Part-Time Jobs in Japanese Comedy: Scenes From Convenience Stores, a Bookstore, and a Bar
Six Japanese comedy pieces about part-time work, from convenience store counters to a small bookstore's back room. Here's what to know before you press play.
Why the part-time job is prime territory for comedy
In Japan, part-time work goes by arubaito, or just baito for short. Many of the clerks behind a Japanese convenience store counter are part-timers. They work set hours on an assigned shift, under a store manager who runs the place.
That setup is built for comedy. A shift puts coworkers and a boss in a small space for hours at a time. A counter puts strangers face to face, with a script of polite phrases between them. The pieces below include four sketches (known in Japan as konto) and two manzai routines, the stand-up double-act format. Each one starts from that everyday arrangement of clerk, manager, and customer.
Convenience Store Part-Timer — France Piano (Manzai)
It's a new hire's first day at a convenience store. As a customer service drill, the store manager volunteers to play a customer so the new hire can practice.
Watch the new hire as closely as the manager. On day one, you can't exactly tell your boss no.
The Manager at My Part-Time Job — France Piano (Manzai)
The duo set out to demonstrate a piece of everyday wisdom: the nicest people are the scariest when they finally get angry. To show it, one of them plays a kind-hearted manager, and the other plays a part-timer named Nakagawa.
Keep that opening premise in mind, because the whole routine is measured against it. Also listen for the phrases the two keep coming back to.
Where to go next
If the convenience store scenes left you curious, a guide to Japan's konbini is a good next read. If one of these acts clicked with you, their performer profiles are the place to find more of their work.
Customer Service Practice
A boss plays a customer to train a new hire—and gets way too into the complaining.
3:18
Trying to Make the Nice Boss Mad
One plays a boss who's too nice. The other keeps pushing for an angry reaction.
4:58
We use AI as part of how we create our articles.
Subtitles on this video: AI translation from the Japanese.