Daiso Japan

Would you believe that I actually went there with my best friend Ellen on opening day two weeks ago to take photos and be all productive and on top of cheap trends and all that and it’s taken me this long to upload photos?? What kind of blogger am I??

I was really excited about the opening of Daiso Japan. I told Michael, “Daiso Japan is coming to Brisbane! It will be awesome! I will get so many things!” but you know what.. In an attempt to stop being so wasteful with my spending habits (a shopaholic fashion blogger.. how clichéd), I only walked out with one thing. No doubt I will come back later at some point and buy things here and there that I really need and see the value of, but until that time, I’m good with my possessions as they are.

For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, a Japanese convenience store has opened on the top level of the Myer Centre in Brisbane, and people are going nuts over it. Cute things are an easy sell, and Daiso is stuffed with adorable–and everything costs a mere $2.80. Why $2.80? I have no idea!

This store seems best for people who have a color theme going through their house and want everything to be colour coordinated.. There are lots of items in bold, punchy colours such as bright pink, green, blue, orange and yellow. This suited me just fine, having a bright green and bright blue theme going on in my room. I was tempted to buy many things but the only thing I purchased was a bright blue pillow with bright green trim for my dilapidated office chair. It’s seen better days, and to put off buying a new chair altogether, I’m just going to let the pillow do its job of hiding the giant rip in the fabric right on the seat. Don’t ask how it got there, because I don’t know..

Anyways, hold onto your potatoes, because this post, I’ll be going through some of the cool stuff you can buy from Daiso Japan!

 

As stated, everything is $2.80. Everything! Apparently, the staff gets asked how much something is multiple times a day–can you seriously believe that?

Daiso has everything you’d expect a convenience store to have, it even has a few Japanese food products. Bathroom supplies, lotions and potions, cosmetics, homewares, clothing, stationery, tupperware, gardening supplies and cooking utensils–all of these things can be found within these colourful Japanese walls.

 

  

 

 

Isn’t the variety amazing? When me and Ellen went there during the grand opening, the line to the checkouts snaked throughout the entire shop and the store was packed with wild-eyed, purple basket- wielding citizens scrabbling for items and just generally making a mess, and these were the only some of the photos from that day! The rest of the photos are blurred from being constantly knocked into (Have you ever been knocked over the head with a purple plastic basket full of cat figurines? HAVE YOU?) or people stepping in front of the camera, but I would say that this is only about half the range that Daiso currently offers. To see a small sample size of the different things they stock, check out the Daiso Japan (Australia) website.

I have to offer you these few words of advice for newcomers to bargain shops such as these–don’t walk in expecting to buy out the whole store. In the scheme of things, $2.80 isn’t that cheap. For one of many examples, the cotton ear buds for $2.80? You can find these in Aldi or Woolworths for $1. A small pack of pens for $2.80? You can undoubtedly get similar for $1 in Officeworks. This goes for many, many other things in the shop. Four items in your cart is already over $11, and it’s easy to stock up on things you think are cheap, or you think you desperately need, but are really neither of those things. Before you pick anything up to buy, think to yourself–Can I buy this elsewhere for less than this? Do I really need this or do I just want it? Will I use this?

That should do enough to curb any excessive spending you wish to do in Daiso. Cheap is cheap, but if you’re paying a couple of dollars more than you need to spend, that’s another couple of dollars out of your wallet you could have spent on something else, and it’ll add up very quickly once you get caught up in the magic that is Daiso Japan!