Recently someone asked me what I liked most about living in Japan. I thought for a minute, and then answered “convenience stores”. It was a bit of a joke answe

Recently someone asked me what I liked most about living in Japan. I thought for a minute, and then answered “convenience stores”. It was a bit of a joke answer - there are plenty of other things I could say, but I didn’t really want to get into the cultural differences between Japan and the United States or anything like that. But there is some truth to it, too. Convenience stores in Japan are better than the US in just about every way. And I visit them so frequently (twice today, for example) that they really do have a pretty significant impact on my life. Usually I go in with a specific purpose in mind and I can be in and out in under a minute. But other times I’ll go in with a more vague idea of what I want (“snacks for a road trip” or “booze”) and I’m always surprised and delighted to find something new and interesting on the shelf. An example of something interesting that my son picked out today is this “colorful ice cream shop” snack [1]. It comes with various trays and powders that you mix with water to make “ice cream” (it’s not actually frozen, though) - complete with 3 flavors of ice cream, chocolate sauce, sprinkles, and 4 cones that you shape yourself and cook in the microwave. I was expecting my son to choose a lollipop or something, but this turned out to be surprisingly fun and tasty. [1] https://www.kracie.co.jp/products/foods/10162929_21123.html https://www.kracie.co.jp/products/foods/10162929_21123.html