When I first came to Japan, I quickly found the 100yen shop. At first, I was drawn in like a moth to a flame and bought loads of useful and not so useful things! When it came to pay, I stood there like a lemon when the counter person said it was over 3,000yen!!! I added it up in my head and said “eh? It’s not” after I tried to explain she told me that each item has 5yen tax! Well that was a shock for me as it says 100yen shop. So, I grumbled under my breath and took my many items away with my tail between my legs.
I then started calling it the 105yen shop. Nowadays tax has risen so the for mentioned 105yen shop is now the 108yen! So, remember that 🙂
There are many different 108yen shops in Japan. To name a few, Daiso, Can Do, Seira and they do stock different things. One thing that gets me is that occasionally they sell something that is so useful and clever and then after let’s say a week, it’s gone and never to be seen again. So, my advice to you is if you see something that you believe is awesome, get a few!
Over time I came to realize that the 108yen shop has many things that I can use for a completely different purpose to what it is meant for, there are actually warnings on the back which says “do not use this item for anything else other than it’s intended for” or something along those lines. I like that 🙂 You will see the photo of the metal squared sheets, I have used them for so many things, they are my go to for many projects, including a cat house, a cat run, protector of soil from cats digging it up and doing their business, and much more. Using the zip ties you can buy at the 108yen are perfect for putting these together.
The 108yen shop has some great things for when you first get here, and money is tight. They have folders, glassware, pots, dishes, household goods, kids’ toys, plates, pans (not good though) the range of stationery is impressive and nowadays the DIY section is pretty dam good! Just don’t think these items are for life use because usually they have a life span of 1 or two times use, not all things but tools especially. But hey what do you expect for 108yen?
If you are a tourist in Japan,the best 100 yen shop is situated in Harajuku. It is called Daiso and is on the Main Street named Takeshita street. They have very good items for gifts as well as everyday use.
The last thing I will say is don’t get caught up in the magic of the 108yen shop! They sell pet bottles of things like coke etc and it’s of course 108yen but upstairs in the supermarket it’s yen78 so……?? If you are that lazy that you can’t go upstairs to save 30yen then there is nothing, I can say 🙂