
The Japanese Dollar Store
On one of our trips to Seattle this year we discovered what I call “The Japanese Dollar Store.” It has another name, but I never can remember what it is. Most things are $1.50, not actually $1.00, and a few things are a little more.
When I first heard about it I wondered how it was different from The Dollar Tree and other “everything’s $1” stores I was familiar with. After all, most of their inventory is made overseas, right?
Well, the Japanese dollar store did turn out to be different than those. It is so interesting with such unique items that I’m sure I’ll go back. (And no, this isn’t a sponsored post… it’s just a fun experience I had.)
Here are a few of the things I perused as I browsed through the store:
A wide assortment of chopsticks. While I have learned to eat with chopsticks, and do, just for fun when we have Asian food, I still prefer a fork most of the time, so I didn’t get any. Check out the cute little Training Chopsticks!
Apparently, packing lunches is an art form or something. They had all kinds of little containers for individual servings of just about anything you might think of. I wonder if the boiled egg cases really do mold the egg into that shape?
The thing that amused me the most were the happy little quotes and slogans on various things. They seemed vaguely motivational but really don’t make much sense.
Notebooks with such inspiring messages as:
- Better Memories
- Believe You Can
- My Note My Life
- Petit Clover: It is always smiling near you. A wonderful day will come today.
- CuTe HoLiC: Always stand by you. 100% original design.
Little bags that say things like:
- To be happy
- Everyday is natural style
- Fashion & Make Your Style. The New Style, It’s Just For You. If You Want to Make Your Dream Come True, The First Thing You Have To Do Is To Wake.
So what did I actually end up getting there? Let me show you!
Craft supplies.
- sticky notes and tags
- washi tape
- a crochet hook
- a packet of knit/crochet stitch markers
- egg timer
- egg slicer
There were several aisles of unusual (to me) food. I am fascinated by what I consider “weird food” and I like to try new things. There are some things I’m not willing to try, and other things I wouldn’t want to buy a whole package of without trying. I decided to select a few unusual, but not over-the-top weird, snacks to share during our Sunday evening snack time after church. Here are my selections and what we thought of them:
- Blueberry Gummies. These were okay. Not as chewy as gummy bears but with a more natural, not-as-sweet flavor. I probably wouldn’t buy them again.
- Honey Butter Potato Chips. Not any weirder than other flavors of potato chips I’ve seen. I sometimes like sweet-and-salty together so it was okay.
- Caramel Snack Puffs. Think cheese curls, only with a caramel corn glaze. They tasted good, but honestly, I’d rather have caramel corn.
- Green Tea Cookies. No one in our group cared for these much. They weren’t nasty, but as Lyle put it, they tasted kinda herbally. Not really a flavor you associate with cookies.
- Chocolate Cookies. Nothing unusual about them. I just got them to compensate for the Green Tea Cookies!
- Brown Sugar Chunks. Not exactly a snack, but the chunk form was unusual and I thought it might be fun to put in oatmeal.
Oh! Daiso! That’s the name of the store. I just remembered it when I saw the brand name on the caramel puffs and brown sugar.
Have you ever been to a Daiso store?


3 Comments
Rowen
I bought an egg timer like that, through Wish, I think. It did not work. When it said the eggs would be done, they had not even begun to boil! I was really wishing it would work, because having cooked at high altitude so many years, I wanted to know when eggs are “done” in Kentucky. My best egg tip is to get them boiling, put the lid on, turn off the heat, and wait 15 minutes.
Karla Ezell Cook
Oh, that’s a good tip, Janet (aka Rowen)! I got the “eggy things” because Rebecca has chickens so we are getting 4 eggs a day now. I thought the timer would help her know when boiled eggs are done. She tried it once and told me it worked. I haven’t tried it myself.
The little slicer is really cool. It has different removable layers so you can either cut the egg into slices or into wedges.
Farrah Braileanu
Interesting post. I’ve seen several references to the art form lunch food craze, so I think it’s definitely a trend there. I too enjoy trying “weird food” and I also have limits! 🙂 Sounds like the kind of store I’d enjoy browsing. We have an egg slicer that also slices strawberries. It’s come in handy several times for making strawberry shortcake and egg salad.