What to say at a Japanese convenience store counter
You will do this more times than anything else in Japan. Breakfast, a coffee, an umbrella at six in the evening because it started raining โ the konbini counter is the one interaction a two-week trip repeats twenty times over. The good news is that it is not a conversation. It is a script, and the staff run the same four or five lines in the same order at every 7-Eleven, Lawson and FamilyMart in the country.
The lesson further down this page gives you that core script: bag, heating, chopsticks, point card, and how to say which way you are paying. The rest of this page is everything around it โ what physically happens at the counter while those questions are fired at you, the lines the script leaves out (a spoon, two separate bags, a top-up on your IC card, the touchscreen that appears when you buy a beer), and what to do when it goes slightly wrong.
Almost all of it is yes or no. It just does not feel that way the first time.
What actually happens at a konbini counter, step by step?
You put your things on the counter, not into the staff member's hand. There is a shallow tray beside the register for money: cash goes in the tray rather than a palm, and change comes back the same way, often with both hands and a small bow you need not match.
Then the questions start, fast, because the person asking has said them four hundred times today. You are not meant to parse the sentence โ you are listening for one word in the middle of it. Two lines bracket the script and neither is one you would guess: the one checking you are finished, and the one that arrives with your change.
How do you ask for a bag, a spoon, or your things split up?
Carrier bags are not free in Japan. The till adds a few yen for one โ the amount varies by chain and shows on the receipt โ which is why the bag question comes first. Decline, and most stores put a strip of tape on the item instead so it is visibly paid for on the way out. Some staff ask whether tape is acceptable, which is a baffling sentence the first time.
The extras are where the script runs out. Chopsticks are covered either way โ handed over with a bento, or offered as one of the questions โ but a spoon, a straw, or a second bag so the hot food does not sweat over your drinks are not. Those you have to ask for, and the moment to ask is while your things are still being scanned.
| What you want to say | Say it like this | Japanese |
|---|---|---|
| Could you put these in separate bags? The one to use when hot food and cold drinks are going in together. | Fukuro o wakete moraemasu ka? | ่ขใๅใใฆใใใใพใใ๏ผ |
| A large bag, please. | Ookii fukuro o onegai shimasu. | ๅคงใใ่ขใใ้กใใใพใใ |
| I've got my own bag, thanks. | Jibun no fukuro ga aru node daijoubu desu. | ่ชๅใฎ่ขใใใใฎใงๅคงไธๅคซใงใใ |
| How much is a bag? | Fukuro wa ikura desu ka? | ่ขใฏใใใใงใใ๏ผ |
| Could I have a spoon? | Supuun o onegai shimasu. | ในใใผใณใใ้กใใใพใใ |
| A straw, please. | Sutoroo o onegai shimasu. | ในใใญใผใใ้กใใใพใใ |
| Just as it is, thanks. Understood as no bag needed when it answers the bag question. | Sonomama de daijoubu desu. | ใใฎใพใพใงๅคงไธๅคซใงใใ |
What do you say if only one of two things needs heating?
Buy two hot items and the script forks: you get asked whether both are going in the microwave. A blanket please stops working here, because please means both, and you leave with a warm sandwich you did not want.
The microwave is quick but not instant, so expect a pause and the stock sentence that fills it. If a bento comes back lukewarm in the middle โ common with the thick winter ones โ hand it back and ask for longer. Nobody minds.
| What you want to say | Say it like this | Japanese |
|---|---|---|
| Just one of them, please. | Katahou dake onegai shimasu. | ็ๆนใ ใใ้กใใใพใใ |
| Could you heat it a bit longer? | Mou sukoshi atatamete moraemasu ka? | ใใๅฐใๆธฉใใฆใใใใพใใ๏ผ |
| No need to heat it. | Atatamenakute daijoubu desu. | ๆธฉใใชใใฆๅคงไธๅคซใงใใ |
| Two sets of chopsticks, please. Zen is the counter for a pair of chopsticks. Two fingers works too. | O-hashi o ni-zen onegai shimasu. | ใ็ฎธใไบ่ณใ้กใใใพใใ |
Why does the screen ask me to press a button when I buy beer?
