Japan Convenience Stores Offering Print Services For Maps and Photos

Above, a Seven-Eleven convenience store in Ueno, Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Japan has many convenience stores to choose from. They are in constant competition with each other and that competition drives them to offer more services than the other.

Convenience stores range from Seven-Eleven, Lawson's, Am-Pm, FamilyMart and Circle K, among others.

Now, they are offering printing services aimed at foreign tourists.

According to The Japan News (Yomiuri Shimbun):

Major convenience store chain operators are competing to provide a wider variety of services, including map and photo printing, by installing multifunction copiers at their outlets. 

Since late April, Seven-Eleven Japan Co. has been providing a new service that allows customers to print A3-sized maps of 43 sightseeing spots in the nation—including Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Gion, Kyoto Prefecture—for ¥100 each. The service is targeted at tourists.

The other convenience store companies have responded by offering similar services at their outlets.

Many customers have also been using the Seven-Eleven printer machines to print photos taken with their smartphones.

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