7-Eleven Shikoku Area

7-Eleven just opened its first convenience store in a train station on the island of Shikoku. So Japan's largest convenience store chain is making progress in this area where they have not traditionally been strong.

http://www.sej.co.jp/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Lawson Sanrio and Onigiri

Two Sanrio (the Hello Kitty company) characters Kirimi-chan (a slice of salmon) and Kamaboko-chan (a slice of fish paste) visit Lawson convenience store to promote new varieties of onigiri (rice balls).

http://www.sanrio.co.jp/character/kirimichan/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Suntory Highball Cola

Suntory is offering a cola highball for the fall season. Not much of a highball fan, but the highball boom which started several years ago appears to still have some legs. サントリー

http://www.suntory.co.jp/whisky/torys/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Meiji Savas and a Healthy Meal

Meiji suggests runners try high protein powdered sports drink Savas to go with a healthy meal. 明治 ザバス

http://www.meiji.co.jp/sports/savas/index.php

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Morinaga Glucosamine Drink

Through its home delivery network, Morinaga now is selling a drink containing ingredients associated with joint health. A similar drink has been sold by Meiji through its home delivery network for years. Increasingly, Japanese dairy companies are using their home delivery networks to sell items for regular use like probiotics and supplements. This joint health drink contains glucosamine (1,500 mg), collagen (1,000 mg) and hyaluronic acid (5 mg).  森永 宅配 グルコサミン コラーゲン ヒアルロン酸

http://takuhaimilk.ne.jp/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

KFC Route 25 Adult Kentucky

There are now two KFC Route 25 locations, with a central location now added in the Otemachi area. Route 25 is Kentucky Fried Chicken's attempt to take the brand upscale. That can be seen from this photo where Suntory Premium Beer and highballs are being offered with your chicken. It is being dubbed "Adult Kentucky" which sounds a bit better in Japanese - Kentucky Friend Chicken is frequently abbreviated Kentucky in Japanese. Now that there is a more central location, I really should go by and see how it looks for myself. 大人ケンタッキー

http://www.kfc.co.jp/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

FamilyMart Bari Chocolate Collection

FamilyMart, the convenience store chain, has a new line of black sweets aimed at men. It is called Bari Chocolate, which comes from the Japanese word "barito" plus "chocolate". Hard to exactly translate in this case, but it conveys the sense of eating something in a rough manly manner. The product shown is a cream filled pasty, called shu cream in Japan or chou a la creme in French. This product has bits of hard chocolate incorporated in the bread part. There is also a black cheese cake in the collection with more products to come. シュークレーム

http://www.family.co.jp/topics/2014/140729_01.html

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

The Original KitKat

Here is a photo of the original KitKat, which at the time (1935) was called Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp. ネスレ キットカット

http://nestle.jp/brand/kit/product/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Meiji Apollo Regional Varieties

Here are a few of the Meiji Apollo regional varieties which correspond to local well known commodities and are sold to tourists to take back as presents, "omiyage" in Japanese. Clockwise from the bottom left you have grape flavor from the Shinshu area (Nagano), Mikan (Mandarin orange) flavor from Shizuoka, apple flavor from the Michinoku area (Tohoku), melon flavor from Hokkaido, and matcha green tea flavor from the Kansai area. 明治 アポロ お土産

http://www.meiji.co.jp/sweets/okashi-land/products/apollo/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Burger King Freah Avocado Whopper

Here is another view of the Premium Fresh Avocado Whopper. Very nice food photography. Interested to see not only what it tastes like, but what it looks like in real life. バーガーキング アボカド

https://www.burgerkingjapan.co.jp/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.