Buy alcohol or cigarettes and the customer-facing screen flips to a confirmation panel: tap a button declaring you are twenty or over, the legal age for both in Japan. It is usually self-declaration rather than an ID check โ the staff member is not reaching for your passport, they are waiting for you to touch the screen so the register will move on.
Tourists freeze at exactly this point, because the till has gone quiet, the queue has stopped and the screen is in Japanese. The wording and the layout differ by chain, so if you cannot tell which button confirms, ask the staff member and they will point at it.
| What you want to say | Say it like this | Japanese |
|---|---|---|
| I'm over twenty. | Hatachi ijou desu. | ไบๅๆญณไปฅไธใงใใ |
| Do you need to see ID? | Mibun shoumeisho wa hitsuyou desu ka? | ่บซๅ่จผๆๆธใฏๅฟ ่ฆใงใใ๏ผ |
What do staff say if my card gets declined or my IC card is short?
Two things go wrong often enough to prepare for. A foreign credit card meets a terminal wanting a four-digit PIN you never set โ Japanese registers ask for a PIN far more readily than a signature. You can ask to sign instead, though whether that is allowed comes down to the card and the terminal rather than the staff member. Or you tap a Suica holding less than the total, which the machine reports with a flat beep and a message only the staff can read.
That second one has a fix visitors miss: you can top up an IC card at the register itself. Cash only, though โ card credit cannot buy card credit.
| What you want to say | Say it like this | Japanese |
|---|---|---|
| Could you put 3,000 yen on my Suica? Top-ups at the register are cash only. Swap in Pasmo or Icoca as needed. | Suica ni sanzen-en chaaji onegai shimasu. | Suicaใซไธๅๅใใฃใผใธใ้กใใใพใใ |
| How much is left on it? | Zandaka wa ikura desu ka? | ๆฎ้ซใฏใใใใงใใ๏ผ |
| Can I use this card? | Kono kaado, tsukaemasu ka? | ใใฎใซใผใใไฝฟใใพใใ๏ผ |
| Can I pay the difference in cash? Expect a no on IC cards โ most registers will not split one payment two ways. Topping up is the usual answer. | Tarinai bun wa genkin de haraemasu ka? | ่ถณใใชใๅใฏ็พ้ใงๆใใพใใ๏ผ |
What do the signs and buttons around the register say?
Half of a konbini counter is written rather than spoken, and the same seven words turn up in every branch.
- ใฌใธ (reji) โ the register. ใปใซใใฌใธ (serufu reji) is the self-checkout, which usually has a language button for English.
- ใไผ่จ (o-kaikei) โ the payment, the bill.
- ๅนด้ฝข็ขบ่ช (nenrei kakunin) โ age confirmation. This is the touchscreen panel.
- ใฌใธ่ข (reji-bukuro) โ carrier bag, with its price beside it.
- ้ปๅญใใใผ (denshi manee) โ e-money: IC cards, QR apps, tap-and-go.
- ใใใในใใใฏ (hotto sunakku) โ the hot case behind the counter. You order from it.
- ๆธฉใ (atatame) โ heating. Also written on the microwave.
What happens if you just say nothing at all?
Nothing bad. Silence gets read as a polite no, so you leave without the bag and without the chopsticks, holding a bento with tape on the lid. Plenty of visitors spend a whole trip like that by accident and never go hungry.
The things that cause actual friction are smaller:
- Tipping. There is none in Japan, and coins left on the counter become a problem for someone who now has to follow you into the street.
- Walking off mid-tape. Wait the two seconds; the tape is the shop's proof the item is paid for.
- Eating in the aisle. Konbini food is for outside, or the seating counter if the branch has one.
- Using the bins for hotel rubbish. They are for things bought there, and street bins barely exist.
- Reaching into the hot case. The fried chicken and the winter oden are staff-side; point and say how many.
