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 made with premium 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).
Apr 26. 2024
【2024 Version】Lawson's Must-Try Foods: Karaage-kun to Uchi Café Sweets!【Japan Convenience Store・Product Introduction】
Did you know that Lawson was originally a milk store? Learn the 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 branches is limited, Lawson operates various types of stores, including "Natural Lawson," which focuses on domestically produced ingredients and offers 100% natural plant-based products as well as additive-free daily necessities, and "Lawson Store 100," which follows the concept of a "convenience store for meal support" 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
Karaage-kun Regular 238 yen (tax included)
Red 238 yen (tax included)
Refreshing Lemon Flavor 238 yen (tax included)
Hokkaido Cheese Flavor 238 yen (tax included)
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 Regular 220 yen (tax included)
Just like Karaage-kun, L-Chiki is also a popular product of Lawson, boasting a crispy batter filled with juicy, flavorful meat. In addition, Lawson offers a variety of skewered items such as tsukune (meatball) sticks - a quintessentially Japanese snack. Be sure to give them a try!
L kara 4 pieces 260 yen (tax included)
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
Rich Canelé 171 yen (tax included)
Custard Pudding made with selected eggs 268 yen (tax included)
As mentioned earlier, the Lawson chain name and milk can logo originate from its history as a milk shop that handled fresh milk. As a result, Lawson is particularly meticulous about the freshness and deliciousness of the 'cream' used in its products! In addition to offering sweets made with carefully blended cream, they also carry out collaborations with specialty stores such as Uchi Café × GODIVA.
Premium Roll Cake 194 yen (tax included)
Many people in Japan know Lawson for its Premium Roll Cake. This product, which started selling in 2009 and ignited the convenience store sweets boom, also focuses on Lawson's speciality cream. The cream, which was born after more than 200 trial products, is characterized by its rich flavor and refreshing aftertaste. In 2018, Lawson even released the cream from the Premium Roll Cake as a stand-alone product!
Mochi texture roll cake with Hokkaido fresh cream 343 yen (tax included)
In recent years, the Mochi Texture Roll Cake with Hokkaido Fresh Cream has been gaining popularity among foreign tourists. Reasons for this include its unique mochi-like texture and the fact that it is divided into small portions, making it easy to share.
Lawson's Popular Products: Bread
Egg Sandwich 289 yen (tax included)
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, one popular Lawson store sells nearly 100 egg sandwiches a day.
Mochi barley bread butter margarine sandwich, 2 pieces for 149 yen (tax included)
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 products from this line 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
Coffee (S) 120 yen (tax included)
Iced Coffee (S) 120 yen each(tax included)
Coffee is a representative product that every convenience store chain focuses on. The freshly brewed coffee service "MACHI café" at Lawson is ran by "Sarutahiko Coffee" - a popular specialty coffee shop in Japan known for its perfect balance of acidity, bitterness, and richness.
At an affordable price, you can enjoy a fragrant and authentic taste, truly making it 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 selected items), so why not bring your favorite tumbler along?
※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 first time users). 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!
Additionally, using the multimedia terminal "Loppi," you can easily purchase tickets for theme parks, concerts, and movies. Tickets such as those 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!
Contents Source
This information is sourced by Fun Japan Communications Co., Ltd.
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