This Seicomart has everything you need to get conveniently clean.
Japanese convenience stores have just about everything. We’re not just talking about delicious food and refreshing drinks, either, as they also offer a staggering array of services. Need to purchase concert or sporting event tickets? You can do that at the convenience store. Need something you purchased online to be delivered to a secure address and held until you can pick it up? You can do that at a convenience store. Need to pay your income taxes? Just bring your bill and a stack of cash to the convenience store, and you can take care of it there.
And yet, sometimes convenience stores in Japan still manage to surprise us, like a branch of Seicomart recently did.
Seicomart is the most popular convenience store chain in Japan’s northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, but they’ve got a few branches farther south too. Ibaraki Prefecture now has a handful of Seicomarts, including one in the town of Chikusei. At first, it seems like any other Seicomart branch, with shelves of bottled tea, onigiri rice balls, and the like.
But if you look towards the back of the store…
…you’ll see it has a laundromat too!
However, this is actually only the second-most surprising thing about this convenience store, because after you step into the laundry area and turn your head to the left you’ll see a pair of doors…
…beyond which are…showers!?!
Yep. If you find yourself in need of a quick shower, this Seicomart is happy to oblige. Actually, your shower doesn’t even have to be all that terribly quick, since you get 10 minutes for 200 yen (US$1.40). Just feed your coins into the slot, turn the handle, and you’re all set!
No reservations are required to use the showers, and this Seicomart even sells soap, shampoo, and towels, so you can walk in completely unprepared and still get clean. Each of the booths is actually composed of two rooms, one with the actual shower itself and the other a private space in which to dress/undress, with a basket to hold your clothing and towel while you’re showering.
This Seicomart branch is part of the Gran Terrace Chikusei michi no eki “roadside station,” a rest stop not on the expressway network that also has a food court and souvenir shops focusing on local produce and handicrafts. If you’re not quite ready to get right back on the road after your convenience store shower, there’s also a relaxation room with comfy easy chairs, one with a coin-operated massage function, attached to the Seicomart…
…and if you want to indulge in the Japanese custom of having a sweet snack after a bath or shower, we highly recommend the Hokkaido Melon Monaka ice cream-filled wafers, part of Seicomart’s Secoma private brand.
Really, if this Seicomart only had a tokonoma, it might just be the greatest Japanese convenience store ever.
Location information
Seicomart (Gran Terrace Chikusei branch) / セイコマート（グランテラス筑西店）
Ibaraki-ken, Chikusei-shi, Kawasumi 1850
茨城県筑西市川澄1850番地
Open 6 a.m.-11 p.m.
Website
Photos ©SoraNews24
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