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These articles always make me conflicted. On one hand the Japanese convenience store is quite good but there’s so much fetishizing about them. In the end it’s j

These articles always make me conflicted. On one hand the Japanese convenience store is quite good but there’s so much fetishizing about them. In the end it’s just a sandwich, and if you eat enough of them you’ll realize there’s no “magic”. That said the conbini is often the subject of many Japanese food TV shows and I enjoy seeing in-depth programs of how something is made and the creativity in their production. I learned that 7-11’s fried rice is made using real woks with an elaborate setup of robotic arms to toss the rice with the wok and spatula. The length they went though to get the flavor just right is very impressive. On the sandwiches, one of my gripes is that they are often filled in a way that makes them look really plump and full of ingredients when cut in half. But everything is in the center so by by the time you make it to the edge it’s just bread. To me the sandwich is visually appealing but lacks balance and consistency from first bite to the last.

victor106 5y ago
> That said the conbini is often the subject of many Japanese food TV shows and I enjoy seeing in-depth programs of how something is made and the creativity in their production. I learned that 7-11’s fried rice is made using real woks with an elaborate setup of robotic arms to toss the rice with the wok and spatula. The length they went though to get the flavor just right is very impressive. Interesting!!! Do they have an online version of the shows?
novok 5y ago
Japanese konbini food is way better and healthier than convenience store & most cheap fast food in north america. That is what everyone is jealous of and leads to the fanboying. Of course there is better stuff in japan, it's the fact that the super convenience food is way healthier and tastier and better than the cheap shit in many other countries is the key point.
Aeolun 5y ago
The filling thing is something you fall for only once though. After that you know exactly what you are going to get. I still like convenience store sandwiches after 9 years eating them, even if I don’t eat them every lunch any more.
- wirthjason 5y ago
  You’re totally right. I know exactly what I’m going to get and that’s the problem. It’s mildly annoying to see that nice looking sandwich and know that the first couple bites will be good but then rest are frauds. That said, it’s mildly annoying to order fast food in the US and it comes out looking nothing like the picture on the menu. I’ve rarely been let down by JP fast food however. The food almost always looks like the picture. You win some, you lose some.
exikyut 5y ago
> I learned that 7-11’s fried rice is made using real woks with an elaborate setup of robotic arms to toss the rice with the wok and spatula. I would not mind seeing how that setup is implemented! The vast majority of the odd robotic cooking contraptions I've seen on YouTube have almost always been bespoke once-offs (eg, someone's homemade project). Something that actually scales and is cost-effective would very likely be constructed very differently, and likely genuinely interesting and insightful to observe.
- wirthjason 5y ago
  This is the best I could find. Sadly there’s no video clip. https://dogatch.jp/news/tbs/tbstopics_69799/detail/ https://dogatch.jp/news/tbs/tbstopics_69799/detail/
  - numpad0 5y ago
    Found a frozen food factory tour reel https://youtube.com/watch?v=8N8BCD3q_M0 https://youtube.com/watch?v=8N8BCD3q_M0
- p_l 5y ago
  Look for material from china - I've seen videos where something like 90% of ingredient-to-table pipeline was robotic, including the waiter
  - eru 5y ago
    Robotic waiter is easy and already implemented, just look at conveyor belt sushi or iPad ordering.
    - p_l 5y ago
      I meant robotic pipeline that starts at electronic ordering, mostly robotic cooking, and delivery by free-driving delivery robot on the restaurant floor.
      - 5y ago
themodelplumber 5y ago
It's funny to realize that onigiri are probably some of the worst offenders when it comes to centralized fillings. But I personally would never think to complain about those kombini onigiri. So maybe if the bread is OK, it's still worth it to some people to get some bites that are more like just bread. (Yes I do consider seaweed the crust of an onigiri :-)) Btw, magic to me was finding an Aquarius vending machine with the bonus size cans while walking home on a sweltering summer day.
- thrdbndndn 5y ago
  Isn't onigiri meant to be most of rice? Can't say the same for sandwiches.
  - themodelplumber 5y ago
    Might depend on who you ask. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toast_sandwich https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toast_sandwich
- johnwalkr 5y ago
  I roll my eyes about most of these articles (lived in Japan for ten years)but one thing I would really praise is the packaging of onigiri. Whoever invented that is a genius.
suction 5y ago
The glorification and even fetishisation of plain, everyday things in Japan simply because they're thought of as being uniquely "Japanese" is a weird aspect of the culture, which thanks to the Internet has found many adopters from all over the world. It's a function of an ultranationalist view of one's own culture as being "uniquely unique", i.e. more unique than any other culture is unique. The Japanese even did come up with a quack "science" named "Nihonjinron" which is still a basis of the domestic school curricula. This and the military, rote-learning nature of their education system leads to obviously ridiculous overestimations like the alleged "magic" of a convenience store sandwich never being questioned or ridiculed, so they stick. Any Japanese person in Japan is confronted with a million little "Nihonjinron" falsehoods like this one every day, thereby creating a false sense of superiority and regrettably, xenophobia and chauvinist nationalism: "All other cultures are inferior to ours!", "Are your convenience store sandwiches even magical, gaijin bro??"
- Chris2048 5y ago
  You get something similar in anime, especially Isekai ("other world") where the protagonist travels to some other worlds and amazes its inhabitants with something Japanese - Japanese food especially are nearly always founds to be extraordinarily delicious.
  - suction 5y ago
    Lots of Anime / Manga is state sponsored through the government's "Cool Japan" initiative, a very well funded undertaking to project soft power into the world through pop-cultural means. That's why a lot of the content is either putting Japanese culture on a pedestal, or showing the "outside world" as a dangerous, uncultured place. Exceptions apply of course - Japanese people have weird ideas about Paris, for example, which they think of as "almost as good as Japan". I guess by associating themselves with French culture, they think it will make them more cultured in turn. A funny side-effect of that is "Paris Syndrome" - a described ailment in Japanese medicine for the culture shock when Japanese people travel to Paris for the first time and see that there are Africans, or men with beards, or a candy wrapper next to a trash can. There are reports of Japanese women fainting on the streets of Paris by the truck load.
johnwalkr 5y ago
I was going to comment the same thing about the sandwiches, they are deceptive about the filling. I usually go for mabodoufu or cup noodles and a salad, but to be honest I would be happier if I could get a roller grill hot dog at a Japanese 7-11.

