How to eat cheap and

HOW TO EAT CHEAP AND QUICK IN JAPAN Our picks for the best konbini eats like onigiri, karaage and more.

In Japan, you can get a lot done in convenience stores, also known as konbini. You can stock up on toiletries, stationery and undergarments, buy bus and train tickets, pay insurance bills and even drop off parcels and luggage for deliveries. Famished fans also love popping into these chain stores for the mind-boggling array of affordable, mouth-watering food and drinks. And we aren’t just talking about ice cream, potato chips and chocolates. Here are some tummy-fi lling meals that you can feast on for 500 yen ($6.20) or less (and have change left for a cup of freshly brewed coffee on the spot too).

26 OISHII HIT LISTHIT LIST Fans swear by the tasty and fi lling onigiri at 7-Eleven

Onigiri from 7-Eleven Offi ce workers and to urists in need of a quick but satisfying carb fi x swear by these neatly wrapped rice balls. These are often encased in roasted seaweed and stuffed with an assortment of fi llings like egg and tuna.

One convenience store chain that sells onigiri is 7-Eleven, which some say has the best konbini food in Japan. Its ikura (salmon roe) onigiri is a classic and popular pick, and if you’re lucky, you may come upon the fried rice fl avour too. Yes, think Chinese-style fried rice with diced pork, all conveniently housed in a compact seaweed-wrapped pyramid. The best part? No chopsticks required!

Insider tip: Can’t get to Japan yet? Some 7-Eleven stores in Singapore have local versions of the onigiri… with chilli crab or nasi lemak fi lling. you’re lucky, you may come upon the fried rice fl avour too. Yes, think Chinese-style fried rice with diced pork, all conveniently housed in a

Karaage-Kun fried chicken from Lawson To understand how popular these are, here are the stats: Convenience store giant Lawson is said to sell 500,000 of these sinful crispy, bite-sized nuggets every day. To keep up with the high demand, Lawson even invented a robot named Karaage-Kun Robo that dispenses your fried chook at selected Lawson stores. Besides regular, spicy and cheese fl avours, there are limited edition ones like corn pottage, and seaweed and salt. Psst… American singer Katy Perry is a fan. You can also buy karaage chicken at other convenience store chains. The version from 7-Eleven, for example, is a breaded, boneless chicken thigh (there’s a cheesestuffed option too if you haven’t busted your daily calorie quota). Mini Stop encrusts theirs with fried potato bits for twice the umami oomph.

Feeling peckish? Grab a meat or fruit sandwich

Sandwiches from Family Mart If you love bread and pastries (and also Muji merchandise), a Family Mart store has to be on your itinerary. The chain is reported to have the best sandwiches and buns. Think katsu sando (sandwich with deep-fried pork), melon pan (which generally doesn’t have melon but looks like the fruit) and yakisoba buns (hot dog-style buns topped with fried noodles).

One of the most popular choices is the egg salad sandwich because, seriously, who can resist creamy egg and sweet mayo in between the softest slices of bread? If you visit Japan from January to April, you may also fi nd sandwiches stuffed with whipped cream and seasonal fruit like strawberries. Perfect for those who like dessert as their main course — we won’t judge. pork), melon pan (which generally doesn’t have melon but looks like the fruit) and yakisoba buns (hot dog-style buns topped sandwiches stuffed with whipped strawberries. Perfect for those who have melon but looks like the fruit) and yakisoba buns (hot dog-style buns topped sandwiches stuffed with whipped strawberries. Perfect for those who

Oden from most convenience stores Looking somewhat like our local yong tau foo, Japanese oden is a welcome treat in cold weather. This is why the steaming hot, soup-soaked dish is sold in convenience stores in the cooler months between September and April. A big pot, usually placed near the cashier, holds trays of tofu, daikon (Japanese radish), boiled eggs, fi sh cakes and konnyaku, all steeped for hours in a fragrant dashi broth. You scoop out what you want and pay by the piece.

Chuka-man from most convenience stores These are Chinese-style steamed buns that make a simple, delicious hot snack on a rainy day. They are usually fi lled with meat, mushrooms and bamboo shoots. But you can go on a hunt and suss out more unusual varieties like 7-Eleven’s Pizza-Man (with oozing cheese and tangy tomatoes, just like a pizza!), Family Mart’s Bolognese (loaded with ground beef or pork, tomatoes and spices) and Lawson’s Uji matcha (powdered green tea) buns.

Look out for steamed buns stuffed with melted cheese or sweet matcha Look out for steamed buns stuffed with melted cheese or sweet matcha Look out for steamed buns stuffed with melted cheese or sweet matcha

Bento sets from most convenience stores For something more substantial than an onigiri, bento sets are a good deal. The more common ones are donburi rice bowls with deep-fried pork (katsudon) or chicken cutlet and eggs. More elaborate options come with six to eight side dishes like potato korokke (croquette), tori karaage (fried chicken), tamagoyaki (rolled egg), mackerel and hamburg steak. After paying, warm up the food in the microwave ovens available at each store. Then tuck in. Bento sets from most Bento sets from most

So MATCHA better Take a look behind the scenes at this renowned matcha producer in Nishio city.

Scan here for more details on Aoi Seicha

Few things embody Japanese culture as much as matcha does. And few areas are as famous for growing green tea as Nishio in Aichi Prefecture in central Japan, because of its soil and climate. The city is also Japan’s largest producer of powdered green tea.

“I believe they have been growing it in this area for at least 1,200 years,” says Tadateru Honda, president of Aoi Seicha, a hundred-year-old company that’s one of the most established green tea producers in the area. “It is steeped in the tradition and history of this place.”

On a tour of the company, Honda provides a rundown on harvest times, why the plants are tented or shaded from the sun, and how the leaves are picked by hand or machine. All this affects the quality of the tea, which is seen in its colour, fragrance and taste — and eventual pricing.

In the factory, automated grinders are hard at work, blitzing the dried tea leaves into matcha. “For tea to drink, we use only stone grinders as it grinds more fi nely and preserves both the colour and the fragrance,” says Honda. “We avoid ceramic, which many companies use today because it heats up during grinding and can destroy the taste and fl avour of the tea.”

The shop sells different kinds of green tea, as well as associated paraphernalia like teapots, cups and bowls. Upstairs, a café serves many matcha delights, from cakes to parfaits. Few things embody Japanese culture as much as matcha does. “For tea to drink, we use only stone grinders as it grinds more fi nely and preserves both the colour and the fragrance,” says Honda. “We avoid ceramic, which many companies use today because it heats

7 Kami-Yashiki Kami-machi, Nishio, Aichi 445-0894. Tel: 81-563-57-2570 Tel: 81-563-57-2570

The eel deal Step inside this unagi specialist in Nishio for a taste of the Japanese delicacy.

If you love unagi and are travelling in Aichi Prefecture, try the eel experience known as hitsumabushi at Unagi No Kanemitsu in Nishio. The eel is cooked Nagoya-style — slit along the belly and grilled whole, without steaming. Then it is served diced with rice, broth, unagi sauce and condiments like grated wasabi and chopped green onions. Also within the complex is its offi ces and a factory complete with eel tanks, so that freshness and quality is assured. In addition to processing the eel for use in the restaurant, the factory also produces them for commercial sale. Workers process, package and box the grilled eels, to be sent out for sale across the country. With about 2,000 eels prepared in one hour, the brand is certainly fi lling an unabashed appetite for unagi.