Continuing my series on the best foods to eat in Japan, I bring you to one of my favourite money-saving (and yet shockingly delicious) options: Konbini Sandwiches! A Konbini is a nickname for Japanese convenience stores. And I have a post dedicated to all about how unique and tasty Japanese convenience stores are! Trust me, they are one of the best places to eat in Japan if you’re on a budget or just need something quick to eat.
While a sandwich from a convenience store might sound wildly uninteresting when you’ve travelled halfway across the world to experience new and exciting cuisine, I implore you to give them a try. While it’s true I wouldn’t recommend ONLY eating these throughout your trip, I think they might surprise you. Some of the flavours and ingredients are things you’ll only find in Japan! So despite thinking you’ve eaten enough sandwiches before, you’ve never had one like this!
Where to Find Konbinis
There are more than 50,000 convenience stores across the country! It doesn’t matter if you’re in a big city or out in the countryside, a konbini is never far away. In fact, on our trip to Hakone during the offseason, the konbini was one of the only places we could find to eat for cheap. Our hotel had a restaurant, but the prices were much too high for us, and since it was off-season, all the local restaurants closed after lunch. But our trusty konbini down the road had everything we needed to have a stunning in-hotel feast! Completed of course with a series of sandwiches (or sandos for short in Japan).
History
You might be wondering to yourself, “are sandwiches really what I want to be eating in Japan?!” They might not seem like a traditional part of Japanese cusine, but Japan actually does have a long love affair with bread. In the 16th century, bread began to be imported from Portuguese trading ships that came into Nagasaki. The Japanese word for bread is “pan,” which comes from the Portuguese word for bread: “pão.”
But like many now-iconic dishes in Japan, they adapted the ingredients inside for the local palate. But the current incarnation of soft white bread comes from the postwar occupation era when imported wheat and powdered milk became one of the cheapest ingredients for school children’s lunches. An entire generation grew up eating pillowy soft white bread, and that nostalgic connection would persevere well into the next generation. In fact, in 2011, rice sales were down for the first time as more and more people have been eating bread over rice.
The Bread
Like everything in Japan, the design of their sandwiches is perfectly thought out. The bread is soft enough to ensure the filling doesn’t seep out but always fresh so that the bread never gets soggy. The sandwiches are made twice a day to ensure this fact. Often, they sell out so fast that you’re more likely not to find any at all than discover stale one. The filling is rarely too bulky and, therefore, never messy to eat. And best of all, the ingredients used to make the sandwiches are surprisingly high quality ensuring that even a little snack feels like a gourmet meal!
Below are my favourite sandwiches which I think you MUST-TRY on your next trip to Japan! All of these snacks cost less than 500 yen, so you can try them all without breaking the bank!
Egg Salad Sandwich
Ok, now, don’t get me wrong, recommending an egg salad sandwich from a convenience store anywhere else in the world might seem like a death wish. But Egg Salad Sandwiches in Japan are one of the most fantastic food items in the country. Honestly, if I could choose just five things to eat in Japan, this would make a list! Foodie legend Anthony Bourdain himself is coined as saying they are “unnatural, inexplicable and delicious.” The bread used in all konbini sandwiches is soft as a pillow and correctly served with the crusts cut off.
The actual egg salad is creamy beyond belief. They make sure to remove many of the egg whites from the dish, making it less healthy, but it sure makes it taste better! These are umami’s definition, and I’m not ashamed to say I ate one every morning! There is much discussion about who makes the best egg salad sandwich, and I think everyone has their own preference. Mine is Lawson but let me know what yours is.
Strawberries n’ Cream
If egg sandwiches aren’t your bag, you need to try one of the sweet cream sandwiches. These are perfect as a gourmet breakfast option. Cream sandwiches are served inside the same fluffy white bread but are filled with various fresh fruit and light as a feather whipped cream. One of the best of these is the Strawberry cream sandwiches. Strawberries are a saught after fruit in Japan. Strawberries or ichigo have their own season in Japan, with gourmet varieties of the berry going for upwards of hundreds of dollars a box! But you won’t need to spend that much on these delectable treats. During certain times of the year, generally around Valentines, they add some custard to the sandwich for an even more luxurious taste!
