At a glance
- Use convenience stores to pick up water or a packaged breakfast before an early start or late return. Don’t build an itinerary around them as a substitute for restaurants.
- Save stores whose addresses and hours you can confirm in the official multilingual store directory, such as LAWSON H Nishi-Shinjuku Store if you’re staying in Shinjuku or LAWSON H Asakusa Kannon Store if you’re visiting Asakusa.
- Check packaged food labels for use-by dates, storage instructions, and allergen information. If you have an allergy and can’t read the ingredients or confirm them with staff, don’t buy the product, even if it’s sealed. Have breakfast at your accommodation or another meal only after confirming the ingredients in advance.
- For food that needs heating, ask store staff about heating it. Don’t open foods with broth while traveling; eat them at your accommodation or somewhere that permits eating.
- Buying small drinks and snacks several times can quickly increase your daily food costs. Set separate budgets for water, one breakfast, and emergency snacks, and don’t buy several days’ worth of refrigerated food at once. For stores inside stations, check whether they’re before or after the ticket gates and when you can enter. Save a store you can reach before the first train the next day.
Day by day
Suggested itinerary
See each day's route, highlights, background and stay together in one place.
Check the next day’s departure time → check the accommodation’s refrigerator and eating areas → list water and one breakfast
Buy water and one breakfast the night before, check storage instructions, and eat the next day somewhere allowed by your accommodation’s and destination’s rules
Check leftover refrigerated items and use-by dates → don’t buy more food than you’ll eat → dispose of trash before leaving
Places and meals
A Shinjuku option listed in the official multilingual store directory with an address and 24-hour hours.
Google MapsAn Asakusa option listed in the official multilingual store directory with an address and 24-hour hours.
Google MapsHow to fit it in
The night before an early departure, buy water and one breakfast and check the storage instructions. The next day, check the eating rules at your accommodation and destination, and eat in an allowed place.
Reality check
Prepare the night before at a store near your accommodation so you don’t lose time searching at the departure station just before boarding the subway or train. Don’t buy refrigerated products before a long journey, and it’s safer not to carry foods with broth on crowded public transit.
Allow 15–20 minutes for shopping the night before and 20–30 minutes for breakfast and cleanup in the morning. Choosing food on the spot at the departure station could make you miss your train, so prepare near your accommodation, especially for an early itinerary. If checking ingredients takes too long, choose a simpler product.
As a budget example, based on Lawson’s official standard prices on October 4, 2026, two tuna-mayonnaise rice balls (171 yen each) and 600 ml of water (118 yen) cost 460 yen total. Actual prices and stock vary by store, region, and date, so add up the prices shown in store. Set separate limits for water, one breakfast, and emergency food in case you return late. Check whether you’ll actually eat discounted bundles or new products before adding several to your basket. If breakfast is included at your accommodation, don’t buy a duplicate meal at a convenience store.
Follow refrigeration instructions and use-by dates. If you have an allergy and can’t read the ingredients yourself or confirm them with staff, don’t assume a banana or sealed food is safe; don’t buy it. Before traveling, check that heated containers and hot soup are securely closed.
If plans change
If the food you want is unavailable, choose only products whose ingredients and allergen information you can clearly read. If you can’t confirm them, skip the convenience store meal and have breakfast at your accommodation or eat at a restaurant where staff can confirm the ingredients.
If you’re feeling unwell or have trouble reading ingredients, buy only water and eat at your accommodation or somewhere staff can confirm the ingredients.
Small tip
Fillings and allergen information vary by product for bento and rice balls. Follow staff instructions for microwave use.
Final check before departure
- Save one actual chain store between your accommodation and your first destination on your map.
- Buy only what you’ll eat the next day. If it needs refrigeration, check the room’s facilities.
- If you have an allergy, choose only products whose package labels you can read yourself.
Products, allergen labels, reheating services, and seating areas vary by convenience store location and product. Check the store's information and product labels at the location you plan to visit.
Information checked: 2026-07-29