Family Mart plans 1,000 yen Famichiki buffet at 10 stores across Japan

Thirty minutes of fried chicken for 1,000 yen

Family Mart will hold its first all you can eat Famichiki event on September 27 and 28, 2025, offering fans 30 minutes of its signature boneless fried chicken for 1,000 yen. The event will take place at 10 selected stores across Japan, with about 10 participants per seating and two sessions each afternoon, at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Participants can choose the regular flavor or the spicier Famichiki Red, switch between them during the session, and make sandwiches using up to two sets of special buns. A bottle of water is included. Staff will also provide a stamp sheet to record how many pieces each person eats.

Reservations opened on September 19 at 6 p.m. Japan Standard Time and are allocated in the order bookings are received. Customers can book through the company website or at ticketing terminals inside stores. With only a small number of seats available, checking availability is the first step for anyone hoping to attend.

The event puts a familiar convenience store snack into an unfamiliar setting: a seated meal with a timer. Family Mart usually sells Famichiki from the hot food case near the register to customers making a quick purchase. For one weekend, selected branches will turn that routine into a shared eating experience.

Branded as a dream session for Famichiki lovers, the limited event has the shape of a small trial designed to test demand and generate interest among convenience store regulars. Customers who cannot secure a seat can still join a longer fried food promotion running across the chain.

What the ticket includes

The 1,000 yen ticket covers the 30 minute session, a choice of regular Famichiki and Famichiki Red, bottled water, and up to two sets of buns. Diners can select pieces from the hot case and change flavors as they eat. The regular version offers the familiar crunchy coating and juicy meat, while Red provides a stronger spicy flavor.

The buns allow participants to turn the chicken into a quick sandwich, a popular way of eating Famichiki. Family Mart's dedicated buns have a slit that fits the cutlet. Limiting them to two sets keeps the focus of the event on the chicken itself.

A stamp sheet will track the number of pieces eaten, giving each participant a clear tally when time runs out. It adds a playful element, although the event is presented as a shared meal rather than a formal eating competition.

There is no separate entry charge or penalty system beyond the flat ticket price. Alcohol cannot be consumed inside the store, including at branches with seating counters. Anyone considering a beer or highball alongside their chicken will need to leave that pairing for home after the session.

Which stores are taking part?

The promotion is spread around Japan, but it is not available at every Family Mart. The 10 listed branches are in eight prefectures, with two locations each in Aichi and Fukuoka. Participants will need to check the address of their selected branch carefully when booking.

• Hokkaido: Subway Shindo higashi Station Front.
• Miyagi: Sendai Clis Road.
• Tokyo: NTT Kanto Medical Center Front.
• Kanagawa: Ichizawa cho.
• Aichi: Nadia Park Front.
• Aichi: Gokiso Station Front.
• Hyogo: Former Foreign Settlement East.
• Osaka: Taisho Station North.
• Fukuoka: Fukudai Engineering Faculty Front.
• Fukuoka: Fukuoka Doi 4 chome.

Each store will hold two seatings on each of the two days. At roughly 10 people per seating, that works out to about 40 places per store, or approximately 400 across all 10 locations over the weekend. The total is approximate because the stated capacity for each session is about 10.

The dates to keep in mind

The buffet weekend sits within Family Mart's longer AgeAge fried food festival, which began on September 16 and continues until October 6. Reservations for the eating sessions opened three days after the festival began.

• September 16: The AgeAge fried food festival begins.
• September 19, 6 p.m. Japan Standard Time: Reservations open online and at ticketing terminals inside stores.
• September 27: The first day of Famichiki sessions, with seatings at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.
• September 28: The second day, again with seatings at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.
• October 6: The AgeAge fried food festival ends.

Places are expected to go quickly because capacity is small and Famichiki has a following across the country. Customers planning to attend should confirm their reservation, check their chosen store, and arrive early for check in. The eating window itself lasts only half an hour.

How the price compares with buying individual pieces

Famichiki typically costs around 240 yen per piece at many stores in 2025, although prices can vary by product and location. At that price, four pieces would cost 960 yen, just below the event's 1,000 yen ticket. Five would cost 1,200 yen, taking the usual chicken bill above the admission price.

The practical comparison therefore falls between four and five pieces. Five pieces would cost 200 yen more when purchased individually at 240 yen each, while the event ticket also includes water and the limited supply of buns. The value for each diner depends on their appetite and the prices at their usual branch.

The 30 minute limit and stamp sheet give the meal a simple structure: a fixed price, a fixed amount of time, and a visible count. Regular customers may already know which flavor they prefer and how much they comfortably eat. Others may use the session to compare the original and Red versions side by side.

Sandwiches will make the meal different from eating the chicken alone. Diners focused on their piece count may prefer fewer buns, while those seeking a fuller sandwich experience can use the two sets provided. Water is included, and switching flavors offers variety during the short session. The best approach depends on personal preference rather than a single winning strategy.

Why Famichiki has such a following

Famichiki launched in 2006 and became a staple of the hot snack case near Family Mart registers. Its appeal rests on a straightforward combination: a crisp coating, juicy boneless meat, and seasoning that works both as a snack on its own and inside a bun.

