(KO-N-BI-NI) Snacks

If you live here, you’ve already realized that Tokyo is home to tens of thousands of convenience stores. Not only are these handy when you need another liter of milk, but they are a great place to pick up snacks! Here are a few helpful hints to get you going:

Onigiri (Rice balls)

These are often color-coded, which is helpful for non-Japanese speakers:

Orange: Salmon (Sa-ke, written in Kanji 鮭)

Blue: Tuna Mayonnaise (Tsu-na-ma-yo, written in Katakana ツナマヨ)

Pink: Cod Roe (Ta-ra-ko, written in Hiragana たらこ)

Red: Sour Plum (Ume, written in Kanji 梅)

Snacks (Su-na-kku)

Some of the more popular snacks in convenience stores include:

“Soft Salad”: Salty rice cracker with bonito powder and extract, but nothing to do with salad or vegetables. These are very light and tasty, and extremely popular among young children. 1 packet (15g)=70kcal, sodium 97.5mg

“Tomato Pretz”: Salty flour based snack with vegetable paste, tomato paste, onion seasoning, dried spinach, and chicken extract. 1 packet (22.5g)=109kcal, sodium 181mg

"Kabukiage”: Sweet and salty rice cracker. According to the manufacturer, the naming of Kabukiage has nothing to do with Kabuki (Japanese traditional theater), they just simply wanted to keep the tradition of eating rice crackers. 1 packet (12g)=63.7kcal, sodium 69.4mg

“Bisko”: Wheat biscuits with milky cream filling. Contains skimmed milk, lactic acid, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, and vitamin D. 1 packet (21.6g)=107kcal, sodium 115mg. The ones‘ in the red box do not contain wheat.

“Kajuu Gummy”: Fruit gummy with 100% natural fruit extract and no artificial coloring. Also very high in collagen (3200mg). 1 packet (61g)=201kcal, sodium 12mg. There are 5 different flavors: grape, muscat, peach, pear, and orange.

“Kamukamu Lemon”: Lemon flavored chewing candy with natural lemon extract and very high in vitamin C (3000mg). 1 packet (38g)=155kcal, no sodium. There are 4 different flavors: lemon, sour plum, grape, and yogurt.