Japan’s 100¥ Shops – Ten Minute Tokyo

In the US there’s Dollar Tree, Dollar General, and $.99 store.

Japan has its own dollar, or 100¥ stores too.

Top among these are Seria, Don Quiojte (aka “Donki”), Daiso, and Can☆Do.

There are tons of both Don Quiojte and Daiso all over, including in Shibuya, across from Tokyo Dome City, and in Ikebukuro and Shinjuku. There is also a tiny Daiso Annex on Takeshita St. in Harajuku.

Seria

Among all of these, by far, the best is Seria. Elegant, always spotless, and upscale, Seria offers high quality goods at amazing prices. Most, but not all items are 100¥. There is a huge Seria in Shinjuku, and on in the OIOI (“Marui”) department store in Ikebukuro just 2 blocks west of the West Gate Park Exit at Ikebukuro Station. There is also one in the OIOI bldg. in Ueno. Don’t miss Seria, it’s well worth it.

Seria in OIOI Ikebukuro.

OIOI Ikebukuro located @ 35°43’52.69″ N 139°42’27.52″ E

Seria in Ueno is in this OIOI bldg. just to the southwest of Ueno Station.

Looking north in Ueno. The OIOI bldg. is just on the left, Ueno Station to the right.

Daiso

A step down from Seria, but still very good is DAISO. You can find a wide variety of items in DAISO, although their kitchen section isn’t quite as good as Seria‘s. There’s a bunch all over Japan (see links below). There’s a small one in Takeshita St. in Harajuku shown below. Most DAISO‘s are worth a stop. They also have an online store.

Entrance to Takeshita St. in Harajuku. DAISO Annex is just down on the left.

DAISO Annex on Takeshita St. in Harajuku.

Don Quijote

Don Quijote is perhaps Japan’s craziest 100¥ shop chain. While most of them feature a nice selection of products, and some good food deals, the stores are madhouses – tightly packed aisles of products, shelves stuffed to the ceilings with every imaginable kind of good, signs + sales everywhere. Don’t get us wrong – Don Quijotes are great. But be ready for craziness. Don Quijote also just recently opened an online store that ships overseas. They also have a good snack selection as well as candy and low-cost bottled coffee.

Turn right (west) at this street at the south end of Ueno and you’ll find a Don Quijote on the left.

Don Quijote just across the street from Tokyo Dome City.

$.99 packaged coffee (cohee to Japanese) in the Ginza Don Quijote.

Nice selection of snacks @ Ginza Don Quijote.

You can also find good deals on appliances such as this $20.00 Press Sand Maker.

The Ginza Don Quijote – between the border of Ginza and Shiodome. The Ginza one is open 24 hours – perfect for a midnight snack run or late-night coffee.

They also sell some nice bikes rather inexpensively.

The Itabashi Don Quijote.

Inside Don Quijote, it’s a madhouse of stuff.

The Don Quijote in Nakano across from Sunplaza.

Can☆Do

Can☆Do is another chain of 100¥ stores in Japan. A little more like Seria, many are clean with a nice selection of quality products. Some of the Can☆Do‘s are more food-oriented and like grocery stores. There are 1000s of them all over Japan and are worth a stop.

A Can☆Do in north Itabashi. Most Can☆Do‘s also have a nice grocery section.

Lawson 100¥ Shops

Conbini chain Lawson also has a few 100¥ shops around Tokyo. They also have some grocery and food items for 100¥ or around 100¥. These are great shops worth a visit and a source of cheap food in Tokyo.