During your trip in Japan, convenience stores are something you'll find yourself drop by quite often. This time, we will introduce local food that you can enjoy at Lawson, one of the major convenience store chains in Japan. Hot snacks such as Karaage-kun and sweets with particular about cream are very popular! Be sure to check them out.
※The listed products are all inclusive of tax, and the product information and prices are current as of the time of reporting (January 2024).
The origin of Lawson is actually a milk store! History of Lawson and the origin of its logo.
When thinking of Lawson, many people might first imagine the logo of a white milk can on a blue background. The reason for this milk can logo is said to be rooted in its origins as a milk store.
In the 1930s, J.J. Lawson ran a milk store in Ohio, USA, which gained a reputation in the local community for offering fresh and delicious milk, earning it the nickname "Lawson's Milk Store." Later, Lawson Milk Company was established, expanding its offerings to include not only milk but also daily necessities and essential goods, eventually evolving into the current form of convenience store chains. The current chain name "Lawson" and the milk can design which remind us of American farms, all originated from this milk store.
Subsequently, Lawson opened its first store, "Sakurazuka Store," in Osaka Prefecture, Japan, in 1975. Today, while the number of stores is limited, Lawson operates various types of stores, including "Natural Lawson," which focuses on domestically produced ingredients and offers 100% natural plant-based products, and additive-free daily necessities, and "Lawson Store 100," which follows the concept of a "menu-supporting convenience store" and sells reasonably priced fresh foods and bento boxes.
Must-try foods and sweets in Lawson Japan
Convenience stores are a great place to stop by when you're sightseeing or feeling a bit peckish. In this article, we will introduce Lawson's best-selling and recommended products! Be sure to try them on your next trip to Japan.
Lawson's Popular Products: Karaage-kun, L Chiki, L Kara
One thing that often catches your eye when you stop by a convenience store is the hot snacks next to the cashier counter. Surprisingly, Lawson was the first in the convenience store industry to introduce fryers and start selling fried food cooked in store.
Introduced for the first time in 1979, Lawson now sells various fried chicken foods such as "Karaage-kun," "L-chiki," and "L-kara." Among them, Karaage-kun has been a flagship product since its release in 1986, with cumulative sales exceeding 4.1 billion servings. In addition to the classic flavors like "Regular," "Red," "Hokkaido Cheese," and "Refreshing Lemon," there are also many regional limited flavors that are arranged with local ingredients or local menu. So, don't forget to stop by and check out the hot snacks showcase when you're traveling!
L-Chiki is a popular product of Lawson, just like Karaage-kun. Crispy texture of the coating and the juiciness of the meat spreading in the mouth with spicy flavor is its characteristic feature. In addition, Lawson offers a variety of skewered items such as tsukune (meatball) sticks, typical of Japan. Be sure to give them a try!
Beside the hot snacks, L-kara from the fried food corner is also popular. The batter has a two-layer structure, where the inner layer seals in moisture of the chicken meat, preventing the outer layer from getting soggy over time. This ensures that you can enjoy the crispy texture of the coating and the moisture of the meat even after time has passed. Don't forget to give it a try!
Lawson's Popular Products: Uchi Café's Sweets
As mentioned earlier, the Lawson chain name and milk can logo of originate from milk shop that handle fresh milk. As a result, what they are meticulous about is the freshness and deliciousness of the 'cream' used in the products! In addition to offering sweets that particular about cream, they also have collaborations with specialty stores such as Uchi Café × GODIVA.
Many people might associate Lawson's sweets with the Premium Roll Cake. This product, which started selling in 2009 and ignited the convenience store sweets boom, also focuses on cream. The cream, which was born after more than 200 trial products, is characterized by its rich and flavorful taste yet refreshing aftertaste. In 2018, they even released only the cream of the Premium Roll Cake!
In recent years, the Mochi Texture Roll Cake with Hokkaido Fresh Cream has been gaining popularity among foreign tourists. The unique mochi-like texture of Japanese sweets and the fact that it is divided into small portions makes it easy to share with each other are the key points!
Lawson's Popular Products: Bread
This product is a sandwich filled with rich-tasting egg salad in fluffy bread. It's rare to find an egg-centric sandwich like this overseas, which is why it's popular in stores located in airports, tourist spots, and hotels, where many foreign tourists visit. In fact, the store that sells the most sells nearly 100 egg sandwiches a day.
Lawson is also focusing on its lineup of health-related products, including bread and side dishes that contain nutrients such as dietary fiber and protein.
One of the representative product is the Mochi Barley Bread Butter Margarine Sandwich. It features a mochi-like texture achieved by blending barley flour, with the added richness of fermented butter margarine filling. Each package (2 pieces) contains approximately 16.8g of dietary fiber.
According to the "Dietary Reference Intakes for Japanese (2020 edition)" by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the recommended daily intake of dietary fiber is 18g or more for women and 21g or more for men (aged 18 to 64). Comparing these numbers, you can see that it contains a considerable amount of dietary fiber.
Lawson's Popular Products: MACHI Café's Coffee
(Right) Coffee (S) 120 yen (tax included) (Left) Iced Coffee (S) 120 yen each(tax included)
Coffee is a representative product that every convenience stores chain focus on. The freshly brewed coffee service "MACHI café" at Lawson is supervised by a popular specialty coffee shop in Japan "Sarutahiko Coffee," and is designed to achieve the perfect balance of acidity, bitterness, and richness.
At an affordable price, you can enjoy a fragrant and authentic taste, making it truly a "coffee you want to drink every day."
By the way, at MACHI café, if you bring your own tumbler, you can get a discount of 10 yen on drink menu items (excluding some). So be sure to bring your favorite water bottle or tumbler!
※Self-service machine stores are not applicable.
LAWSON Free Wi-Fi and Loppi for 24-hour currency exchange, English product labeling... Lawson offers plenty of convenient services for travelers!
LAWSON Free Wi-Fi Service
We've introduced many popular Lawson products so far, but another characteristic of Lawson is that it offers many services that are useful for foreign tourists. For example, in the store, you can easily connect to the internet via the LAWSON Free Wi-Fi service (*Agreement to terms of use and providing of email address are required for the first time). You can also use the "Japan Wi-Fi auto-connect" app for foreign tourists visiting Japan.
ATM・Loppi
Moreover, the ATM in store allows you to withdraw Japanese yen using cash cards or credit cards issued outside Japan. It is available 24 hours a day, with transaction screens available in English, Simplified Chinese, and Korean, which is very convenient!
Additionally, using the multimedia terminal "Loppi," you can easily purchase tickets for theme parks, concerts, and movies. Especially, tickets for the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka are designated with specific dates and times, so don't forget to purchase them in advance!
In recent years, Lawson has also accommodated the increasing number of travelers from overseas by including English product names on the packaging. This allows people who can't read Japanese to shop with confidence!
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