Found in neighborhoods, on city streets, and in shopping malls across the country, 100yen stores are indeed ubiquitous in Japan. Of the many chain stores offering similiar wares, the Daiso is the standout competitor and so my focus in this piece will be on this company in particular. I <3 Daiso.
Coming from America, I had already written off dollar stores as junk shops; filled with near expired, or low quality foods, useless chotchkies, and other assorted ‘made in china’ garbage. When I initially heard about how wonderfully useful and practical 100yen stores were, I brushed it off without a second thought, but I was wrong.
The Daiso is truly a place filled with magic, mystery, and intrigue. Anything from glassware, pots and pans, assorted clothing, food, plumbing…almost anything you might need to live your life can be had for 100yen at a more than acceptable quality to price ratio. The closest comparison for the assortment of goods would be Wal-Mart, though the Daiso is generally cheaper and less diabolical in it’s corporate practice in my experience. Though you may find that some items will exceed the ’100yen’ advertised price, they are clearly marked, and usually understandably priced a bit higher.
The quality of products is such that they’re often indistinguishable from similiar items from much more expensive stores. As a demonstration of this, there is a game show where contestants, usually men dressed as old women (Japanese game shows…I can’t even), are challenged to select from a table which items were purchased for 100yen from the Daiso, avoiding those which are rare collectibles or antiques. The contestants are penalized for choosing incorrectly by having to pay the price of each item chosen until there are no more 100yen items left in the pool. It’s great to watch and guess along at home, it’s always difficult and surprising. Putting this to practice yourself is also quite easy. Many gifts (such as traditional style tea cups, plates, decorations for the house, etc) that I’ve given to friends and family members have been purchased for 100yen, and I’m not telling anyone what cost what. (Sorry Mom)
Here’s where we take the turn. You might be thinking, ‘This is all well and good, but I’m here for the lulzies man, what’s funny about this place?’ An excellent question and you will not be disappointed. Aside from it’s usefulness as a store, it provides something else of even greater value: entertainment.
As a foreigner with few friends and too much time on his hands, I often browse the aisles of the Daiso seeking out amusement. Great examples of Engrish, bluntly named items, and things with seemingly no realistic purpose are among the treasures hidden in the aisles just waiting to be discovered, photographed, and ridiculed by the rest of us. What I find is often funny, and sometimes downright bizarre. Below is a gallery with some examples of this. I hope everyone enjoys it, and I’ll keep adding new treasures as I find them. Happy hunting everyone!