๐ช Paying at a konbini
The staff fire 3-4 quick yes/no questions in a fixed order: bag, heat, chopsticks, point card, then payment. You don't need to understand the sentence โ just catch ONE keyword (fukuro = bag, atatame = heat, hashi = chopsticks, pointo = point card) and answer "onegai shimasu" (yes) or "daijoubu desu" (no thanks). Missed something? A small head-shake plus "daijoubu desu" safely clears it. And no tipping โ ever.
| What you want to say | Say it like this | Japanese |
|---|---|---|
| Yes, please. (accept a bag / heating) | Onegai shimasu. | ใ้กใใใพใใ |
| No thanks. / I'm okay. (decline anything) | Daijoubu desu. | ๅคงไธๅคซใงใใ |
| I don't need a bag. | Fukuro wa daijoubu desu. | ่ขใฏๅคงไธๅคซใงใใ |
| By card, please. (swap 'kaado' for 'genkin' = cash, 'IC kaado' = Suica/tap) | Kaado de onegai shimasu. | ใซใผใใงใ้กใใใพใใ |
| A receipt, please. | Reshiito onegai shimasu. | ใฌใทใผใใ้กใใใพใใ |
What they will say to you
What else is in PlaneHopper for this
Everything above is free to read and use. The full course adds 1 more scenario for these situations โ each with the complete phrase set, every reply you might hear, and a 10-second roleplay that makes you produce the line under time pressure instead of just reading it.
๐ Finding things in a konbini
The other half of the konbini: asking where the toilet is, whether there's a cash machine, whether they'll pour hot water into your cup noodles, and where on earth they keep the one thing you walked in for.
- Sumimasen, toire wa doko desu ka? ใใฟใพใใใใใคใฌใฏใฉใใงใใ๏ผ
Excuse me, where is the toilet? - Toire, tsukatte mo ii desu ka? ใใคใฌใไฝฟใฃใฆใใใใงใใ๏ผ
Is it okay to use the toilet?
+9 more phrases, replies and a timed roleplay in PlaneHopper.
The konbini script is worth rehearsing precisely because it repeats. Get it once and you have it for the trip, and the same yes-or-no reflex carries over to the ticket gate and the hotel front desk. Below is the core sequence in full: the questions, in order, with the answers that clear them.
And if what you need is not on a shelf at all, that is the other half of the konbini.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to speak Japanese at a Japanese convenience store?
No. You can complete the entire transaction with a nod and a head shake, and the staff will default to no bag and no heating if you say nothing. Knowing four or five words simply means you get the bag when you actually want one, and it makes the twenty seconds feel a lot less like an exam.
Is the plastic bag free at a konbini in Japan?
No. Carrier bags have carried a small mandatory charge nationwide since 2020, usually a few yen depending on the chain and the size. It appears as its own line on the receipt. If you decline, staff will normally put a piece of tape on your items instead so it is clear they are paid for.
Can you pay by credit card at a Japanese convenience store?
Yes. All the major chains take foreign credit cards, IC cards like Suica and Pasmo, and the main QR payment apps. The one thing to be ready for is a PIN prompt, since Japanese terminals ask for a four-digit code more often than a signature. If your card has no PIN, ask whether you can sign instead.
Can I top up my Suica or Pasmo at a convenience store?
Yes, at the register, and it is often faster than queuing at a station machine. Say the card name and the amount you want added. Top-ups at the counter are cash only, so keep some cash back for it rather than relying on your card.
Why does the konbini screen ask me to press a button when I buy alcohol?
It is an age confirmation. Alcohol and tobacco are both twenty-and-over in Japan, and the register will not proceed until someone taps the button on the customer-facing screen agreeing that you qualify. It is usually a self-declaration rather than an ID check. If you cannot read which button is which, ask the staff member and they will point.
Is it rude not to reply to irasshaimase when you walk into a konbini?
Not at all. Irasshaimase is a greeting called out to the room rather than a question to you, and no reply is expected. A small nod is more than enough, and most Japanese customers do not even give that.