I visited Lawson, one of the major convenience-store chains in Tokyo, Japan, and was blown away.

Lawson felt like a miniature grocery store filled with a wide variety of foods and beverages, from baked goods to bottles of wine.

The store has entire sections dedicated to salad-making ingredients, juice, baked goods, fried chicken, and more.

Most of the items were incredibly affordable, too.

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Convenience stores in Japan, which are also known as conbini, live up to every bit of hype I have ever heard.

And after visiting Lawson, one of the biggest convenience-store chains in Japan, my expectations have officially been raised — and convenience stores in the US will never be nearly as appealing.

Here's a look at my first experience in Lawson, a broke food lover's dream.