100 Yen Shop
The “100 Yen Shops“, “Hyaku En Shoppu (百円ショップ ) ” in Japanese, are a type of inexpensive shop popular in Japan, selling a wide range of products at the price of 100 Yen plus 10% consumption tax. In these shops, the cost of goods is so low because they are purchased in large quantities directly from factories, usually Made in China.
These shops are suitable for all tourists who want to take home souvenirs of a certain quality without spending exorbitant amounts of money, as they also sell typical products of Japanese culture, such as chopsticks, Japanese bowls, gadgets with manga characters, etc. However, some products are sold at a higher price than 100 Yen, but these are appropriately marked and still represent a good offer compared to the market value of the items themselves.
Photo by Japanforeveryone.com
The 100 Yen Shops also sell food products, such as snacks and sweets, and these shops, scattered all over the country, vary in size (from the smallest to the largest and most well-stocked), but contain a considerable variety of products.
One of the leading chains of this particular type of shop is that of Daiso, of which there is a very large shop in the centre of Tokyo (東京), in the Harajuku district (原宿), near the famous Takeshita Dōri (竹下通り), a street with many shops of various kinds.
Other 100 Yen shops of the Daiso chain are located in Sapporo (札幌), Nagoya (名古屋), Ōsaka (大阪), Fukuoka (福岡) and Kōbe (神戸), and sell various products:
- For the table: forks, plates, tea cups, rice and miso soup bowls and sake sets
- For the kitchen: ladles, knives, microwave containers, coffee filters, detergents and aluminium foil
- For DIY: hammers, measuring rods, cutters, screwdrivers, electrician’s pliers and tongs
- For the garden: pots, mini rakes and watering cans
- For stationery: pens, notepads, writing brushes and paper clips
- For the home: towels, slippers, socks and sewing threads
- For leisure: table tennis sets, swimming goggles and English-Japanese dictionaries
Author
Martina Antonucci