30 Things You Should Know and/or Will Love about Japan Series: # 13

#13 100¥ Store - These Ain't No "Dollar Stores"

The infamous 100¥ stores.

I love them.  I usually go to one at least two times a month.  I think we survived off the 100¥ store when we first arrived here before our shipment came.

100¥ is about $1.00, so yes, it is in theory, a lot like a dollar store.

But they are so, so much more.

I often wonder what this lady thinks of me.
She is the regular cashier at the 100¥ nearest to our house.
I often buy large quantities for the Design Kitchen at school or things for birthday parties.
My latest big purchase was 20 bento boxes and all the accessories.

You can get anything from pottery to cute Japanese lunch box accessories to office/art supplies to snacks to tupperware to odds and ends to keep your kids entertained for a train ride/dinner in a restaurant and much, much more.

There are some 100¥ stores that are better than others.  And taking it a step above, there are even 300¥ stores, that have higher quality items.

Hey, you could buy all the gifts you bring back to the US from the 100¥ store, we won't tell!