Japan Convenience Stores: Complete Guide to 7-Eleven, FamilyMart & Lawson
What each chain actually does well, which services you can count on, and which ones depend on the specific store in front of you.
It is close to midnight, the restaurants near your hotel closed an hour ago, and the only lit storefront on the block is a 7-Eleven. Fifteen minutes later you have withdrawn cash, bought a hot meal, and topped up your transit card, three separate errands solved at one counter. That kind of moment, more than anything on the shelves, is why convenience stores earn their reputation with visitors to Japan.
The Japanese shorthand is konbini, and the three names you will see everywhere are 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, and Lawson. They overlap a great deal, food, drinks, an ATM, bill payment, but not completely, and the differences matter more the moment you need something beyond a snack: a working ATM, a place to send a bag ahead, a printed ticket. This guide is built around that distinction, what is common to all three, what depends on the chain, and what depends on the specific store.
What is a konbini in Japan? A konbini is a Japanese convenience store, 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, and Lawson are the three major chains, combining food, an ATM, and everyday services in one shop. Not every service is available at every location, so it pays to know which is common, which is chain-specific, and which depends on the individual store.
See the full service breakdown →Japan's Three Major Convenience Store Chains
コンビニ, short for "convenience store," covers all of them, but the three names below are the ones you'll actually encounter
Japan has more than 55,000 convenience stores, run mostly by these three companies. None of them is objectively "the best," each is stronger on a different, specific criterion, which is the more useful way to think about the choice.
| Chain | Best For | Traveller Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 7-Eleven | A dependable, foreigner-friendly default, especially for cash | The chain most first-time visitors default to, largely on ATM reputation alone |
| FamilyMart | Fried snacks and a quick comfort-food fix | ATM reliability depends on whether a given store has migrated yet |
| Lawson | Lighter meals, desserts, and ticketing | Check for an ATM sign before counting on cash here specifically |
7-Eleven Japan
7-Eleven is the chain most first-time visitors gravitate toward, largely on the strength of its ATM. Seven Bank, the operator behind those machines, has built a genuine reputation among travelers for reliably accepting foreign Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, Cirrus, Plus, UnionPay, American Express, JCB, Discover, and Diners Club cards, with English, Chinese, and Korean menus at most locations. Beyond cash, 7-Eleven's own onigiri and rice quality are frequently singled out as a strong all-rounder choice, and its MultiCopy terminals handle printing, ticketing, and bill payment.
FamilyMart Japan
FamilyMart's ATM situation is mid-change. Seven Bank began installing its own machines inside FamilyMart stores in June 2026, replacing the chain's previous e-net and Japan Post Bank ATMs, under an alliance with FamilyMart's parent company, Itochu. Seven Bank has said the rollout will continue for several years, with completion expected around 2030 by the operator's own estimate. In practice, that means any individual FamilyMart today may have either the newer Seven Bank machine or the older one, so treat foreign-card withdrawal at FamilyMart as likely rather than guaranteed until the changeover finishes.
On food, FamilyMart's case for itself is simpler: Famichiki, its bone-in fried chicken, has a devoted following and is the clearest reason to choose this chain over the other two if fried food is what you're after. Famiport, its own ticketing and printing terminal, covers the same ground as 7-Eleven's MultiCopy.
Lawson Japan
Lawson Bank ATMs accept overseas Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, Cirrus, Plus, and UnionPay cards, in ¥10,000 increments, with English, Chinese, and Korean support. Lawson itself discloses a genuine caveat worth taking seriously: not every Lawson location has an ATM configured for international withdrawals, and some older machines have stopped accepting overseas cards entirely under newer security standards. Check for a working machine before counting on a specific store for cash.
Lawson's food leans lighter than its rivals, its Karaage-kun fried chicken bites are the chain's best-known snack, and it carries a noticeably stronger dessert case. Loppi, Lawson's own ticketing terminal (the system the whole category is loosely named after), is where the chain first built its reputation for event and museum tickets.
What Can You Eat at a Japanese Convenience Store?
A legitimate meal option, not just a snack stop
Every konbini stocks some version of onigiri, rice balls wrapped in seaweed, usually filled with tuna mayo, salmon, or pickled plum, alongside sandwiches, bento boxes, instant noodles, and a hot-food counter with fried chicken, pork cutlets, and steamed buns. Winter brings oden, a simmered pot of fish cakes, daikon, and eggs kept warm at the register, a genuine seasonal marker rather than a year-round item. Coffee, usually brewed fresh at a self-serve machine near the register, and a rotating case of desserts round out what amounts to a real, inexpensive meal option rather than an afterthought.
Using Convenience Store ATMs in Japan
A chain-by-chain summary; for the full fee and network breakdown, see our money guide
For the exact fees, withdrawal limits, and how these networks compare to the other ATMs across Japan, see our complete guide to money in Japan. In short: 7-Eleven's Seven Bank machines are the most consistently foreign-card-friendly of the three, Lawson Bank machines work but are not guaranteed at every location, and FamilyMart is mid-transition to Seven Bank as described above. All three broadly accept the major international card networks where a working machine is available.