Tonkatsu Sandwich
One of the most simple and yet delicious lunches you can have is a Tonkatsu sandwich. Tonkatsu is a pork cutlet, which is literally sandwiched between two slices of that iconically soft bread, shredded cabbage and a thin Japanese mayo layer. The mixture of these textures is what makes this sandwich a 10/10! You can choose to warm this up in the microwave or just eat it right out of the bag. Either way, stunningly delicious!
Shrimp Cutlet & Tartare Sauce
An unsung hero of the sando crew is the Shrimp Cutlet & Tartare Sauce sandwich. The crispy shrimp is balanced perfectly with the umami flavour of onions and pickles in the tartare sauce. It has that little zing that amps up the taste just a little bit more! The shrimp is soft and juicy and since Japan is the centre of seafood always local!
Veggie Sandwich
I get many questions about how hard it is to eat vegetarian in Japan because they are such a fish and seafood-focused culture. And while that’s true, there are LOTS options available to you if you do your research. One of the easiest options is this Veggie sandwich from 7-Eleven. This colourful sando has 6 different kinds of vegetables all packed into one meal! The addition of corn might seem odd, but I love the texture and flavour it adds.
Plump Tamago Sando
For an even more gourmet experience with your egg salad sandwich, you need to head over to FamilyMart and try one of their Plump Tamago Sandos. Instead of mashing the entire egg up, two soft-boiled “plump” eggs are placed inside the sandwich, along with some extra salad. This makes the whole meal a little richer and more upscale than the traditional salad sando.
Curry Bread
Although some might argue that this isn’t a traditional sandwich, it is bread with a filling. And in my opinion, that qualifies it as a sandwich. Curry Bread consists of Japanese beef or chicken curry wrapped in a piece of dough, which is then coated in bread crumbs and deep-fried. All convenience stores sell different takes on this. They can be warmed up in the oven just before eating for that perfect ooey-gooey curry filled center.
Cream Cheese and Basil Chicken
A new item they began selling last year is the cream cheese and basil chicken sandwich. This is one of their more filling options and is so perfectly seasoned. It might be a little more “western” in terms of the flavours but is just as delicious nonetheless.
Yakisoba
One of the strangest options you’ll find in many different iterations is a Yakisoba sandwich. Yakisoba is Japanese for “fried noodles.” The “soba” noodles are made from buckwheat instead of wheat flour. The noodles are covered in a thick brown sauce similar to Worcestershire sauce. They are generally topped with pickled ginger, parsley and some Japanese mayo. To hold such a hefty filling, these are served inside large sausage rolls. It’s one of the seemingly more intimidating options, but yakisoba is so delicious, as is the bread, so they make a great combo!
Blueberry Cheesecake Sandwich
One of my favourite sandwiches is this take on a simple grape jelly sandwich, the Blueberry Cheesecake sando. Instead of grape jelly, though (which isn’t always my first choice), you get softly cooked blueberries layered between unsweetened cream cheese. The combination of the tart cheese and sweet berries is perfection! It really is like eating a cheesecake!
Red Bean and Cream
Adzuki, better know to us as “red beans,” is made into a sweet paste popular throughout Japan. You’ll find it in a myriad of different desserts, so it should be no surprise to see it in a sandwich as well. In fact, in 1874, the sandwich’s popularity rose to fame with the creation of the anpan, which was a bread roll filled with adzuki bean paste. Today we have a more modern version of the traditional recipe. The Red Beans and Cream sandwich blend the beans’ slightly gritty texture with the soft and supple sweet whipped cream. If you like red bean paste, then you MUST give this one a try!
Pudding Sandwich
For anyone who loves English bread pudding, boy, do I have a teat for you! FamilyMart sells a thick pudding cake sandwich that combines 2 types of cream and a thick layer of pudding between a special sponge flavoured bread. This is truly a dessert sando but 100% worth tasting on your next trip!
Limited Editions
To compete with each other, convenience stores seem to be continually releasing “limited edition” items throughout the year. These are usually in line with fruits that are in season or something to match an upcoming holiday. During the summer, try the Peaches n’ Cream or their seasonal Gorotto Kiwi Cream sandwich. In the winter, they come out with sweet potatoes and cream products, almost like pumpkin pie sandwiches. I’ve seen macha flavoured bread filled with cream and even a chocolate pudding sandwich! There truly is always something exciting to try that you might never find again.
Hopefully this guide to my favourite konbini sandos gave you some insight into the wonders that are Japanese convenience stores. Let me know if the comments if you’ve ever tried any of these or if you have some new favourites!
Happy Travels, Adventurers!
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