The food
Supply chains deliver fresh several times a day and unsold stock is pulled hard, so what is on the shelf is on the shelf because it is current. Onigiri rice balls come in a wrapper engineered to keep the nori separate from the rice until you open it — pull tab one, then two and three.
Reliable: egg sandwiches (particularly Lawson's), karaage fried chicken from the hot counter, oden in winter, pre-packed soba and udon, and the entire dessert cabinet. Each chain has its own strengths and its own defenders.
Everything else they do
- ATMs that reliably accept foreign cards — 7-Eleven's especially.
- Free clean toilets, in a country where that is common but not universal.
- Takkyubin luggage forwarding: drop a suitcase here and collect it at your next hotel.
- Printing, scanning and photocopying from a USB stick or phone.
- Paying utility bills, buying concert and museum tickets, topping up an IC card.
- Umbrellas, phone chargers, shirts, socks and hangover remedies at 3am.
Set a low bar and they will still clear it. The egg sandwich is not a meme.