2025-04-14 · Ep 1834 · 16m

Japanese Hot Convenience Store Pizza

SaitamaConvenience store food cultureFresh baked goodsPizzaJapanese food innovation

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Summary

Japanese Hot Convenience Store Pizza

Overview

John Daub ventures out to the Saitama countryside to film a main channel episode about Saitama's world-champion strawberries, but stumbles upon something unexpected at a rural 7-Eleven: freshly baked oven pizza. Parked outside with the pizza warming on the hood of his car, John discovers that Japan's convenience stores have evolved far beyond the pre-packaged sandwiches and microwaved bento of decades past. The margherita pizza, priced at around 750 yen (approximately $5 USD), bakes in just two minutes in a real oven and features genuine mozzarella cheese with a brick-oven taste that impresses even a skeptical John. He also samples their freshly baked cookies and reflects on how dramatically Japanese convenience store food has improved over his 30+ years living in Japan, making it now "good enough to be the first resort" rather than just a last resort. The video captures both a genuine food discovery and John's nostalgic reflections on the changing landscape of Japanese便利 (convenience stores).

Highlights

00:00:01 John discovers a 7-Eleven in the Saitama countryside that offers freshly baked oven pizza — something rarely found even in Tokyo
00:00:31 The pizza literally slides off the car hood as John tries to keep it warm — a comically unfortunate start
00:01:04 Inside the store, John spots yaki tate pan (freshly baked bread), croissants, cookies, menopan, and even Expo 2025 Osaka merchandise
00:02:09 The pizza is baked fresh in just two minutes in a real oven, not microwaved — priced at approximately 750 yen (about $5)
00:03:16 John tries the margherita pizza and is genuinely surprised by the brick-oven taste and quality of the mozzarella cheese
00:04:19 John reveals he's in Saitama to film a main channel episode about world-champion strawberries (2024 Grand Prix winners)
00:04:51 John explains the two winning strawberry varieties: Amadin and Benitama, noting Japan's explosion from 3-4 major varieties to 300+ in 20 years
00:07:32 John reflects that if this convenience store pizza existed 25 years ago, many more foreigners would have wanted to live in Japan
00:09:10 The best discovery: walking into this 7-Eleven now smells like fresh baked bread — an addictive transformation of the convenience store experience
00:13:26 John samples the freshly baked cookie, praising its thickness, soft texture, and real vanilla taste without the "chemical" aftertaste of packaged cookies

Timeline / Chapters

[00:00 – Arrival & Discovery]

John arrives at a rural 7-Eleven in Saitama, showing its isolated location on a map
Introduces the hot box pizza fresh from the oven
Comically drops the pizza on the ground while trying to keep it warm on the car hood

[01:04 – Inside the Store]

Goes inside to investigate the fresh baked goods section
Discovers yaki tate pan, croissants, cookies, menopan
Notes Expo 2025 Osaka merchandise
Observes the hot bread warmers and oven setup

[02:09 – Price & Preparation]

Explains the two-minute baking process
Mentions teriyaki chicken and margherita pizza options
Reveals price: approximately 750 yen (about $5 USD)
Shows footage of staff taking pizza out of the oven

[02:43 – First Taste]

Attempts to eat the margherita pizza in his lap
Notes the real mozzarella, brick-oven appearance, and burnt crust
Folds the pizza New York-style to eat it
Gives surprisingly positive reviews on taste, sauce, and crust

[04:19 – Saitama Strawberry Context]

Reveals the real reason for the Saitama trip: filming world-champion strawberries
Explains the 2024 Grand Prix win for Saitama strawberries
Introduces the Amadin and Benitama varieties
Notes Japan now has 300+ strawberry varieties (up from 3-4 major ones 20 years ago)
Mentions visiting family-run farms

[06:27 – Pizza Reflection & Store Tour]

Reflects on the pizza being better than expected
Zooms in on the map showing the rural location
Comments on the impressive financier cookies and French baguette
Notes 7-Eleven's ongoing corporate situation with a Canadian company
Observes the store's large interior space

