Conbini Cabaret

June 24, 2013

Manual Labor for U-MART

by Yoko Kumano

All of our projects here at Umami Mart are a team effort. Kayoko and I have millions of ideas everyday that don’t get past the four walls of Umami Mart. From producing a TV show to buying a building, some ideas have faded while others are waiting for the right time. The ideas that we […]

June 21, 2013

Conbini Cabaret: Tanita Organic Tea

by Shizuka Wakashita

I went to college in the States after I graduated from high school in Japan. I learned how to speak English and how to eat two portions. After a year, I gained 30 pounds. I didn’t feel so guilty when living in the States but I felt horrible every time I went back to Japan […]

June 20, 2013

Conbini Cabaret: Gentei Candy, LTD

by UM Guest

A few weeks ago, one of my professors went off on a tangent while lecturing: “I was looking through a text book which read, ‘Japanese are nature-loving people.’ As if other people don’t love nature! I don’t know where you’re from, but many places also have seasonal changes! If you were from Boston, it’s not […]

June 19, 2013

Conbini Cabaret: My Inconvenient Conbini Town

by Moto Yamamoto

Conbinis are everywhere in Japan. Lawson, 7-Eleven, AM/PM, Yamazaki Daily, to name a few. You throw a rock, and you would probably hit three conbinis simultaneously. Well, let me tell you, that only happens in urban Japan. I grew up in Wakayama, in the middle of the mountains. The holy Koya mountain is about an […]

June 18, 2013

Conbini Cabaret: Conbini Sushi Cherry Pop

by Anders Arhoj

*For the next week, we will be celebrating conbini culture on Umami Mart, in preparation for the opening of U-MART on Tuesday 6/25. Check back every day for a new Conbini Cabaret article. Umami for life! -KA The first time in my life I stepped into a conbini (convenience store) in Tokyo was on the evening I […]