Sure beats stale snacks from the vending machine.

Matsudo High School, a public school in the town of Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, used to have a little campus store where students could buy bread, which in Japan encompasses snack-sized buns with sweet or savory fillings. That’s still not a ton of variety, though, and in 2022 the store, having trouble making ends meet, closed. Following that, the only snack options in the school were a pair of vending machines, once again stocked with just breads.

In late September, though, a new shop opened inside Matsudo High, and it’s got a much, much, wider selection, because it’s a full-on Japanese convenience store.

The store opened on September 25, and while it’s not huge, its floor space of 32 square meters (344 square feet) makes it as big as some convenience stores you’ll find out in Japanese towns or attached to train stations. What’s more, this is a full-fledged branch of Yamazaki Shop, the chain of convenience stores operated by Yamazaki Baking Company, and is stocked with roughly 1,000 different items. Since it’s located within the school building and isn’t accessible by the general public, obviously it doesn’t sell alcohol of tobacco products, but students can come in and get Japanese convenience store staples like onigiri/rice balls, bento boxed lunches, cup ramen, soft drinks such as tea and juice, and even sundry items like pens, stationery, and hand towels. It’s the first instance of a convenience store chain opening a branch inside a public high school in the prefecture.

The school does have a couple of stipulations for this unique branch. First, while self-checkout registers are becoming more common in Japanese convenience stores, all of the Matsudo High Yamazaki Shop’s sales have to be rung up by an employee, and the bread and rice balls they sell also must have been made that same day. It also doesn’t operate under the 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week schedule that’s the norm for Japanese convenience stores, and is instead open only on weekdays from 10: 30 a.m. to 6 p.m., making it accessible to kids after class and extracurricular activities.

As for whether the Yamazaki Shop will prove more profitable than the school’s previous bread-only shop, the owner, who has a half-dozen other convenience store franchises, isn’t too terribly concerned, as he’s a Matsudo native who wants to do something nice for his hometown. The school’s principal also says they also hope for the store to serve as an educational opportunity for programs in which students can learn about subjects such as marketing and distribution.

Source: Mainichi Shimbun via Hachima Kiko, Matsudo Tsushin, Asahi Resuka Plus
Top image: Pakutaso
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