Why 100 Yen Stores are Awesome

100 yen stores are awesome. 100 yen is roughly a dollar ( $1.17 right now actually), so these stores are the equivalent of a dollar store in the US. However, 100 yen stores are WAYYYYYYY better. Do you see the picture above? It's a sign with Hello Kitty angrily telling you to not drink and drive. You can't find that at a US dollar store can you?

That particular store (Daiso in Mishima) has a bunch of Hello Kitty signs including one telling you to put your phone on manner mode (silent mode) and signs for the different types of garbage to help you keep your million different garbage cans straight.

You can actually find a lot of useful things in the 100 yen stores. I already had a hair catcher thingy for my bath tub, but when I saw this one I couldn't resist. It's only 100 yen, so it's OK, right? It doesn't matter that my other one was only a couple weeks old...

You can also find boring useful stuff. They're boring, but I love these little scrubber things. I get ten of them for 100 yen. That's much better than the ones I can get elsewhere, which are like 200 or 300 yen for 2. The more expensive ones are probably better quality, but I don't use a scrubber for more than one use (it grosses me out) so this is a great deal!

The next picture is of one of the first things I ever bought at a 100 yen shop. It's a hanko case. A hanko is a stamp of my name. In Japan, hanko are often used instead of signatures. I use it for official paperwork and stuff like that.

Kawaii you & flower! It makes no sense (kawaii means cute in Japanese) but I love it!

There you can see the hanko. In the stamp you can see my name in Japanese!

I love this melon soda. It's CUTE! It's a pretty color! It tastes good! It's only 100 yen! :)

The next picture shows my favorite purchase from a 100 yen store...

Aren't the Hello Kitty banners adorable? I've seen similar ones at a food stand by the beach in Toi. I thought they were so cute so I was super excited to actually find them in a store. Plus they were only 100 yen each.... so exciting!

Also the pillow on the right was purchased at a 100 yen store. However, it was 300 yen. There are some items that are more than 100 yen, but still a majority of the items in the store are 100 yen. The stuff that's not is still really cheap.

I love my kitty pencil cup. Kawaii, ne? (cute, right?)

I have gotten some dishes and chopsticks at the 100 yen store.

I can buy felt there too. Three pieces come in one pack. It's actually more expensive than the typical craft felt found in craft stores in America, but it's better quality. The 100 yen store's felt is still not as good as the felt found in craft stores here though. I love that I can find good quality felt in stores here and don't have to order it off the internet.

Cute stickers!

Origami paper!

Cute cupcake holders! Wait... I don't have an oven... when I am going to make cupcakes? I plan on making plenty of sweets though... out of felt. :)

This is the most awesome packaging tape and it was only 100 yen!

I have bought many more things not pictured here. I have purchased plastic sleeves to cover the flashcards I print out at school. Many of the organizing boxes around my apartment are from the 100 yen store. I bought a box to organize all my beads and it's much better than the one I left behind in the US. The one in the US cost several dollars too. Oh, and I also got a Chip and Dale towel! The drying rack for my dishes also came from a 100 yen store.

So see? 100 yen stores are AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :)

This last picture is unrelated to 100 yen stores, but it's a picture of my new bookshelf. I got kind of tired of my apartment being kind of bare and looking so temporary. I want to make it feel more homey (I kind of hate that word but I'm not sure what else to use) so I decided to buy some furniture.

 

It wasn't very fun carrying the box for 15 or 20 minutes back to the train station and then dragging it onto a bus. Oh well! I think it was worth it! 

I was happy that it only took me about half an hour to put the shelf together. I successfully followed the Japanese directions! Though honestly I don't think there was any Japanese on the directions. It was just pictures. :P 

PS: I am taking pictures of my school lunch every day now so you have that to look forward to!