Recently Japanese local people complaining about that “we can’t buy egg sandwich at Conbini store anymore”because foreigner tourists buy egg sandwichs all of them from early morning and sold out. Convenience stores in Japan replenish fresh food four times a day, but they still can't keep up. Does anyone know why Japanese egg sandwich became that popular for foreigner tourists?
by Immediate_Fan6924
22 Comments
Because the yen is cheap now, Japan is full of tourists, and the hordes communicate via dozens of channels to spread the word that the egg sandos are top tier amazeballs.
Fruit, or tuna, or teriyaki sandos seem unpalatable to most foreigners so they’re still plentiful.
Because of Anthony Bourdain. First was a scene where David Chang, of Momofuku, introduced him to the sandwiches saying he used to live on them in Japan (can’t find the clip), and later was [this scene](https://youtu.be/v1LOiRfMc08).
Edit: No Reservations S08E05 Tokyo: Cook it Raw ([DailyMotion link](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8h8rr6)). Lawson segment starts 10m35s.
It’s a very safe & affordable pick and it’s different enough from their egg salad sandwiches with the use of JP mayo which has been popularized with Kewpie and JP milk bread with a bit of sweetness.
What’s to not love about it?
We bought a lot of these when we were in Japan. For us it was simple, so much Japanese food has pork in it, or the labelling is obscure and you can’t tell whether it has pork product added, eg gelatin. We don’t eat any pork. So if we wanted a quick convenience snack or meal, we knew the egg sandwich was a safe and tasty option.
Wildly overhyped
They taste damn good? Pretty simple, heh.
I usually get the tuna salad/egg salad combo one.
Japanese convience store sandwiches are delicious, I usually buy katsu, tuna or egg sandwiches as an evening snack.
Pretty much overhyped, taste like a regular egg sandwich
Among tourists, they’re affordable, ubiquitous, delicious and non meat eater-safe. What’s not to like?
Would be awesome if they were widely available in the US but the typical quality of our eggs isn’t up to JP standards. Plus Big Food would find ways to inject each sando with excess fat, sugar and preservatives; JP konbinis toss their unsold ready to eat food at end of day.
These went quick even in the konbini in the countryside when I was in Japan, and it’s been years. So I’m skeptical that it’s because of the post-COVID boom in tourism. Which seems like an awfully convenient explanation for everything these days.
They’re not my favorite sandos, I prefer katsu. But they’re far better than the egg salad sandwiches usually served in the States, that use hard-boiled eggs with a powdery texture to the yolks. The ones in Japan, it seemed like the yolk was just right when the eggs were paired with the mayo, lending a lot more flavor to the mixture. Not runny, but a little jammy, a word I only hear from British people but that describes the texture perfectly.
Because its good
Our egg salad sandwiches are shit. I’ve tried making them at hom but it’s not the same
I prefer onigiri. But the sandos are inexpensive, good and nothing like what you’d find in a store in the United States. At least not at that price.
I’d say it’s because of two or three factors.
* First and most important, it tastes freaking good!
* Second, social media influencers who make videos about Konbini stores.
* Third, weak yen.
Someone in a popular drama probably ate an egg sandwich
This is so interesting to me! I first went to Japan and got addicted to these almost 20 years ago. There were definitely no egg sando influencers back then lol, and I have never seen anything by Anthony Bourdain, so I was certainly not “influenced”. I just love boiled eggs, so I gave them a try.
I still pay no attention to influencers or anything like that so this is the first I’m hearing about this. Now that I know there is some foreign tourist induced egg sando shortage, I’m going to be self conscious every time I get them now! 😭
As a resident. Totally beyond me, don’t get it.
All the great food here and the tourists come and race about two things. Egg Sandwiches and Coco Curry. I guess it shows what kind of tourist Japan is attracting.
Wait until the hordes discover these puppies. [https://imgur.com/a/9u0M0bP](https://imgur.com/a/9u0M0bP)
I like these, but one of the most over hyped foods in japan.
If looking for a cheap meal rather go to a family restaurant like royal host ,Joyfull etc
Why on earth would I go Japan and eat Egg Sandwiches? There is so much more to eat!
Been to Japan twice and never had one of these, but I saw a video on “how to make one”. Pretty much looked exactly like how I make my egg salad sandwiches at home.
My egg salad sandwiches ARE the best I’ve ever had, so maybe there’s something to it. I eat them warm, though, which everyone in America would think is weird. I personally find cold eggs gross and I don’t mind being weird about that.