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The Superior Snacks at Japanese 7-Elevens
The Superior Snacks at Japanese 7-Elevens
Sofia Wesbecher
Sofia Wesbecher
April 30, 2025
April 30, 2025
Whenever I travel somewhere new, my first thought is to go to a museum, mall, or park of some sort. I never would have thought that on my trip to Japan, visiting 7-Eleven would be a top priority; but after being strongly encouraged to check them out, I found myself stopping by 7-Eleven every once and a while to grab a snack, a pseudo-meal, or a drink. If you drive an electric car or just moved to Texas, you may not know that 7-Eleven is a Texas originating convenience store chain that is owned by a larger Japanese umbrella company. 7-Elevens in Japan are known for their cleanliness and good quality grab-and-go food options, while the ones in the US are known for gasoline and candy bars.
Curious about this contradiction, I decided to investigate if the 7-Elevens in Japan are indeed better than the ones in the US and to find the best snacks. Thae first thing I noticed when I walked in was how clean, orderly, well lit, and quiet it was. No overbearing cameras or bricks attached to bathroom keys, just two sweet, elderly attendants behind a counter. Most of the check out process was automated with a huge register machine, so I used apple pay and I was in and out in a minute. What I ended up purchasing was shockingly tasty and cheap.
I am absolutely obsessed with strawberries, so of course I had to get the strawberries, custard, and whipped cream sandwich ($3.21). It was fluffy, but not enough to fall apart. The strawberries were big and juicy, but didn’t make a mess. It was heaven. I ended up going back to a different 7-Eleven on another day just to grab this again. It was so tasty.
I am not the biggest fan of grape-flavored things, but the gummy chocolate-shine muscat grapes were tasty. Chocolate strawberries are great, but chocolate gummy grapes? Genius. As someone whose guilty pleasure is chocolate froyo with gummy bears on top, this scratched that same itch. The chocolate shell cracks when you bite into it and melts in your mouth as you work through the refreshing gummy grape. Two thumbs up from me.
This next treat was super interesting to me as you can see it’s a white drink with the only English word on the label being water. Whether that was sparkling, flavored, or distilled I had no clue. I had to buy it. When I tasted it I was pleasantly surprised: It wasn’t sparkling, and it had this miscellaneous sweetness to it unlike any American soda (if this even counts as a soda). The only drink I could compare it to is the Japanese drink ramune—or maybe even Sprite—but flat. If you love fizzy drinks, don’t look here, you’ll only be let down.
This last snack I could practically smell from a mile away: black truffle handcooked potato chips. It’s kind of self explanatory: of course it's delicious. It’s where potato chips meet truffle fries. Ultimately, I seriously envy the overall healthier selection and cleanliness of Japanese 7-Elevens—though I did find myself missing my American junk food. Cough, cough, Trollis. I definitely plan on seeking out more Japanese and Asian snacks. You can find these snacks or food similar to them at Austin’s H Mart, 99 Cent Ranch, MT Supermarket, or Asahi Imports. I visited them all once or twice over a couple of years and can confirm that their selections are super similar to that in Japan and definitely just as tasty.
Curious about this contradiction, I decided to investigate if the 7-Elevens in Japan are indeed better than the ones in the US and to find the best snacks. Thae first thing I noticed when I walked in was how clean, orderly, well lit, and quiet it was. No overbearing cameras or bricks attached to bathroom keys, just two sweet, elderly attendants behind a counter. Most of the check out process was automated with a huge register machine, so I used apple pay and I was in and out in a minute. What I ended up purchasing was shockingly tasty and cheap.
I am absolutely obsessed with strawberries, so of course I had to get the strawberries, custard, and whipped cream sandwich ($3.21). It was fluffy, but not enough to fall apart. The strawberries were big and juicy, but didn’t make a mess. It was heaven. I ended up going back to a different 7-Eleven on another day just to grab this again. It was so tasty.
I am not the biggest fan of grape-flavored things, but the gummy chocolate-shine muscat grapes were tasty. Chocolate strawberries are great, but chocolate gummy grapes? Genius. As someone whose guilty pleasure is chocolate froyo with gummy bears on top, this scratched that same itch. The chocolate shell cracks when you bite into it and melts in your mouth as you work through the refreshing gummy grape. Two thumbs up from me.
This next treat was super interesting to me as you can see it’s a white drink with the only English word on the label being water. Whether that was sparkling, flavored, or distilled I had no clue. I had to buy it. When I tasted it I was pleasantly surprised: It wasn’t sparkling, and it had this miscellaneous sweetness to it unlike any American soda (if this even counts as a soda). The only drink I could compare it to is the Japanese drink ramune—or maybe even Sprite—but flat. If you love fizzy drinks, don’t look here, you’ll only be let down.
This last snack I could practically smell from a mile away: black truffle handcooked potato chips. It’s kind of self explanatory: of course it's delicious. It’s where potato chips meet truffle fries. Ultimately, I seriously envy the overall healthier selection and cleanliness of Japanese 7-Elevens—though I did find myself missing my American junk food. Cough, cough, Trollis. I definitely plan on seeking out more Japanese and Asian snacks. You can find these snacks or food similar to them at Austin’s H Mart, 99 Cent Ranch, MT Supermarket, or Asahi Imports. I visited them all once or twice over a couple of years and can confirm that their selections are super similar to that in Japan and definitely just as tasty.
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