Do you like value for money products? Daiso, the most popular $1 (100 yen, 108 yen with tax) chain of Japan, is the place to go then. A regular Daiso store has over 50,000 products, on an average. Mind-boggling, isn’t it? For someone like me, who absolutely enjoys buying cheap and good daily use items, walking in Daiso aisles is a therapy. Everyone living in Japan can unanimously vote for this!
Daiso can get extremely overwhelming because of the plethora of items it offers. I’ll save you with this one and take you right to the aisles you should check out.
Skin Care and Cosmetics
Pamper yourself with this Japanese quality and pocket-friendly products. Right from nail products to all makeup essentials and skin care products, everything’s available here. I still can’t get over the $1 BB cream! Here are some recommendations from a local:
Hello Kitty lip gloss 
Japanese facial masks 
More masks
Storage
Trust me! You won’t find such good storage containers for your home cheaper than $1 in Japan. Also, you can find appropriate containers and folder storages for your office. All of these are quite sturdy and have a variety of designs.
Crockery
The range and designs available for kitchenware are astounding, given that all of these cost just $1 each. Also, you can find authentic Japanese style crockery for cheap. They’re great. I am still using the porcelain tea mugs I bought two years ago 🙂
Stationery
Personally, I am a stationery hoarder so I love this aisle. All sorts of pens, markers, crayons, colors, papers, notepads, and everything you can possibly imagine. The coloring book is my all-time recommendation to everyone.
Food and Drinks
Your favorite chips and rice cracker packets which cost about $2-$3 at convenience stores, cost just $1 at Daiso for the same quantity. Daiso has more variety of snacks than any convenience store could offer. Also, they have canned beans, canned corns, curry pastes, condiments, salad seasonings, sauces, etc. for $1. Don’t worry! All of this is certainly select quality. Most of these are the same brands you’ll see at a grocery or convenience store. Their partnership with Daiso makes it cheap for Daiso consumers.
Tips for souvenir shopping in Japan
Living in Japan for two years now, I make sure to visit Daiso for my needs first and then go to any other store, which isn’t required for most of the times. You can also find electronics, phone covers, indoor and outdoor games, home decor, travel, and sanitary items at Daiso. If you are a budget traveler consider buying souvenirs from here as well. Visit Daiso first to avoid paying stupidity cost (a term I coined when I first ended up paying more than $10 for a $1 item). Thank me later!
Caution: Daiso is a store which has products you didn’t know you actually needed. So although the items are priced as low as $1, you might actually end up spending in $100s 😛
