Why you should try the Seven Eleven desserts from Japan

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As of October 2022, there is no better time to visit Japan with the fallen Japanese yen against most currencies, especially the USD. 

I'm currently in Bangkok, and a lot of the same things cost more in Thailand than in Japan. And even if I try to be the most humble person, quality is much better in Japan.

And one thing I really feel will be an experience for international travelers, are our convenience store food. It may sound silly but here is some proof.

The JPY was 1USD=110JPY at the time. Now it's 1USD=150 JPY with inflation happening all over the world, in a lot of the countries more than 5% while Japan stays around 3%.

So when you come to Japan, chances are things will look cheaper than where you are now.

And I think convenience store food will be a very easy way to access very cost-effective, delicious desserts for sweet lovers.

So today, I will introduce why you should try the desserts from Seven Eleven in Japan, and my favorite ones!

Why you should try the Seven Eleven desserts from Japan


There are so many types of desserts like cakes, cream puffs, puddings, mochi, ... you name it.

My personal favorites are the mousse, chocolates, and cheesecakes.
So I can only talk about these...
You can visit the website of Seven Eleven to see what they have on the shelf!

What's so great about the desserts?



So these 2 dessert on the picture are:
Left:タピオカミルクティーゼリー：Tapioca milk tea jelly (254JPY=1.7USD)tax inc.
Right: 抹茶&抹茶パフェ：Matcha and Macha Parfait (300JPY=2USD)tax inc.

In my opinion, Seven-Eleven does the best in terms of overall product taste quality.

They constantly they will be coming up with new flavors, which promote customers to want to try them.

They will keep the ones that were popular and always try to improve on the products that didn't do as good.

Not only Seven Eleven but Lawson, FamilyMart, etc are always competing with each other.

For example, a minor convenience store circle K used to have a big sweets fan with their Cherie Dolce "tenshi no purin"=天使のプリン or "Angel's pudding" series.

Circle K was bought over by FamilyMart, so the series might be integrated into the FamilyMart lineup.

Serious about every detail of the dessert


So the matcha parfait has 4 layers that have different textures and flavors for you to enjoy.


Compared to the matcha parfait, at first, it just tasted like milk tea pudding.

But when you dig to catch the tapioca at the bottom, it mixes with the mousse and then it really becomes something special.

So we have a lot of fun trying out the new desserts that come from the convenience store.

  • Some people like to enjoy a layer at a time. 
  • Some people will mix it.
  • Some will add to the dessert like kuromitsu or honey.

They make sure that you don't get bored with the taste while doing everything they can to make it appealing to the eye.

My all-time favorite dessert from Seven Eleven:

  1. Uji Matcha Gateau Chocolat (213JPY=1.5USD)


I really like simple, so my best dessert goes to this one.

I grew up with my mom almost close to forbidding sugar from my diet, so I like how this is not too sweet and you can enjoy the flavors of the matcha, along with chocolate.


It looks very ordinary, but the rich, dense matcha chocolate flavor really was a surprise.

2. Double Rare Cheesecake (300JPY=2USD)



















Another favorite was this one.

I'm a big fan of tart, and the tart-like crumbled biscuit on top really matches the cheesecake.


Buttery, and the whipped cream and cheesecake... very balanced too.


An espresso, please!!

The dessert quality is extremely competitive

The desserts from the convenience stores are so good, we often say "ケーキ屋泣かせ" which translates to "it makes pastry shops cry."

If you want to go to a proper pastry shop, one dedicated chain is for example,
"quil fait bon"=キルフェボン, which is also in partnership with the First Class of Japan Airlines. The tart will cost around 800-1000JPY/piece.
Although I do visit places like quil fait bon on special occasions, 

I myself am happy with the quality dessert at the convenience store for 1/4 of the price, and so are a lot of other Japanese :)

It's really worth every yen.

*Please note that the dessert menus change very frequently, so there might be a chance it no longer is in their lineup anymore.

If you want to find out more about convenience stores in Japan, we covered it here.

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    In this blog, I post my food trips around the world, as insights into Japanese food in comparison to all the different cuisines I encounter through my trips. I have traveled to many places in Japan, so I will be sharing what I know to better plan your trip to my home country, Japan!
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