Dowson is a convenience store located in Tokyo, Japan. A number of part-time employees work there, including Oto Edogawa and Arisa Konno. Tadashi Maeno previously worked at the store before resigning and Kei Windsor worked as a part-time consultant.
After Oto Edogawa's family went bankrupt, she began working at Dowson. Mail-order items would frequently arrive at the store, which were usually picked up by an old man, Kobayashi. One day, Haruto Kaguragi went to the store to retrieve his items instead since Kobayashi was incapacitated. He and Oto instantly recognized one another from attending the same school.[1] A few days later, another employee, Tadashi Maeno, followed Oto home and attempted to assault her. She was protected by Haruto, who kicked Maeno.[2] Maeno was later forced to resign from his job by Haruto.[3]
Sometime later, another employee, Arisa Konno, started working at Dowson again after a short break.[4] The same night, Haruto suddenly showed up at the store. Konno invited him and Oto to eat at her house.[5] Several days later, Haruto visited Dowson again to see Oto. Konno then asked them to join her and her boyfriend at the batting cages.[6] Later, Oto was organizing the magazines at Dowson. Megumi Nishidome, who Oto met earlier that day, was featured in Blue Teen.[7] Some days later, Oto's friend Airi Maya asked to Konno about her whereabouts. Konno was also worried since Oto always called when she was going to be late.[8] Oto explained what happened when she arrived at work later that night.[9]
Hitoshi Konoe later visited Oto at Dowson to tell her about Haruto and Tenma Hase competing at the "Manly Man Festival." When she begged him not to leak the news, he refused.[10] Konno recorded their exchange and later sent it to Oto in case she needed "evidence."[11] Several days later, Oto took an extended break from Dowson in order to take care of Tenma in Kyoto.[12] That summer, the manager had ordered a large amount of "egg containers with chocolates inside." He had thought they would be popular, but only five had been sold in a week. Kei Windsor then offered up his marketing advice. The manager was impressed with the results and asked Kei if he continue helping out.[13]
The employees, particularly the manager, soon began to rely heavily on Kei. The store's entire stockroom was reorganized based on Kei's advice.[14] Within a few days, Dowson was experiencing a sales boom. The manager inspired to decorate the store for summer, thus sending Oto and Kei to procure some decorations.[15] Later, Kei informed everyone that he was returning to America. The manager was relieved when he came back to the store. He, however, was not there long. A few minutes later, three men took him away. The manager attempted to defend Kei, who went calmly after saying "It was fun working here."[16] Konno later chastised the manager for using Kei not being there as "an excuse to not do any work."[17]
Dowson is a reference to Lawson, a chain of convenience stores in Japan.
In Hana Nochi Hare (2018), Dowson is changed to FamilyMart, which is another popular chain store.[18]Oto and Konno are frequently shown there throughout the drama.