DAYS
STAY SALTY ...... means column
Rizumu Kobayashi Column
Things That Change, Things That Keep Changing
from Nagano / Japan
Rizumu Kobayashi
Essayist
An essayist from Nagano Prefecture. Mother of two children. Produced the whole-house rental “Rinrei Terrace” in Azumino City.
12.10.2025
DAYS/ Rizumu Kobayashi Column
Things That Change, Things That Keep Changing
The Convenience Store Too Far to Walk To
When I grew up, I wanted to live somewhere with a convenience store just a three-minute walk away.
A convenience store I could wander into on sleepless nights. The idea that it would be open no matter how late felt like a dream. Just bathing in that cheap white light felt reassuring, and its welcoming tolerance—like it would accept me in my pajamas and slippers—was wonderful.
But as a high schooler living in the remote countryside of Nagano, there was no convenience store within walking distance. Getting to one required a car, and for a kid too young to get a license, convenience stores felt impossibly far away. So I thought, “I'll get out of here soon and live near a convenience store.”
Time passed, and my dream came true. I now live just a three-minute walk from a convenience store. Having one nearby is incredibly convenient. Even without a printer at home, I can print things at the store. Books I sell on Mercari can be shipped easily from there. I can pop out on a whim to buy ice cream or gummy candies, or grab a hot snack when I feel peckish. The freedom of having a convenience store nearby. The freedom of becoming an adult.
Having grown completely accustomed to that comfort lately, I find myself remembering the convenience stores from when I lived in Nagano.
For me as a child, convenience stores were places I went with my parents.
After dinner, when I craved something sweet, I'd suggest, “Want some ice cream?” And just to buy ice cream at the convenience store, my dad would take the car out. We'd drive down pitch-black country roads with no streetlights.
When it was just my father and me going to the convenience store, we usually sang songs at the top of our lungs. It could be a DREAMS COME TRUE song, or something by Momoe Yamaguchi, it varied day to day. My father, who didn't know the songs anyway, would just shout along with me using completely made-up words. He was tone-deaf.
Once we reached the convenience store, we both became surprisingly quiet, just ordinary customers buying ice cream. We'd take the plastic bag filled with ice cream for each family member from the clerk, and both my father and I would hurry back to the car.
I'd sit in the passenger seat and place it on my lap. Mom would surely be brewing coffee by the time we got home. Thinking about how, despite being a bit of a hassle, we'd tacitly exchange one bite each of the ice cream as an unspoken rule, I'd sing loudly with my dad again.
Convenience stores you couldn't walk to were just the norm. That norm changed without us even noticing.
Shinshu Azumino Entire House Rental 「Rinrei terrace」
A private rental house with 6 single rooms nestled in Azumino, Nagano
Each room features a bed, toilet, and shower
For carefree travels with friends
Relax in your own private space, one room per person
