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Friday, July 6, 2007

The 100-Yen Store Explosion

Something I absolutely love about Japan, one thing that has only gotten better and better in all the years I’ve been here, and that is---

100 YEN SHOPS!!!

Oh my God!! If you’re thinking “100yen=$ Shop”, THINK AGAIN! There is no comparison at all. It is literally possible to outfit your whole family and decorate your whole house from a 100-Yen shop, and to do it in style and class! Before I buy anything, I check at the local Daiso for it, and if it isn’t there, I’m really bummed that I’ll have to buy it for maybe 10 yen more at another store. The 100 yen shop has been a supplier of omiyage (souvenir gifts), birthday party prizes, Christmas decorating, snack supplies, glassware and cutlery, storage containers, baby toys, stationary, gardening needs—I can’t even think what I’d do without the shop! And thank God, we are SO lucky in our little tiny country town—we don’t have a Starbucks, we don’t even have a Mister Donuts, but we do have TWO 100-yen shops!!

Whenever I ask my Mom what she wants me to bring from Japan, she always says, “Some of those cute little plates from the 100-yen shop!” When my friends return home for vacations, their first stop for presents is—you got it!! When the kids need something for school—guess where we go to find it! When my supply of teaspoons has dwindled down to 3, it’s time to make the trip!

Funny thing is though—I noticed that some of that stuff is actually cheaper in other shops—so why do I feel like I’m getting such a good deal when I get it at Daiso?

When I first came to Japan I was introduced to the 100-yen shop, actually, it was more like the 100-yen stall, set up outside a supermarket for a week, before moving on to another location. You were lucky to be on the circuit. About 11 years ago came the introduction of Daiso, and with it the 100-yen shop explosion, or more like the Daiso explosion. The shop has become so popular that it even has its own little (or rather large) corner in high class department stores like Takashimaya! It is slowly moving overseas with stores set up in Canada, the US, the Middle East, Indonesia, Taiwan, Korea, New Zealand and more. If you’re thinking about a good possible future investment, Daiso stock could prove to be very profitable.

It’s sometimes hard to imagine life before the mega-100-Yen shop, it’s not quite on the same level as the Internet, but pretty close!

5 comments:

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Renee said...

10 yen more elsewhere??? You mean 600!! I have seen stuff for over 1000 yen elsewhere when I know I can get it at the 100 yen store! Try and buy an umbrella elsewhere....see how much they make you pay!! Yep, it would have to be my favourite store too!

grandma marylin said...

The 100 yen store rocks! It is better than pic n save, ross, or marshals! Good things at the 100 yen store, especially those little plates!

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