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Sorry, no. Japanese (edit: konbini) sandwiches are made from this disgusting tasteless "bread" that feels like a wet sponge, has about as many nutrients, and is

Sorry, no. Japanese (edit: konbini) sandwiches are made from this disgusting tasteless "bread" that feels like a wet sponge, has about as many nutrients, and is filled with the cheapest ingredients they can get away with. Eat the onigiri, eat the boiled eggs, eat the nikuman, eat the oden or coroket. Hell, eat the convenience store bento or ramen or chicken before you even think about the sandwiches. Or better yet, eat at a place that serves real food.

ngc248 5y ago
Those shrink wrapped sandwiches are equally bad everywhere
davidjytang 5y ago
> Sorry, no. Japanese sandwiches are made from this Surely you meant konbini sandwiches?
- kstenerud 5y ago
  Yes. Actual sandwich shop and restaurant sandwiches are generally fine, although I'm still not really a fan of the bread.
tidenly 5y ago
This! Japanese shokupan bread sandwiches are an insult to the name sandwich. And the ingredients are always the smallest amount they dare put in too. You'd be laughed at in the UK for serving somewhere the same thing.
- freetime2 5y ago
  The filling can be skimpy, but for the price of the sandwich (less than ¥200 typically) I’d say you get what you pay for. Are sandwiches in the UK similarly inexpensive?
  - Symbiote 5y ago
    This is the same price in Tesco, and it's the cheapest they have. They aren't cheating on the filling though, it's even. https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/260255657 https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/260255657 https://www.allsandwiches.com/tesco-just-ham-sandwich-review https://www.allsandwiches.com/tesco-just-ham-sandwich-review
    - freetime2 5y ago
      Is that from the Tesco supermarket chain or convenience store? I’ve never been in a Tesco, but wikipedia tells me that Tesco Express (convenience stores) stores charge more than the supermarkets. It would be a bit unfair to compare supermarket pricing to a convenience store. Part of the value proposition of a convenience store is there’s always on nearby and you can be in and out in less than a minute (if you know what you want). Anyway, I couldn’t find anything as basic as Just Ham at 7/11. The nearest equivalent I could find includes ham, cheese, lettuce, and “sauce” (actually pretty tasty… kind of like an aioli). It’s also more expensive than I remembered - apparently they recently increased the price from ¥248 to ¥270 due to increased materials cost. https://www.sej.co.jp/products/a/item/050710/kanto/ https://www.sej.co.jp/products/a/item/050710/kanto/ So a bit more expensive at 7/11 but you’re getting cheese and fresh lettuce in addition to ham (we’ll call mayo/sauce vs butter a draw here). Personally I’d have no problem going with the 7/11 sandwich when I need a quick bite on the run (and indeed I have many times), but I’d probably pass on the Just Ham sandwich. Even if they cheat a bit on the filling, there’s just a lot more flavor and texture in the 7/11 sandwich.
      - dageshi 5y ago
        If you're buying a sandwich in the UK it's probably as part of a meal deal, that's a sandwich (or sushi/some other main), a "snack" and a drink. Usually for about £3 - £3.50 depending on the chain. They're basically a loss leader to get people into the stores, they usually include things like energy drinks that are over half of the price of the meal deal if bought individually. There's a pretty decent range of stuff included https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/shop/fresh-food/chilled-soup-sandwiches-and-salad-pots/pound3-meal-deal https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/shop/fresh-food/chille...
freetime2 5y ago
Disgusting? Really? I can understand being underwhelmed by soft white bread, but calling it disgusting seems a bit extreme.
- Foobar8568 5y ago
  Calling that thing bread is disgusting by itself...
  - cercatrova 5y ago
    White bread is delicious, I wouldn't eat a PB&J on sourdough for example.
    - Ekaros 5y ago
      Then again I wouldn't qualify peanut butter and jelly as sandwich, but as cake... Specially if the bread is sweet too...
      - Chris2048 5y ago
        I wouldn't say the contents change what it is - a sandwich is a filling between slices of bread, nothing states it must be savoury, even though they often are. Jam, honey and (mashed) banana are also sandwich fillings. That said, there is no way it would qualify as cake, which would require a much sweeter and thicker batter - bread isn't the same.
      - khazhoux 5y ago
        PB&J is a sandwich. This is not in dispute.
        beaconstudios 5y ago
        American food all round is weirdly sweet to European palates. PB&J as a sandwich is pretty out there from a UK perspective. The sweetest sandwich ingredient we typically use is honey bacon, and that's the exception to the rule.
unobatbayar 5y ago
Agreed. I'd say don't go to konbini at all. Every item has added price, and not really worth it; The food isn't so great, I also believe they add chemicals to persevere it. In special cases, if your only option for food is a convenience store, buy frozen food/rice and microwave them.
toyg 5y ago
Been to Japan twice and I agree. There is so much amazing food on offer, that conbini sandoichi really really shouldn't even be on the radar. If one really must go conbini, one should stick to onigiri and sweets.
- esyir 5y ago
  And for the more crazy stuff. I love the pizzaman. 7-11 does a pretty decent negishio pork bento too (not crazy, I just like it.) If they have them, the negitoro maki tends to be pretty decent at all the combinis.
- oska 5y ago
  Yes. Japan has a lot of good food but like any other industrialised country it also has highly processed bad food. This includes ramen, all the usual crisps/chips type snack foods, and from the sounds of it, these combini sandwiches too (never been tempted to try them when I've been in Japan). It's continually disappointing to see so much faddish focus on these non-nutritious bad foods, written by shallow 'japan expert' bloggers.
johnwalkr 5y ago
Luckily, in 2022 Bahn Mi is trending and available in many neighborhoods in Tokyo.

