$1 Coffees at 7-Eleven Fuel Japan’s Surge Into the Java Big Leagues
Pedestrians walk in front of a 7-Eleven convenience store in Tokyo, Japan.
Photographer: Kiyoshi OtaThis article is for subscribers only.
The fastest-growing drinks market in Japan isn’t craft beer or fruit smoothies. It’s $1 cups of black coffee from the local 7-Eleven.
“Convenience-store coffee is just great, given its low price,” said Kiyoshi Fujimoto, a 50-year-old school teacher in Tokyo. He estimates he drinks coffee from the shops locally known as “conbinis” four times as often as from Starbucks Corp., and pays about one-third of the price.