[07:32 – Japan's Transformation]

Reflects on how Japan has changed in 30+ years
Notes that if fresh pizza and coffee had been available 25 years ago, more foreigners would have moved to Japan
Observes motorcycle riders at the rural intersection

[09:10 – The Scent Experience]

Discusses the transformation of the 7-Eleven smell
Notes the new smell of fresh baked bread combined with the traditional convenience store scent
Suggests this makes people want to linger in the store

[09:43 – Convenience Store Food Evolution]

Compares 7-Eleven to FamilyMart
Mentions the delivery pizza option
Plans to try the teriyaki chicken pizza next time

[10:16 – Advice for Newcomers]

Encourages viewers to be bold and visit local restaurants
Shares his own experience being nervous about Japanese restaurants in his first year
Notes that eating alone is common and acceptable in Japan
Mentions the possibility of being invited to join others (about 30% of the time)

[12:23 – Final Pizza Thoughts & Cookie]

Recommends folding the pizza like a calzone for best eating experience
Praises the value at 700 yen for the margherita
Shows Hot Pockets as another option
Samples the fresh baked cookie, comparing it favorably to Mrs. Fields

[14:31 – Closing]

Mentions the 90-minute drive back to Tokyo
Plans to pick up Leo from hoikuen (daycare)
Suggests checking the 7-Eleven app for pizza locations near Tokyo
Shows the champion strawberries one more time before signing off

Japan Travel Tips

Finding Fresh Baked Pizza: Not all 7-Eleven locations have the fresh baked pizza — check the 7-Eleven app or ask staff inside which locations offer it
Price Point: Fresh baked pizza runs approximately 700-800 yen (about $5 USD), making it excellent value for the quality
Best Way to Eat: Fold the slice like a New York-style pizza or make it into a calzone — the crust needs that extra structure
Visit Timing: Ask when the pizza comes out of the oven fresh, as the two-minute bake means there's likely a batch schedule
Beyond Pizza: Don't miss the yaki tate pan (freshly baked bread), fresh cookies, and other bakery items — the selection varies by location
Rural Convenience: In Japan's countryside, a 7-Eleven at a major intersection can be a lifesaver for food and restrooms
App Integration: 7-Eleven Japan's app may show which locations have specific services like pizza and delivery
Solo Dining: Eating alone at restaurants in Japan is completely normal — ramen shops, fast food chains, and even izakaya are all acceptable for solo diners

Japanese Language & Culture Notes

Yaki tate pan (焼きたてパン): Literally "freshly baked bread" — a category of bread baked fresh in-store rather than pre-packaged. The yaki tate (freshly baked) concept has become a major selling point for Japanese convenience stores.
Menopan: Another category of fresh baked bread items at convenience stores, typically smaller individual portions.
Financier: A French-style small cake/bread made with butter, common in Japanese convenience store bakeries as part of their premium offerings.
Hoikuen (保育園): Daycare or after-school care facility. John mentions picking up Leo from his hoikuen — a common arrangement for working parents in Japan.
Izakaya (居酒屋): Japanese-style pub/restaurant where food and drinks are served. John notes that eating alone at an izakaya is acceptable and can sometimes lead to being invited to join other patrons.
Convenience Store Evolution: Japanese convenience stores (コンビニ) have transformed from simple last-resort options to destinations offering restaurant-quality food. The competition between 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, and Lawson has driven this innovation.
7-Eleven Corporate Situation: John mentions a "hostile takeover" with a Canadian company — likely referring to the acquisition discussions involving 7-Eleven's parent company and Canadian convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard.