ngc248 5y ago

Those shrink wrapped sandwiches are equally bad everywhere

davidjytang 5y ago

> Sorry, no. Japanese sandwiches are made from this Surely you meant konbini sandwiches?

kstenerud 5y ago
Yes. Actual sandwich shop and restaurant sandwiches are generally fine, although I'm still not really a fan of the bread.

tidenly 5y ago

This! Japanese shokupan bread sandwiches are an insult to the name sandwich. And the ingredients are always the smallest amount they dare put in too. You'd be laughed at in the UK for serving somewhere the same thing.

freetime2 5y ago
The filling can be skimpy, but for the price of the sandwich (less than ¥200 typically) I’d say you get what you pay for. Are sandwiches in the UK similarly inexpensive?
- Symbiote 5y ago
  This is the same price in Tesco, and it's the cheapest they have. They aren't cheating on the filling though, it's even. https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/260255657 https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/260255657 https://www.allsandwiches.com/tesco-just-ham-sandwich-review https://www.allsandwiches.com/tesco-just-ham-sandwich-review
  - freetime2 5y ago
    Is that from the Tesco supermarket chain or convenience store? I’ve never been in a Tesco, but wikipedia tells me that Tesco Express (convenience stores) stores charge more than the supermarkets. It would be a bit unfair to compare supermarket pricing to a convenience store. Part of the value proposition of a convenience store is there’s always on nearby and you can be in and out in less than a minute (if you know what you want). Anyway, I couldn’t find anything as basic as Just Ham at 7/11. The nearest equivalent I could find includes ham, cheese, lettuce, and “sauce” (actually pretty tasty… kind of like an aioli). It’s also more expensive than I remembered - apparently they recently increased the price from ¥248 to ¥270 due to increased materials cost. https://www.sej.co.jp/products/a/item/050710/kanto/ https://www.sej.co.jp/products/a/item/050710/kanto/ So a bit more expensive at 7/11 but you’re getting cheese and fresh lettuce in addition to ham (we’ll call mayo/sauce vs butter a draw here). Personally I’d have no problem going with the 7/11 sandwich when I need a quick bite on the run (and indeed I have many times), but I’d probably pass on the Just Ham sandwich. Even if they cheat a bit on the filling, there’s just a lot more flavor and texture in the 7/11 sandwich.
    - dageshi 5y ago
      If you're buying a sandwich in the UK it's probably as part of a meal deal, that's a sandwich (or sushi/some other main), a "snack" and a drink. Usually for about £3 - £3.50 depending on the chain. They're basically a loss leader to get people into the stores, they usually include things like energy drinks that are over half of the price of the meal deal if bought individually. There's a pretty decent range of stuff included https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/shop/fresh-food/chilled-soup-sandwiches-and-salad-pots/pound3-meal-deal https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/shop/fresh-food/chille...

freetime2 5y ago

Disgusting? Really? I can understand being underwhelmed by soft white bread, but calling it disgusting seems a bit extreme.

Foobar8568 5y ago
Calling that thing bread is disgusting by itself...
- cercatrova 5y ago
  White bread is delicious, I wouldn't eat a PB&J on sourdough for example.
  - Ekaros 5y ago
    Then again I wouldn't qualify peanut butter and jelly as sandwich, but as cake... Specially if the bread is sweet too...
    - Chris2048 5y ago
      I wouldn't say the contents change what it is - a sandwich is a filling between slices of bread, nothing states it must be savoury, even though they often are. Jam, honey and (mashed) banana are also sandwich fillings. That said, there is no way it would qualify as cake, which would require a much sweeter and thicker batter - bread isn't the same.
    - khazhoux 5y ago
      PB&J is a sandwich. This is not in dispute.
      - beaconstudios 5y ago
        American food all round is weirdly sweet to European palates. PB&J as a sandwich is pretty out there from a UK perspective. The sweetest sandwich ingredient we typically use is honey bacon, and that's the exception to the rule.

unobatbayar 5y ago

Agreed. I'd say don't go to konbini at all. Every item has added price, and not really worth it; The food isn't so great, I also believe they add chemicals to persevere it. In special cases, if your only option for food is a convenience store, buy frozen food/rice and microwave them.

toyg 5y ago

Been to Japan twice and I agree. There is so much amazing food on offer, that conbini sandoichi really really shouldn't even be on the radar. If one really must go conbini, one should stick to onigiri and sweets.

esyir 5y ago
And for the more crazy stuff. I love the pizzaman. 7-11 does a pretty decent negishio pork bento too (not crazy, I just like it.) If they have them, the negitoro maki tends to be pretty decent at all the combinis.
oska 5y ago
Yes. Japan has a lot of good food but like any other industrialised country it also has highly processed bad food. This includes ramen, all the usual crisps/chips type snack foods, and from the sounds of it, these combini sandwiches too (never been tempted to try them when I've been in Japan). It's continually disappointing to see so much faddish focus on these non-nutritious bad foods, written by shallow 'japan expert' bloggers.

johnwalkr 5y ago

Luckily, in 2022 Bahn Mi is trending and available in many neighborhoods in Tokyo.