Konbini Kinyoubi: Daily Yamazaki

Welcome to Konbini Kinyoubi, where every Friday (Kinyoubi) we visit our local convenience store (Konbini) and buy something delicious. This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please read our affiliate disclosure.

When it comes to Japanese convenience stores, there’s the big three: Lawson Station, 7-11, and Family Mart. But beyond those, there are smaller chains that you’ll see from time to time. One of these, Daily Yamazaki, has an outpost that’s on my normal bike ride route. This past Saturday, we decided to reward ourselves for our ride by stopping by Daily Yamazaki for what very well may have been my first-ever visit.

At first glance, it seemed like any other konbini - candy, good bottled coffee selection… but then I noticed some strange new snacks. Dried Fruit? Baskin-Robbins ice cream? What IS this place?]

The bento and chicken selection left a bit to be desired, but the thing that really sets Daily Yamazaki apart is the fact that it’s got its own bakery, with a selection of sweet and savory pastries.

We went with a trio of items to get the range of Daily’s unique offerings: a pastry, some chicken, and a bottled latte. The thick plastic around everything, though wasteful, helped them hold up in our bike bags.

First up was a pastry selected by Eriko. One thing you should know about Japan is that they love hiding red bean paste in things. If you’ve never had it, anko is a thick, sweet filling that gets put into all sorts of treats. I think it’s okay, depending on the variety, but it can get annoying because of the clandestine nature in which it is often delivered. You’ll buy what you think is a donut, and then BAM! Hit by a bunch of unexpected bean paste. Happens all the time. This one was slightly different because not only did it alert the unsuspecting buyer of the bean paste, but promised whipped cream inside as well.

It turns out whipped cream is exactly what every anko treat has been needing this entire time. It perfectly balanced the thickness of the paste with a light, airy texture, and when coupled with a nice soft exterior, everything was in perfect proportion. Eriko did good by selecting this. Every other red bean treat I’ve ever had is trash compared to this one. Elect it Mayor.

Up next: fried chicken. It was definitely crunchy, with a nice crisp exterior that sort of reminded me of the chicken fingers they used to sell at Dairy Queen circa 2003. Inside, the meat was nothing special, and no major hit of spice, but if you’re in it for the crunch, this chicken has got it.

To wash it all down, I got a Caffe Latte (sic) by Hibi Cafe from the cold drinks fridge. Despite its color, it did have some nice notes of coffee in it. Other than that, I can’t really tell you much, because if I’m being honest, I’ve had like six bottled coffees since then and I don’t remember. I think it was good.

Overall, Daily Yamazaki doesn't seem poised to take over the konbini world, as it lacks the unique chicken and bento options that make the others so popular. However, if you’re looking for baked goods, it definitely has a leg up on the competition. We’ll probably hit it up more when we’re nearby. 15/10 because of that whipped cream anko pastry.

Unfortunately, Amazon does not have a ton of red bean paste treats available to our foreign readers. But if you’re feeling adventurous, you can try some anko red bean mochi and let us know how it is.