If you’ve ever traveled to Japan, then you know full well the much-deserved affection for konbini culture.

Be it 7-Eleven, FamilyMart or Lawson, Japanese convenience stores seem stocked with most anything and everything needed in life, including an astonishing array of snacks and prepared foods that are not only fresh and delicious, but jaw-droppingly cheap. Talk to anyone who’s ever shopped at them and you’ll get an earful of wistful longing for those cushiony egg salad sandos, seaweed-wrapped rice balls, wasabi potato chips, assorted bentos, and so much more.

Yutori, which opened in Palo Alto this spring, brings a modern taste of that to the Bay Area.

Named for the Japanese word for “spaciousness” or “room to breathe,” this 5,000-square-foot space comprises a coffee bar, small marketplace selling Japanese home goods, and a takeout deli. Before the year ends, it will also add a sit-down restaurant.

I paid a visit a few days ago, specifically to check out the konbini-like offerings in the refrigerator cases. The array of bentos, onigiri, and sandos will definitely remind you of Japan.

But first things first. Your initial reaction here might be sticker shock. Remind yourself you are not in Japan with a very weak yen, but in pricey Palo Alto where rent and labor costs are no doubt astronomically higher. Then, splurge, because the quality is definitely evident.

Yutori was opened by Jerome Ito, the former head sushi chef at Google who owns Go Fish Poke Bar, with locations in Redwood City, San Jose, and Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto; as well as Taro San Noodle Bar at Stanford Shopping Center.

The egg salad sandwich on pillowy milk bread ($13) features a thick layer of very creamy egg salad with a slightly chunkier texture than most found in Japan, thanks to the more coarsely chopped hard-boiled eggs. Egg halves with creamy yolks poking out from the center give the sandwich even greater presence. A thin slice of cucumber adds freshness and crunch, and a sprinkle of furikake a nice touch of nuttiness and umami.

The aburi don may be $35, but one taste of the salmon belly and you will forget all about that. It is so lush and fatty — vaulting it into a whole another category from the serviceable slices typically found in sushi/sashimi assortments at your standard American or Japanese grocery store. The lightly seared chu toro, yellowtail toro and kanpachi are equally rich tasting. The tamagoyaki or dashi-rolled omelet actually has visible layers to it, giving it a nice fluffiness. Even the pickled ginger boasts more vigorous throaty heat.

Save room for a chocolate chip cookie ($4.50) made with TCHO chocolate, as well as sesame paste. Crisp all over and chewy-tender within, it’s adorned with sesame seeds all overtop for a deep nutty taste. It’s the handiwork of Pastry Chef Janet Tong, a veteran of Thomas Keller’s Bouchon and Ad Hoc, both in Yountville.

I look forward to Chef Ito opening the restaurant portion of the space. I know I won’t be in for bargain-basement Japan prices, but more like Palo Alto penthouse ones. Even so, based on what I tasted from his konbini takeout offerings, I know it will be highly worth checking out.