Food & Drink Guide

Item	Description	Price	Location	Timestamp
Margherita Pizza (マルゲリータピザ)	Fresh baked in-store oven, real mozzarella, brick-oven taste, about $5	~750 yen	Rural Saitama 7-Eleven	00:03:16
Teriyaki Chicken Pizza	Pizza with teriyaki chicken toppings	~800 yen	Same location	00:01:35
Yaki Tate Pan (焼きたてパン)	Freshly baked bread, croissants, cookies	Varies	Inside the 7-Eleven	00:00:31
Fresh Baked Cookie	Thick, soft, real vanilla taste, no chemical aftertaste	Free sample	Same 7-Eleven	00:13:26
Financier	French-style butter cake	Available	Same location	00:06:27
French Baguette	Fresh baked baguette	Available	Same location	00:06:57
Hot Pockets	Microwavable hot pockets	Available	Same location	00:12:43
Iced Coffee	Coffee beverage	Available	Same location	00:13:57
Saitama Strawberries (Amadin & Benitama)	World-champion strawberries, Grand Prix 2024 winners	Not specified	Different location (farm)	00:04:51

People

John Daub: Host and creator of Only in Japan Go. American who has lived in Japan for 30+ years. Shares his genuine surprise and delight at the quality of convenience store pizza, reflects on how Japan has changed during his time living there, and offers advice to newcomers about navigating Japanese food culture. His warm, conversational, self-deprecating style comes through as he drops the pizza, gets crumbs on himself, and openly admits to being impressed.
Leo: John's son. Mentioned as the reason John needs to get back to Tokyo by 5pm to pick him up from hoikuen (daycare). Not present in this video but referenced as part of John's daily life balancing content creation with family responsibilities.
7-Eleven Staff Members: The staff at the rural Saitama location are briefly shown taking pizza out of the oven. John notes he was respectful and didn't film beyond a certain point. One staff member was kind enough to give John a free sample cookie.

Key Takeaways

Japanese convenience stores have revolutionized fresh food: What was once a last-resort option is now a destination for quality meals, with real ovens baking pizza, bread, and pastries on-site.
Price-quality ratio is exceptional: At approximately 750 yen ($5), the fresh baked pizza offers brick-oven quality that would cost significantly more at a restaurant.
The sensory experience matters: The transformation of the 7-Eleven smell from "convenience store" to "fresh bakery" is a deliberate strategy to make customers want to linger and purchase more.
Japan's food innovation is ongoing: The expansion from a handful of strawberry varieties to 300+ in 20 years mirrors the innovation happening in convenience store food.
Solo travel and dining in Japan is not intimidating: Eating alone at restaurants is completely normal and culturally acceptable — an important reassurance for first-time visitors.
Technology enhances the experience: 7-Eleven's app integration allows customers to locate specific services like fresh pizza, delivery, and other offerings.
Rural Japan has excellent convenience infrastructure: Even in the "middle of nowhere," 7-Eleven provides access to quality food, coffee, and services that rival urban offerings.

Notable Quotes

00:03:47 "It's got that brick oven taste to it. The crust is... actually, it's really good." — John's surprised assessment after initial skepticism.
00:04:19 "Fairly shocked. I didn't think that convenience store would ever have..." — John trailing off, genuinely impressed by what he found.
00:07:32 "If I had this 25 years ago, there would be so many more foreigners wanting to live in Japan. If you have easy access to coffee and pizza now. You didn't have this before. This is crazy." — John's nostalgic reflection on how Japan has changed.
00:09:10 "The best part is when you walk into the 7-Eleven now, it smells like fresh baked bread... How do you turn a convenience store into a place that you want to linger there because it smells better than your own house? They found a way to do that."
00:10:16 "But the convenience store food wasn't this good. It wasn't this good. So I totally get it." — John validating why newcomers might rely on convenience stores.
00:11:18 "I thought it was weird to eat alone in a restaurant... it's not a bad thing. It's not a bad thing at all." — Advice to newcomers nervous about solo dining in Japan.
00:12:23 "The only way to eat this pizza, to be honest with you, is to fold it and make a calzone." — John's practical pizza-eating wisdom.
00:13:57 "I'd love to work at a 7-Eleven. Be smelling that." — John's whimsical appreciation for the bakery aroma.
00:14:31 "This is so much better than Mrs. Fields. Sorry Mrs. Fields, but 7-Eleven might have you beat here." — Bold comparison to American cookie chain.

