Why Japan's 7-Elevens are the hottest new tourist attraction
Thanks to TikTok, grocery store tourism is trending. Viral taste tests of matcha lattes, egg salad sandwiches, and Osaka street food have turned konbinis (a shortened form of the Japanese word for convenience store) into must-see destinations, rather than just places to grab snacks on the go.
@bevsbymelodi
So many good matchas in japan but these were my top 5! I just started a substack to provide more details on my japan trip and to have a more blog-style avenue to share matcha & other content! Find the full list of all the matcha places I went to there 🙂
♬ original sound – melodi
According to Globetrender, Google searches for '7/11 Japan' jumped 5,000% in the past month. One TikTok creator's first stop after landing in Tokyo wasn't for ramen or sushi—it was 7-Eleven, where she loaded up on iced matcha, onigiri (Japanese rice balls), and a DIY smoothie from the store's machine.
Another picked up the now-viral egg salad sandwich, along with the equally popular cream-and-fruit version. 'I will never skip a 711 vlog,' one commenter wrote. Another tourist documented every item they tried, rating each out of a possible 10 points. 'I could honestly live off the 7/11 in Japan,' they captioned. One commenter added: '7/11 would do so much better in the USA if they just carry the same stuff as Japan 7/11.'
@summer.marshall
7 eleven in the US could neverrrr🍣 #7elevenjapan #foodhaul
♬ original sound – summer marshall
Japan's unique flavors and novelty packaging are tailor-made for virality, and tour operators are taking notice. ByFood, a platform for foodie travelers, recently launched a 'konbini tour' to showcase hidden gems beyond the trending items on social media.
'We've seen how viral konbini-related content, especially on platforms like TikTok, has captured global attention,' ByFood founder Serkan Toso told Globetrender. 'There's so much more to explore in these stores, so we created a Japanese convenience store tour to introduce guests to hidden gems and deeper aspects of konbini culture.'
Japan's 7-Elevens aren't the only food stores tourists are hitting up on their travels. 'Best cultural experience: visiting the local supermarket in a foreign country,' one viral TikTok reads. 'Ill never forget the iceland local supermarket that was such a bizzare experience,' one commenter added. 'Supermarché hates to see me coming,' another wrote. 'I would do anything to experience an american supermarket (specifically walmart and target).'
Grocery store tourism reflects a bigger shift in how people travel, driven in part by social media algorithms. The British Airways Holidays Travel Trends Report, produced with Globetrender, highlights 'taste hunting' as a major driver of travel decisions.
Food tours, cooking classes, and even trips to local supermarkets are seeing sharp increases in demand. Searches for cooking classes in destinations like Paris and Chiang Mai, Thailand, jumped 1,000% on TikTok in a single week. More than 70% of the platform's European users say they would book trips based on recommendations they see there.
Whether it's bakery crawls or 7-Eleven snack hauls, food is no longer a quick pit stop between tourist attractions—it's the destination.
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