In Japan, 7-Eleven and its competitors are more than a place to buy a six-pack or pick up a pint of milk. Every day, millions of residents shop for food, send packages and pay their bills at over 55,000 convenience stores in the country.

在日本，7-Eleven及其竞争对手不仅仅是一个买一提啤酒或一瓶牛奶的地方。每天，有数百万民众在全日本超过5.5万家便利店购买食品、寄送包裹和支付账单。

Japan is a magnet for tourists, and convenience stores are often a highlight of a trip. Thousands of people have posted TikTok videos showing off their Japanese convenience store purchases. One of those videos, by the singer Sabrina Carpenter when she visited Japan on tour in 2023, has received over 600,000 likes.

日本是热门的旅游目的地，而便利店往往成为游客行程中的一大亮点。有许多人在TikTok上发布视频，展示他们在日本便利店的收获。歌手萨布丽娜·卡彭特2023年到日本开演唱会期间拍摄的一条便利店视频获得了超过60万个赞。

There are many other convenience store chains in Japan, including FamilyMart and Lawson, but 7-Eleven is the largest and most recognizable. It has nearly 22,000 stores across all 47 prefectures.

日本还有许多其他便利店连锁品牌，包括全家和罗森，但7-Eleven的规模最大，辨识度最高。它在全日本47个都道府县拥有近2.2万家门店。

But 7-Eleven’s biggest growth is likely to come outside Japan. Seven & i Holdings, the company that operates the chain, plans to invest $13.6 billion in 7-Eleven’s global expansion in the next few years, focusing primarily on North America.

不过，7-Eleven最大的增长可能将来自日本以外的市场。运营该连锁店的Seven & i Holdings计划在未来几年投资136亿美元，用于7-Eleven的全球扩张，主要聚焦北美市场。

Here is what you need to know about 7-Eleven and Japan’s convenience store phenomenon.

关于7-Eleven和日本的便利店现象，以下是需要了解的内容。

东京的一家7-Eleven。日本的便利店明亮洁净，商品陈列井然有序。

What is 7-Eleven’s history?

7-Eleven的发展历程

It began in 1927 as an American convenience store chain, operated by Southland Corporation, in Dallas. It opened its first store in Japan in 1974 in the Toyosu neighborhood in eastern Tokyo, featuring popular American items like hamburgers. Within two years, it had expanded to 100 stores.

这家公司的历史始于1927年，是Southland Corporation在美国达拉斯运营的一家连锁便利店。1974年，其日本首店落户东京东部的丰洲，店里有汉堡等受欢迎的美国商品。两年的工夫，它的规模扩大到100家门店。

In 1975, 7-Eleven started operating 24 hours at a store in Fukushima Prefecture, a feature that is now standard in most of its locations. The chain continued to expand rapidly, and by 1993 it had 5,000 stores across Japan.

1975年，7-Eleven在福岛县的一家门店开始试行24小时营业模式，这一特色后来成为其大多数门店的标准配置。这家连锁店持续快速扩张，到1993年，全日本已有5000家门店。

A Japanese supermarket operator, Ito-Yokado, and 7-Eleven Japan acquired 70 percent of Southland’s shares in 1991. In 2005, 7-Eleven became wholly Japanese-owned through Seven & i.

1991年，日本的超市运营商伊藤洋华堂与7-Eleven Japan收购了Southland Corporation 70%的股份。2005年，7-Eleven通过Seven & i成为完全由日本拥有的企业。

Over the years, 7-Eleven has continued to expand both domestically and internationally, and now has more stores than any other retailer in the world, with over 83,000 across 19 countries. It has over 13,000 in the United States and Canada.

历经多年发展，7-Eleven不断在国内外扩张，如今在全球19个国家拥有超过8.3万家门店，是世界上门店数量最多的零售企业。在美国和加拿大，它的门店数量超过1.3万家。

东京的一家7-Eleven货架上陈列着新鲜的便当和三明治。面包糕点和各种热食是店内的常备货品。

Exactly what is different about convenience stores in Japan?

日本便利店究竟有何不同？

For many Japanese people, convenience stores are a lifeline. In addition to 7-Eleven’s vast network of stores, FamilyMart has over 16,000 locations and Lawson nearly 15,000 in Japan. They all offer a range of services. There are the ready-to-eat meals, toiletries and basic clothing you might find in American convenience stores. But in Japan, they also let customers print documents and buy tickets for concerts, museums and long-distance buses.