The paper pouch is part of that everyday convenience. Staff place the chicken inside a sleeve with a top that tears open, helping customers keep their fingers clean and making it easier to eat while walking. Many visitors discover Famichiki early in a trip to Japan and return to it on days spent traveling by train.

Family Mart has tens of thousands of branches nationwide, giving the snack a place in daily routines as well as travel itineraries. The chain has also used Famichiki for community occasions and company milestones.

One example was a citywide school lunch day in Sayama, Saitama Prefecture, Family Mart's original hometown. Public schools received Famichiki as the main dish to celebrate an anniversary. Taking a product usually bought individually at a convenience store and serving it through school lunches shows how familiar the snack has become beyond the shop counter.

How rival convenience store chicken compares

Family Mart competes with other major convenience store chains for customers buying fried chicken. 7 Eleven sells Nana Chiki, a filet seasoned with herbs and spices. Lawson offers L Chiki and the smaller, bite size Karaage kun, alongside newer products such as Manmaru Chicken.

Many Nana Chiki pieces list at around 220 yen. Lawson's Manmaru Chicken debuted near 248 yen, with a plump, filling cut as its selling point. Those prices sit close to Famichiki's typical price of about 240 yen, giving shoppers several options within a similar spending range.

Taste tests often use Famichiki as a benchmark for crunch and juiciness. Nana Chiki leans toward bold seasoning, while Lawson's range puts more weight on variety and value. Family Mart also introduces limited Famichiki flavors through the year.

The September event changes the format of that competition. Instead of asking customers to choose one piece at the counter, Family Mart is inviting small groups to sit together and eat on a timer. That arrangement is much more familiar in buffet restaurants than in stores designed around quick purchases.

The AgeAge festival extends beyond the buffet

Family Mart's AgeAge promotion runs from September 16 to October 6, giving customers several weeks to participate even if they miss the eating sessions. Famichiki purchases during that period can earn digital stamps through the Fami Pay app.

Customers collect those stamps and use them to enter a lottery for merchandise themed around the chicken. The prize pool includes Famichiki suitcases, earrings, socks, pins, and clothing accessories carrying the fried chicken motif.

The festival also includes coupon promotions for shoppers buying hot snacks. Its digital stamp rally connects ordinary purchases with a game and encourages repeat visits, a familiar promotional approach in Japan. The buffet adds a short burst of novelty during the longer campaign.

For customers unable to reserve a seat, buying an individual cutlet and joining the stamp rally provides another way to take part. The merchandise lottery and store promotions are separate attractions from the limited seating available for the weekend sessions.

A seated event as counter space shrinks

Family Mart's decision to host a seated meal comes while the chain is reducing some of its eating areas. Many Japanese convenience stores added small counters over the past decade, allowing customers to sit with coffee, lunch, or a hot snack.

Family Mart has begun converting some of those spaces back into retail floor, citing changing customer habits and the need to stock more categories, including clothing and daily necessities. Some branches still have counters, but they are much less common than before 2020. The event will therefore depend on a small, specially arranged seating setup.

Japan's consumption tax also treats food differently depending on where it is eaten. Takeout food carries an 8 percent rate, while eating inside a store carries a 10 percent rate. That gap of two percentage points can encourage customers to take their purchases away rather than use a counter.

Alcohol rules remain the same whether a branch has seating or not: drinking inside the convenience store is not allowed. The event includes bottled water, keeping the session focused on the chicken and the short meal itself.

Why a convenience store buffet is unusual

Japan's all you can eat meals are known as tabehodai. Restaurants commonly offer timed plans for yakiniku, shabu shabu, sweets, or pizza, allowing diners to pay a fixed price and eat within a set period.

Convenience stores work differently. Their hot cases, queues, and layouts are organized for customers who enter, buy something, and leave within minutes. Holding a 30 minute eating session asks selected branches to make room for people staying in one place while the store continues serving other shoppers.

Family Mart's small groups and two afternoon seatings create a controlled setting for that change. The event turns a product that brings customers through the door every day into a shared occasion, while keeping the commitment limited to one weekend.

Fans can use it to compare flavors, make sandwiches, and see how their appetite matches their expectations. No dates have been given for further sessions. For now, the confirmed opportunity is September 27 and 28, with the wider fried food festival continuing until October 6.

At a Glance

• Family Mart's first all you can eat Famichiki event takes place on September 27 and 28, 2025, at 10 selected stores.
• A 1,000 yen ticket covers 30 minutes of regular Famichiki or Famichiki Red, bottled water, and up to two sets of buns.
• Sessions begin at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. each day, with about 10 participants per seating.
• Reservations opened September 19 at 6 p.m. Japan Standard Time, online and at ticketing terminals inside stores.
• The listed branches span eight prefectures, with approximately 400 places across the weekend.
• At a typical price of 240 yen each, five individual pieces would cost 1,200 yen.
• The AgeAge festival runs from September 16 to October 6, with a Fami Pay stamp rally, merchandise lottery, and hot snack promotions.
• Alcohol cannot be consumed inside the stores, including branches with seating counters.