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Convenient in ways you never dreamed...

© Timothy Joseph Young

Tokyo, in some ways, is an inconvenient place to live. Many people live quite far from their jobs, and have to choose between an hour or two on a packed train or on a packed expressway in order to get there. Twenty-four-hour ATMS are virtually unheard of (more on that in a future article). Some bills can only be paid in person at a post office during regular business hours--not easy to do when you work full time.

Balancing out some of these inconveniences is the explosion of convenience stores all over Japan.

Tokyo has the highest concentration of 24-hour shops in the world. These stores are more than just small, overpriced grocery stores.

For many, they're a source of lunch or dinner. From packaged sandwiches and rice balls (specially wrapped to keep the nori (seaweed paper) crisp, to a wide variety of cup noodles (hot water and disposible chopsticks available in the store at no extra charge) and microwavable meals (they'll nuke it for you), you can get just about anything you want for lunch (especially preservatives). Some stores have fresh fruit.

Ubiquitous in Japanese convenience stores for some time have been copiers and fax machines. The latter you can not only send from (at a per-page rate), but also you can set up an account to receive faxes, and dial your code number to print out data that's come into the server (operated by an express delivery company). Other services include paying utility bills at the counter, sending express delivery packages, and buying postage stamps.

More recent additions are ATMs (but, alas, not open 24 hours) and computer terminals for downloading videogames and booking travel and theater tickets.

As many Japanese are still afraid to use their credit cards to shop over the Internet, convenience stores are playing a role in e-commerce. You can choose to have your order sent to a convenience store and pay for it when you pick it up.

Interestingly, though, Japanese convenience stores don't offer one product that Americans take for granted: gasoline. This is partially due to strict regulations on gas sales (self-serv wasn't allowed until very recently), but also, most convenience stores here are crammed into a tiny lot; where would they put the gas pumps?!

More info:

Konbini Commerce - Japanese Convenience Stores and e-Commerce
http://www.gate39.com/business/konbinico...

A story about Japanese convenience stores by Doug Jackson
http://www.twics.com/~djack/service.html

How many are enough?
http://www.sunfield.ne.jp/~mike/essays/c...

Cash-based e-Commerce
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story...

Convenience Store Shopping Online
http://www.eretailnews.com/news/000703se...

We have seen the future, and it is conbini

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