How to Pay at Japanese Convenience Stores
Cash works everywhere. Credit and debit cards are accepted at all three chains, along with Apple Pay and Google Pay, though a small number of stores, particularly rural or older locations, remain cash-preferred. IC cards, Suica, PASMO, and ICOCA, are accepted at nearly every register across all three chains and are usually the fastest option for a small purchase, tap and go. For how to get an IC card, add it to your phone, or top it up, see our complete guide to getting around Japan; for the full picture on cash, cards, and payment strategy, see our money in Japan guide.
Useful Convenience Store Services Tourists Often Miss
The single most important thing to know: not everything here is available everywhere
Guides to Japanese convenience stores tend to list services as though every konbini offers all of them. In practice, some are as reliable as the lights being on; others depend entirely on which chain you're in, or which specific store.
| Service | Availability |
|---|---|
| ATM (foreign card withdrawal) | Chain-specific |
| IC card payment (Suica/PASMO/ICOCA) | Common |
| Bill payment and parcel pickup | Common |
| Ticketing (concerts, theme parks, museums) | Chain-specific |
| Printing and document copying | Chain-specific |
| Parcel drop-off (takkyubin) | Location-dependent |
| Free Wi-Fi | Location-dependent |
| Restroom access | Location-dependent |
| Tax-free shopping | Location-dependent |
Common: true of all three major chains, nearly everywhere. Chain-specific: true of one chain generally, not location-dependent within it. Location-dependent: varies store to store regardless of chain.
Can You Store or Send Luggage at a Convenience Store?
Drop-off, not storage, and only in one direction
A konbini is not a place to leave a bag while you sightsee. What it can do is serve as a drop-off point for takkyubin, Japan's door-to-door luggage delivery network, sending a suitcase ahead to your next hotel instead of hauling it through station transfers. The counter can only send a bag, not receive or hold one, an outbound service only, and not every location participates. For how takkyubin works, typical costs, and delivery times, see our complete guide to getting around Japan.
A hotel front desk is generally the more reliable, better-explained option for a first-time visitor. A konbini is worth knowing about as a genuine fallback, not the default choice.
Are Convenience Stores in Japan Open 24 Hours?
Many, not all, and the exception is growing
Most convenience stores in Japan still operate around the clock, but you cannot assume it. An industry-wide labor shortage has pushed roughly 8 to 10 percent of stores across 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, and Lawson onto shortened hours, part of a broader trend that has seen some smaller regional chains cut back far more aggressively. A locked door at 3 a.m. is a real possibility in a residential neighborhood or smaller town, even if it would be unusual in central Tokyo or Osaka.
Japanese Convenience Store Etiquette
A few habits go a long way at the counter. Take your items out of the basket and set it on the counter or the rack beside the register rather than handing over the whole basket. If there's a small eat-in counter, use it; if there isn't, step just outside or find a nearby bench rather than eat while browsing the shelves. In-store trash bins are meant for packaging from something bought there, not general rubbish picked up earlier in the day, since public bins elsewhere in Japan are genuinely scarce. For etiquette expectations across the rest of your trip, see our cultural etiquette guide.
When Convenience Stores Are Most Useful During a Japan Trip
The moments where a konbini genuinely earns its place in an itinerary
An early breakfast before sightseeing
Onigiri, a sandwich, and coffee, ready well before most cafes open their doors.
A late hotel arrival
When the neighborhood restaurants have already closed for the night, a hot meal is usually still a few minutes away.
A cash shortfall
A working ATM is rarely far off, particularly at 7-Eleven, so long as you know which network to trust.
Sudden rain
A cheap umbrella, without a detour to a department store.
Before a long train ride
A bento and a drink for the journey, sold specifically with this in mind.
A bag you'd rather not carry
A genuine fallback for sending a suitcase ahead, if your hotel cannot arrange it directly.
7-Eleven vs FamilyMart vs Lawson: Which Should You Use?
For cash, 7-Eleven is the safest default given Seven Bank's reputation, with Lawson a reasonable second if you confirm the ATM is working. For food, it comes down to what you want rather than a single winner: FamilyMart for fried chicken, Lawson for something lighter or a dessert, 7-Eleven as the dependable middle ground. For tickets and printing, all three now cover the same ground through their own terminal, so proximity matters more than brand. In practice, for everyday basics, the differences between individual stores of the same chain often matter more than which of the three you happen to walk into.
- •You don't need to seek out a specific chain for everyday basics; proximity is usually the better guide
- •7-Eleven's Seven Bank ATMs are the most consistently foreign-card-friendly; Lawson works but isn't guaranteed everywhere, and FamilyMart is mid-transition to Seven Bank as of 2026
- •IC card payment (Suica/PASMO/ICOCA) is accepted almost everywhere across all three chains for small, fast purchases
- •Prepared food is a legitimate inexpensive meal, not just a snack, and worth planning around for an early departure or a late arrival
- •Opening hours and store inventory vary more than most guides admit; do not assume 24 hours or a specific service without checking
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