The Convenience Store by the Sea by Sonoko Machida, translated by Bruno Navaksy

The Convenience Store by the Sea has been a sensation in Japan and South Korea, selling over half a million copies. It’s a slice of life novel, with interconnecting stories set in the quaint seaside town of Kitakyushu, Mojiko. It centres around Tenderness, the 24/7 Japanese convenience store that seems to have something for everyone, and it shares stories of the store’s customers and employees as they go about their daily lives.

It’s a place where the employees know everyone by name. Shiba, aka Phero-manager, is the handsome store manager has his own fan club of adoring women, who treat him like a celebrity. Shop assistant Mitsuri Nakao uses her spare time to create a manga based on Shiba’s life. The customers who come into the store are just as quirky, and from all walks of life, although a number of the customers are from the local retirement village. It’s a mix of realism, whimsy, and quirkiness.

Whether it is the original story or the translation, this book is a bit confusing in places, and some of the chapters are better than others, but overall this is a warm and charming read, that shares stories of this interconnected community, where the lights of the store are always on, and the shelves are filled with delicious treats and things you didn’t know you wanted until you shop there.

Reviewer: Karen McMillan

Orion