victor106 5y ago

> That said the conbini is often the subject of many Japanese food TV shows and I enjoy seeing in-depth programs of how something is made and the creativity in their production. I learned that 7-11’s fried rice is made using real woks with an elaborate setup of robotic arms to toss the rice with the wok and spatula. The length they went though to get the flavor just right is very impressive. Interesting!!! Do they have an online version of the shows?

novok 5y ago

Japanese konbini food is way better and healthier than convenience store & most cheap fast food in north america. That is what everyone is jealous of and leads to the fanboying. Of course there is better stuff in japan, it's the fact that the super convenience food is way healthier and tastier and better than the cheap shit in many other countries is the key point.

Aeolun 5y ago

The filling thing is something you fall for only once though. After that you know exactly what you are going to get. I still like convenience store sandwiches after 9 years eating them, even if I don’t eat them every lunch any more.

wirthjason 5y ago
You’re totally right. I know exactly what I’m going to get and that’s the problem. It’s mildly annoying to see that nice looking sandwich and know that the first couple bites will be good but then rest are frauds. That said, it’s mildly annoying to order fast food in the US and it comes out looking nothing like the picture on the menu. I’ve rarely been let down by JP fast food however. The food almost always looks like the picture. You win some, you lose some.

exikyut 5y ago

> I learned that 7-11’s fried rice is made using real woks with an elaborate setup of robotic arms to toss the rice with the wok and spatula. I would not mind seeing how that setup is implemented! The vast majority of the odd robotic cooking contraptions I've seen on YouTube have almost always been bespoke once-offs (eg, someone's homemade project). Something that actually scales and is cost-effective would very likely be constructed very differently, and likely genuinely interesting and insightful to observe.

