Convenience Stores

At convenience stores in America, you can get a drink, some snacks or candy and a brown, greasy week-old hot dog, but here in Japan, you can get so much more.

In Japan a convenience store is sort of a hub for the neighborhood. You can not only get snacks and drinks (including beer, wine or hard alcohol) but you can get really good hot meals and sushi there.

There are also numerous other things you can do: You can mail a package instead of going to the post office, you can have a package sent to the store in your name and pick it up and you can also pay your bills there...all of them.

Today I went to the local Mini Stop (shown in the picture) and I heard an advertisement for Pokemon X & Y Versions. Yes, you can pre-order video games at the store and pick them up there on the release date! How convenient is that?

There are probably many other things that you can do there that I haven't discovered yet, but I can tell you one thing: all the convenience stores are owned by Japanese people.

Did you hear that my Indian brothers and sisters? There is an untapped potential here in Japan for you.

"Thank you, come again."