对许多日本人而言，便利店如同生命线般重要。除7-Eleven庞大的门店网络外，全家在日本拥有超过1.6万家门店，罗森也有近1.5万家。这些便利店提供多元化服务。它们跟美国的便利店一样，售卖即食食品、洗护用品和日常衣物。但在日本的便利店，顾客还可以打印文件，购买演唱会、博物馆和长途巴士的门票。

In rural parts of Japan, aging populations and shrinking work forces have led to the closure of shopping malls, post offices and banks. That leaves convenience stores as often the closest and sometimes the only shops and bank A.T.M.s nearby.

在日本的农村地区，由于人口老龄化和劳动力萎缩，购物中心、邮局和银行相继关闭。便利店往往成为距离最近、有时甚至是唯一的商店和银行自动取款机地点。

Japanese convenience stores have become places where anyone can visit, even without buying anything, said Gavin Whitelaw, executive director of the Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies at Harvard.

哈佛大学赖肖尔日本研究所执行所长加文·怀特洛指出，即使什么都不买，日本的便利店也已成为所有人都能驻足的公共空间。

Dr. Whitelaw’s research focuses on convenience stores, and he has worked at several of them in Japan. He said he had witnessed moments that reflected the stores’ role as part of the public infrastructure. He saw a young child completing a first solo errand, with the help of a store clerk, and a woman who sought safety from a stalker.

怀特洛的研究重点就是便利店，并曾在日本多家便利店工作。他说，他亲眼见证过这些商店作为公共基础设施的重要时刻。他看到过一个人生第一次独自出门办事的孩童在店员帮助下完成了任务，还看到过一名女性在便利店寻求庇护，以躲避尾随者。

When natural disasters strike, convenience stores provide essential supplies and offer refuge and information to the community.

当自然灾害发生时，便利店不仅提供应急物资，更为社区居民提供避难场所和灾情信息。

“They are open and willing to go the extra mile and provide a safe space,” Dr. Whitelaw said. “People feel a certain sense of affinity and a sense of relief when they see these stores.”

“它们全天候营业，愿意额外付出努力营造安全空间，”怀特洛强调。“当人们看到这些便利店时，内心会涌起一种亲切和安心的感觉。”

What is it like inside a Japanese convenience store?

日本便利店内部是什么样的？

They are clean and bright and meticulously organized. But it’s easy to get distracted roaming a convenience store’s shelves, which are stocked with fresh boxed lunches, sandwiches, onigiri rice balls, salads and desserts. Freezers are packed with dozens of kinds of ice cream.

店内明亮洁净，商品陈列井然有序。但穿梭于货架之间极易令人流连忘返——新鲜便当、三明治、饭团、沙拉和甜点琳琅满目。冰柜里塞满数十种冰淇淋。

Hot foods are placed near the cashier: fried chicken, croquettes, steamed buns and, in the winter, stews. Most stores have coffee and smoothie machines, and customers can take a cup of ice or frozen fruit from the freezer and watch as the machine prepares their drink.

收银台附近陈列着热气腾腾的熟食：炸鸡、可乐饼、蒸包，冬季还会供应关东煮。多数门店配备咖啡机和冰沙机，顾客可自取冰杯或冷冻水果，并在一边看着机器制作饮品。

Many convenience stores also have tables, as well as hot water dispensers and microwaves, for those who don’t want to go home to eat.

许多便利店还设有就餐区，并配备了热水器和微波炉，为不愿回家就餐的顾客提供方便。

Japanese convenience stores usually offer seasonal and regional items. In spring, there are desserts and drinks with sakura cherry blossom flavors. An example of a regional food is the Okinawa Soba, a thick wheat noodle served in broth and topped with pork, a local specialty stocked at 7-Eleven locations in Okinawa.

日本便利店通常还会推出季节性和地区限定的商品。比如春天会有樱花口味的甜点和饮料。冲绳荞麦面是地区限定的代表，这是一种粗麦面条，配以浓汤和猪肉，是冲绳的特色美食，在当地的7-Eleven门店有售。

Aside from the food, convenience store are typically full of magazines and manga comics, travel-size toiletries, phone chargers and earphones, and stationary supplies.

除了食物之外，便利店里通常还有各种杂志和漫画、旅行装洗漱用品、手机充电器、耳机以及文具用品出售。

In Japan, convenience stores are a place to shop. Or a place to kill time.

在日本，便利店既是购物场所，亦是消磨时光的去处。

神奈川的一家7-Eleven。