wirthjason 5y ago
This is the best I could find. Sadly there’s no video clip. https://dogatch.jp/news/tbs/tbstopics_69799/detail/ https://dogatch.jp/news/tbs/tbstopics_69799/detail/
- numpad0 5y ago
  Found a frozen food factory tour reel https://youtube.com/watch?v=8N8BCD3q_M0 https://youtube.com/watch?v=8N8BCD3q_M0
p_l 5y ago
Look for material from china - I've seen videos where something like 90% of ingredient-to-table pipeline was robotic, including the waiter
- eru 5y ago
  Robotic waiter is easy and already implemented, just look at conveyor belt sushi or iPad ordering.
  - p_l 5y ago
    I meant robotic pipeline that starts at electronic ordering, mostly robotic cooking, and delivery by free-driving delivery robot on the restaurant floor.
    - 5y ago

themodelplumber 5y ago

It's funny to realize that onigiri are probably some of the worst offenders when it comes to centralized fillings. But I personally would never think to complain about those kombini onigiri. So maybe if the bread is OK, it's still worth it to some people to get some bites that are more like just bread. (Yes I do consider seaweed the crust of an onigiri :-)) Btw, magic to me was finding an Aquarius vending machine with the bonus size cans while walking home on a sweltering summer day.

thrdbndndn 5y ago
Isn't onigiri meant to be most of rice? Can't say the same for sandwiches.
- themodelplumber 5y ago
  Might depend on who you ask. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toast_sandwich https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toast_sandwich
johnwalkr 5y ago
I roll my eyes about most of these articles (lived in Japan for ten years)but one thing I would really praise is the packaging of onigiri. Whoever invented that is a genius.

suction 5y ago

The glorification and even fetishisation of plain, everyday things in Japan simply because they're thought of as being uniquely "Japanese" is a weird aspect of the culture, which thanks to the Internet has found many adopters from all over the world. It's a function of an ultranationalist view of one's own culture as being "uniquely unique", i.e. more unique than any other culture is unique. The Japanese even did come up with a quack "science" named "Nihonjinron" which is still a basis of the domestic school curricula. This and the military, rote-learning nature of their education system leads to obviously ridiculous overestimations like the alleged "magic" of a convenience store sandwich never being questioned or ridiculed, so they stick. Any Japanese person in Japan is confronted with a million little "Nihonjinron" falsehoods like this one every day, thereby creating a false sense of superiority and regrettably, xenophobia and chauvinist nationalism: "All other cultures are inferior to ours!", "Are your convenience store sandwiches even magical, gaijin bro??"

Chris2048 5y ago
You get something similar in anime, especially Isekai ("other world") where the protagonist travels to some other worlds and amazes its inhabitants with something Japanese - Japanese food especially are nearly always founds to be extraordinarily delicious.
- suction 5y ago
  Lots of Anime / Manga is state sponsored through the government's "Cool Japan" initiative, a very well funded undertaking to project soft power into the world through pop-cultural means. That's why a lot of the content is either putting Japanese culture on a pedestal, or showing the "outside world" as a dangerous, uncultured place. Exceptions apply of course - Japanese people have weird ideas about Paris, for example, which they think of as "almost as good as Japan". I guess by associating themselves with French culture, they think it will make them more cultured in turn. A funny side-effect of that is "Paris Syndrome" - a described ailment in Japanese medicine for the culture shock when Japanese people travel to Paris for the first time and see that there are Africans, or men with beards, or a candy wrapper next to a trash can. There are reports of Japanese women fainting on the streets of Paris by the truck load.

johnwalkr 5y ago

I was going to comment the same thing about the sandwiches, they are deceptive about the filling. I usually go for mabodoufu or cup noodles and a salad, but to be honest I would be happier if I could get a roller grill hot dog at a Japanese 7-11.