Search Tags

#only-in-japan-go #convenience-store #7-eleven-japan #fresh-baked-pizza #yaki-tate-pan #japanese-food #saitama #countryside-japan #margherita-pizza #brick-oven #japanese-strawberries #izakaya #hoikuen #solo-travel-japan #tokyo #food-review #convenience-store-food #japan-travel #driving-in-japan #lemon-mochi #fresh-cookies #financier #bakery-japan #便利 #コンビニ

Full Transcript

00:00:01 John Daub: All right, I'm here in front of a 7-Eleven in the middle of... well, I'm going to show you on the map. Pretty much nowhere. And I have here a hot box of pizza that just came out of the oven. I didn't know. Well, I sort of did, but it's hard to find in Tokyo. The hot baked oven pizza at 7-Eleven. I'm going to keep it warm on the hood of my car. I'm driving in Saitama.

00:00:31 John Daub: Here's a— take a look here. Oh. Oh, no. Pizza just dropped off the hood. Maybe it'll still be okay. They have a lot of stuff. See that? It says yaki tate pan. So you can get freshly baked bread, croissants, cookies, menopan. It's... it's pretty amazing. And then you can see they actually do have some Expo 2025 stuff there from Osaka. But the 7-Eleven sort of in the middle of nowhere.

00:01:04 John Daub: Let's go in the car here and we're going to— we're going to try to eat it. See how a Japanese convenience store pizza is. I love the box. I love this box. It's so colorful. Like it's got 7-Eleven colors, doesn't it? Is this kind of crazy? This is kind of crazy. I'm going to put this here and we are going to have some convenience store pizza from 7-Eleven. I don't know how this is going to go.

00:01:35 John Daub: There's only one way to find out. I did drop it. All right, it's okay. It's hot. It smells so good. So this is the— this is the story from inside. This is what it was like. I walked in here just to get some water and an iced coffee. And I saw that they had some teriyaki chicken pizza and some margherita. I think there might be one other one. It says here it takes just two minutes to bake it.

00:02:09 John Daub: Like what? It's not microwaved. It's literally baked. It's here with all the other bento. I'd never seen this before because I don't think it's hard to find in Tokyo. And here's the— the hot bread. I guess they— they keep them in the heaters there, but it seems like it's just come out of the— the oven. The pizza is about five dollars. I think it's about five dollars. I don't know whether or not that's expensive or not.

00:02:43 John Daub: You can see me was taking it out of the oven. I wanted to be respectful, so I didn't— I didn't film beyond that. But it's still hot. Here we go. Boom. What do you think? This— this is pretty impressive here. That is the margherita pizza with real mozzarella cheese on here. Let's try this. It's nice and warm in my lap. It's just— I did not think that convenience store would ever have—

00:03:16 John Daub: Oh, and they cut it for me. I wonder if this is all right. It's really hard to look— it's got like the burnt, burnt crust and all that. Look like it's been cooked in a brick oven. You see it? Wow. All right, I'm trying to get the slice here. But it's— it looks like it's cut, but it's not. The only way to do it is to fold it over like New York style. You have to rip it.

00:03:47 John Daub: It's not going to come out. Looking good. There you go. It's really good. It's got that brick oven taste to it. The crust is— I mean it's not going to be— actually, it's really good. The sauce— it doesn't have the olive oil— fresh tomatoes. It's really good. It's already surpassed my expectations. The crust is a little bit crunchy. Get that taste of the brick oven there.

00:04:19 John Daub: I wish it was a little bit crispier, but hey, five dollars. That's good. Fairly shocked. I did go in there and get— it might be less than five dollars. It was 750— 750 yen or something like that. And got a nice coffee because it's— it's getting a warm day here. I'm actually here to film this— this is strawberries. I'm here to film the world champ, the national champion Saitama strawberries.

