A Midnight Convenience Store Run with My Son
There’s something about a Japanese summer night that makes you restless. The heat doesn’t really let up even after the sun goes down, and the house gets quiet in a way that makes midnight feel like the perfect time to go out.
That’s how my older son and I found ourselves walking to the convenience store at midnight.
The Convenience Store at Midnight
There’s a particular kind of magic to a konbini at night. The fluorescent lights spill out onto the empty street, and inside, everything is perfectly arranged — onigiri, sandwiches, hot snacks under the warmer, and rows of drinks chilled to perfection.
We wandered through the aisles slowly, in no particular hurry. We stopped by the prepared food section — the rows of karaage and grilled chicken looked tempting at midnight, but we showed restraint and moved on.
In the end, what caught our attention was a display near the register: きのこの山 (Kinoko no Yama) and たけのこの里 (Takenoko no Sato), side by side.
The Great Kinoko vs. Takenoko Debate
If you’ve spent any time in Japan, you know that the rivalry between these two snacks is legendary. Kinoko no Yama — little mushroom-shaped biscuits topped with chocolate — versus Takenoko no Sato — bamboo shoot-shaped biscuits with a thicker chocolate coating. It’s a debate that’s been going on for decades, with camps firmly divided.
My son is firmly in the Takenoko no Sato camp. I lean toward Kinoko no Yama. We bought both.
Back home, we sat at the kitchen table past midnight, sampling one then the other and making our cases. His argument: more chocolate per bite. My argument: better crunch-to-chocolate ratio. Neither of us convinced the other — and somehow that felt exactly right.
Summer in Small Moments
There was nothing particularly special about that night — no occasion, no plan. Just a hot summer evening, a boy who was still awake, and a walk to the nearest konbini.
But these are the moments that stick. The late-night conversations, the side-by-side snack comparisons, the fluorescent-lit aisles at midnight. Summer in Nagoya is relentless heat and heavy air — but it’s also this.
If you’ve tried both Kinoko no Yama and Takenoko no Sato — which side are you on?
