Trash or Gas: Rating Japan's Family Mart
my biggest obsession while traveling through Japan
There’s something universal about the small convenience store experience. Back home in New Jersey, we have Wawa, which any local will tell you is the pinnacle of American convenience stores. In New York we have bodegas — the perfect mix of a deli and convenience store. Travel to another country and you might see a 7-Eleven, which has 67,000 stores worldwide and millions of visitors every year. But go to East Asia and you’ll find one of the best convenience store chains I’ve been to — Japan’s Family Mart.
While they’re scattered around a few countries in the region, you can find a Family Marts on almost every block in Japan. And during my visit there a few weeks ago, my brother and I devoured soooo many snacks and treats from the store on our nightly runs to the store.
Now, I’m definitely no expert in convenience store snacks. But all I’m saying is that if you do end up visiting Japan, it would be an absolute shame not to try some of the goodies at Family Mart. At least just a few. And to help you get started, here’s my honest review of the different treats I tried at Family Mart.
1. Chocolate Koalas + Chocolate Mushrooms
Ok, starting off easy. Both of these snacks are ones I’ve had in the States but something about eating these in Japan just hits different. The koalas are stuffed with chocolate on the inside and the mushrooms have the chocolate tops. I prefer the mushrooms tbh but both are solid snack options, especially if you’re on the go and need a quick sweet snack for sustenance. You can cop these in your local Asian supermarket at home to try, but if you really want the true experience then you gotta book that flight to Japan.
This gets a solid 7/10. Consistent and good, but not mind blowing.
2. Uchi Cafe Cream Puff
l lovedddd this cream puff. I first tried it in the Sapporo airport on my way to Tokyo from Shanghai and I couldn’t stop thinking about it after. Luckily I saw them again in the Family Mart near my hotel in Tokyo! The outer puff layer has a soft and chewy texture but the inner cream is where the money is at. The filling is unreal — it tastes like ice cream when ice cream is melted to the perfect soft serve consistency on a sunny day. I know that might not make sense but just trust me on this one. I have no idea how they achieve this cream consistency, but I’m definitely not complaining about it.
I’ll give this a 8.5/10. It is simply incredible. Next time I visit Japan, I’m 100% visiting Hokkaido just to try more of the Hokkaido fresh cream.
3. Yamazaki Strawberry Mochi
Japan is known for it's mochi and you will find strawberry mochi literally everywhere — in restaurants, street markets, and Family Mart. This Yamazaki version is made of the typical red bean paste mochi on the outside but surprisingly has a full strawberry and some cream on the inside. Although this was by no means the best mochi we had in Japan, it was a decent convenience store version and satisfied the craving when I had it.
I’ll give this one a 5/10. Wasn’t the most impressive and honestly could skip trying.
4. Choco Monaka Jumbo
I did my research with this one. According to a Japan Today survey, the Choco Monaka Jumbo is the most popular ice cream in Japan so I knew I had to try it. It has a crispy wafer on the outside with vanilla ice cream and a chocolate bar layer on the inside. Honestly, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the texture though, and ended up giving most of it to my brother. I see why this is considered the most popular ice cream in Japan but just wasn’t for me. Still, it was probably the most unique ice cream bars I’ve ever had and that definitely deserves brownie points.
This gets a 6/10.
5. Pino
This ice cream on the other hand…oh my god. After I discovered this, me and my brother devoured one almost every day. Although it only ranked number 7 on the Japan Today survey, this was easily our favorite Japanese ice cream. Pinot comes in this case with 6 little ice cream bites and a scoop to help you get them out of their compartment. They were the perfect size for an ice cream bite and had a crunchy chocolate outside layer with vanilla on the inside. Perfect for a post-dinner treat but not big enough to bog you down into a food coma. Genuinely miss this ice cream, need to get these in the States asap!
10/10. Yes. It really was that good. Mouthwatering.
6. Kit Kats (duh)
Japan is also known for their unique KitKat flavors. And you can honestly find these anywhere, not just in a Family Mart or convenience store. We especially saw many different KitKat flavors in Osaka, and would pick up a bag to munch on while walking around Dotonbori throughout the evening. My favorite was the rich cacao KitKats because I am obsessed with dark, rich chocolate and this flavor just elevated the KitKats to a whole new level. The other two flavors were also very yummy — matcha never misses in Japan and gold made us feel very boujie.
9/10. Each flavor is different but overall, KitKats are never a bad idea.
7. 7-Eleven Strawberry Sandos
Ok technically this is cheating because I didn’t get this at the Family Mart but I don’t really care because it is soooo worth mentioning. I knew I wanted to try this strawberry sando at some point in Japan but I just couldn’t find them in the Family Marts anywhere (even though TikTok told me these were everywhere). I almost forgot about my sando dreams until my last morning in Japan when my brother and I were heading to the airport and he surprised me with this while I was trying to figure out the train schedule.
And honestly, it was worth the wait. Saved the best for last. It was a simple breakfast but had the perfect ratio of cream to bread to strawberries. Must try in Japan!! Cannot emphasize this enough. 1000/10. Loved it and will be recreating at home.
Any snacks I missed in Japan? Would love to hear your take on must-try Family Mart essentials! Message me or leave a comment!!