Best thing since sliced bread? Japan’s viral 7-Eleven egg salad sandwich is coming to Canada

Canadians have so many reasons to boast this week.

Four Olympic golds and counting. An overtime win against Czechia. A guaranteed medal in women’s hockey.

But perhaps, for some, the biggest win for national pride right now might be an egg salad sandwich soon to be available for $5 at convenience stores. Because on Thursday, 7-Eleven Canada announced it’s bringing Japan’s cult-like tamago sando to Canadian stores as of March 4.

The sandwich launched in the U.S. in December to great fanfare and mixed reviews, with some reviewers pointing out how the American version differs from the original, but still applauding the effort.

The Canadian take on the ubiquitous sandwich is made with cage-free eggs, authentic Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise and fresh shokupan (milk bread), according to the company. Like the U.S. version, it’s “inspired by” the viral sensation sold in Japan. Unlike the U.S. version, it appears more true to the original — it’s crustless.

“We have heard loud and clear from Canadians that they want more of the products that make 7-Eleven Japan a tourist destination,” said Marc Goodman, vice-president and general manager of 7-Eleven Canada, in a news release.

“Bringing our take on the Japanese-style Egg Salad Sandwich to Canada has long been a priority.”

Sorry, why is a sandwich so popular?

We’re so glad you asked!

Japan’s ubiquitous convenience store sandwiches have a cult-like following, and its 7-Eleven stores are described as a national treasure.

There are travel blogs and guides dedicated solely to the sandwiches. Tourists post in forums asking how to get one through Canadian customs, or where to find dupes back in Toronto. Users post TikToks where they boast about flying thousands of kilometres just to get their hands on one.

U.S. celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain once described the 7-Eleven sandwiches as “pillows of love” in an episode of Parts Unknown.

Then there’s the growing overall popularity of Japanese culture and travel. Canadian arrivals in Japan topped 688,000 in 2025, up 18 per cent from 2024, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.

The unique mix of cultural traditions and cutting-edge modernity, its emphasis on wellness and aesthetic of comfort, and its natural landscapes and popular attractions are just part of what makes Japan so appealing to many.

In North America, there’s a surge of interest in all things Japanese, from “cozy” fiction and Pokemon to food — including its convenience store sandwiches.

Part of a broader push

In Japan, convenience stores, or konbini, have become an essential part of everyday life, where people pay bills, send packages and pick up concert tickets. According to tourism website japan-guide.com, there are more than 50,000 konbini across the country. The major operators are 7-Eleven, Lawson and Family Mart.

Across all three chains, food has been the main driver of growth. Stores get multiple daily deliveries of sandwiches, onigiri and pre-cooked meals aimed at consumers too busy to cook.

7-Eleven Canada is looking to make a similar push by revamping its business model —starting with the sandwich, which represents much more than a sandwich.

It’s a part of a broader, five-year push to deepen the chain’s presence in Canada and help it grow in an environment where everyone from Walmart and grocery stores with expanded snack sections are competitors, explains the Canadian Press.

Some of that shift has already taken shape with some locations offering dine-in seating for customers who don’t want to dirty their car with food, Goodman said, and there’s also been an emphasis on more diverse and quality food.

“Whatever is popular in Japan, we could hopefully find one day here in Canada in our 7-Elevens,” he said.

7-Eleven operates, franchises and/or licenses more than 13,000 stores in the United States and Canada. More than 550 of those stores are located in Canada, from B.C. to Ontario, according to the company’s website.

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