing most upon returning to America. I have no intentions of picking up my meal plan, which means I’ll be marooned in a kitchen of my own, attempting to learn how to cook eggs in a pan and not a microwave oven. Or, most likely, I will make a calendar of all of the events at Georgetown that offer free food and attend them for all of my meals.

While nearly all of the food choices at the Japanese convenience stores are worthwhile, there are some I’ll miss more than others. Onigiri, a cheap rice triangle with a variety of different fillings, such as tuna, pickled plum, and chicken, is a satisfying snack that is both convenient and delicious. It is the perfect meal choice between classes or after a judo practice, and at this moment in my life, something that I physically cannot live without. Priced at about a dollar, I often have one as a lunch, paired with some fruit (or matcha Kit Kats).

Despite living alone in Japan, I still have a home away from home. And I’m not embarrassed to admit that home is 7-Eleven.
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