00:04:51 John Daub: These strawberries are the one that 2024 in December, the Grand Prix as the— the best strawberries in Japan. So I'm here to film this for a main channel episode. And I'm so happy— I was so thankful to the family. A lot of them are— they're all family run farms. I was so thankful for the— for the family to let me come in here and film. And I interviewed him about the winning the world championship.

00:05:25 John Daub: And a little bit of background on the strawberry. Amadin and Benitama are the varieties of Saitama strawberries. I know, right? I think it was about 15, 20 years ago. There were like maybe three or four really big varieties of strawberries. Over the last 20 years, there's now 300 varieties of strawberries in Japan. It's pretty crazy. We're at the end of the season now.

00:05:56 John Daub: But I came up with the idea. I said I'm going to make an episode on the strawberries. And in the back of the car, you can see I have a bunch of them that I'm gonna be filming for a main channel episode back in my studio. Get— get it with some dramatic light in there. Hold on a second. So be able to make a really good episode on that. That pizza is fantastic.

00:06:27 John Daub: I would— I didn't want to eat pizza. Now I do. Oh good. That's real good. So there you go. There's the 7-Eleven I was at. There's not a lot out here except motorcycles. Let me see if I can pull up the map here. And the map's loading in. But yeah, you could see if you— if we zoom in there— the— that cookie looks so good. Financier, ah— what is that one?

00:06:57 John Daub: A French baguette. So it's pretty good stuff here. I'm more and more impressed with 7-Eleven like every day. And they're going through like a hostile takeover thing with a Canadian company. So this is where I am. I'm quite far from Tokyo. It's about a 90 minute drive on the highway. I'm gonna be here for another few hours. I get one more strawberry place to film, but you can see there's like basically nothing.

00:07:32 John Daub: This is deep, deep sight. And there's just a 7-Eleven. And in all the fields here on the intersection. That's pretty cool. That's pretty cool. And here you go driving in a car and you get a fresh baked oven pizza in the middle of the countryside. You know what? If I had this 25 years ago, there would be— when I moved here, there would be so many more foreigners wanting to live in Japan. If you have easy access to coffee and pizza now— you didn't have this before. This is crazy. Japan is just—

00:08:05 John Daub: What's that I heard? Did you see somebody? Oh, I just saw them. A lot of motorcycle riders here. A lot of motorcycle riders here. Well, all right. That's all I got for you. That's all I got. Any questions? I gotta drive back to Tokyo. I'll be back by 5pm, pick up Leo at his hoikuen, which is like a daycare school type of thing. It's fantastic. 7-Eleven and they're advertising all over.

00:08:35 John Daub: I don't know if you can see this here. If you look inside the 7-Eleven on the ceiling, can you see it up there? You can see they have banners for the yaki tate. So it looks like it's something that's brand new inside of the 7-Eleven. So yeah, it's good. And you know what is the best part of it all? The best part is when you walk into the 7-Eleven now, it smells like fresh baked bread. I think 7-Eleven had a really unique smell to it. You know, like a Japanese convenience store smell. But now it has that smell plus fresh baked bread. It's addicting. It's so good.

00:09:10 John Daub: How do you turn a convenience store into a place that you— you want to linger there because it smells better than your own house? So they found a way to do that. I don't know. It's wonderful. FamilyMart— they have some good stuff in there. But 7-Eleven right now is the only one that I know that— and it's not at every location. But you could order this. And I believe they also have delivery pizza. They said that they deliver, which is kind of weird.

00:09:43 John Daub: Next time I get to try the teriyaki chicken one for sure. When I was in Japan last week, I— I lived off of FamilyMart and 7-Eleven. I'm kind of sad to hear that, bro. Because there's so much good food and so many restaurants. I would— you know, convenience store is last resort. But it's so good that it could be the first resort. But because it's so easy—

00:10:16 John Daub: But you got to be bold and daring, man. You got to go into the restaurants and start to eat the food. The local stuff. It's— but my first year in Japan, I didn't go into local restaurants. I was kind of scared and nervous to go in there. So I totally get it. But— yeah, but the convenience store food wasn't this good. It wasn't this good. So I totally get it. I thought it was weird to eat alone in a restaurant.

