Daiso Japan is the type of store that reminds me why I LOVE SoCal, and why I am already liking my new town of Gardena. The diversity in Gardena is so rich. It's known for its large Japanese and Korean communities, but also many Latinos, Whites, and African Americans live amongst each other. Check out the census info. for Gardena, Hawthorne, Torrance - the diverse groups living here will make you feel like maybe we can all get along.
Ok, so back to why I am so in love with Daiso Japan. This store is like an upscale 99 cents store, but with a lot less food stuffs and a lot more cute things. It's decorated in pink, super clean/well-organized, and spacious. The Japanese pop playing keeps you feeling a little silly and cheery. Even though Daiso imports all their products into Japan from China (they're just like us...greeeat), I like that all the packaging is in Japanese because it makes me believe that I'm not buying more cheap crap from China. But really, a lot of the things they sell are a lot cheaper ($wise) than other places like Target so why not go here first? I've gone here on weekday late afternoons and it hasn't been too packed (even lots of parking), but I'm sure the weekends are pure chaos because it's popular with the young/old, Japanese/non-Japanese, families - pretty much anyone who buys anything. They have so many things here! I can't even describe all the crazy and useful things they sell.
Everything is $1.50 except a few items. But don't be fooled...be prepared to spend at least $50 here on your first trip cause you will want so many things that your cart will be full before clearing half the store. Also be prepared to spend 1-2 hours on your first trip. I wish they had small carts instead of baskets you wheel around...more room for junk needed!
Let me just run down the list of some of the things I've bought so you get an idea of what you can find. Happy Shopping!
1. Various shopping bags (grocery store bags, small totes, small animal canvas bags for kids)
2. Wood frames for 3x5 pictures
3. cutting board
4. pink clip board
5. graphing paper (good school supplies section)
6. gardening gloves (nice and stretchy - best gloves I've found for my small but wide hands)
7. plastic baskets and containers (all sorts of colors - f the container store!)
8. pink pig oven timer
9. bear measuring tape (in cm though)
10. pig coin bank - cute!
11. bobby pins/comb
12. birthday gift bags
13. pretty gift boxes
14. Pocky - yum, yum
15. house slippers read more