00:10:47 John Daub: Look, there's a lot of single people. There's a lot of people— ramen shops, you know, a lot of Japanese fast food. The Yoshinoya, Matsuya, coco curry, ichiban— it's not a thing. It's not a bad thing to eat alone. I've gone to izakayas and eaten alone. It's not a bad thing at all. And maybe 30% of the time, someone will invite you over. And it just depends. You can have a really good experience.

00:11:18 John Daub: I was used to traveling alone. So I'm somebody who can adjust or adapt to the situation and have some fun with it. But not everybody's like that. If you haven't been traveling alone for a long time, it can be really intimidating to travel alone. But— yeah, I wouldn't take it— I wouldn't, you know, worry too much about it. I'm—

00:11:51 John Daub: The only way to eat this pizza, to be honest with you, is to fold it and make a calzone. I— I gotta be honest with you. This is the only way. Price, convenience, and speed. I can't believe it. I can't believe it. How do they pull off brick oven pizza? Oh, they got Hot Pockets in there too. This is so much better. They have microwavable Hot Pockets.

00:12:23 John Daub: This is so much better. 700 yen. The teriyaki one was 800 yen, so it's 100 yen more for the toppings. But you can't go wrong with a margherita. This is going to fill you up and make you want more. It's going to make you want more. There it is. 7-Eleven fresh baked bread. Metal pond cookies for bonus. I did get a sample cookie. The guy was really nice. So I'll eat this for dessert for you guys.

00:12:53 John Daub: This is their fresh baked cookie. Look at how thick it is. Oh my God. Looks so good. It's still soft. I can taste the vanilla. It doesn't have that chemical taste that's been— if it's been sitting in plastic for a long time. I think that's part of the reason. If you bake it right away, you could probably reduce the chemicals. Smells good. It's a win, win, man.

00:13:26 John Daub: I'd love to work at a 7-Eleven. Be smelling— I love to work at a bakery, but if you couldn't get the job there, you could work at a 7-Eleven now. This is crazy. This is crazy. Get an iced coffee. All right, there you go. There's your fix for today. I'm taking you out to the countryside of Saitama. I— I hope you enjoyed it. This is where I am. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below.

00:13:57 John Daub: I gotta drive back to Tokyo. It's gonna take me about 90 minutes. Have a good day everybody. Thanks for watching. This is so much better than Mrs. Fields. Sorry Mrs. Fields, but 7-Eleven might have you beat here. Is this pizza available anywhere closer to Tokyo? I think there's some locations. You have to check on their website. But it's like— the 7-Eleven now— I don't—

00:14:31 John Daub: I didn't see it in Tokyo at a lot of places yet. This— this 7-Eleven has a ton of space inside there. So I think that they could— they had room for this. But it just depends. Check around— you check on the website. If you go into the 7-Eleven, you can ask, where do you have the pizza? But this 7-Eleven now is part of the app, and the app might actually be the one that's telling you where you can get the pizza.

00:15:01 John Daub: But there you go. I hope you enjoyed it. I did. I'm the one— I'm the one who gets to eat it and drive back home. All right, everybody, take care. I'll see you in another livestream probably tomorrow. I gotta go to one more strawberry place, and then back home. You want to see the strawberries? They are perfect. Amadin and Benitama. This is one of the most beautiful strawberry—

00:15:38 John Daub: The winner of the Strawberry Grand Prix right there. I bought enough that I'm gonna be okay for a while with some strawberry action. All right, guys. Matane.

Related Episodes

Japanese Hot Convenience Store Pizza

Japanese Hot Convenience Store Pizza

Overview

Highlights

Timeline / Chapters

Japan Travel Tips

Japanese Language & Culture Notes

Food & Drink Guide

People

Key Takeaways

Notable Quotes

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