I have to start off by saying that this store is essentially the Japanese 100 yen store called…read moreDAISO which in Hong Kong is called "Living Plaza by Aeon", because Aeon is the local distributor of the goods. I have been traveling through this airport for years and I only recently discovered this store on my last trip. So if you need to do a google search for more locations, search under the name "Living Plaza by Aeon". Back in New York, the Daiso chain has finally started to make an appearance on the east coast. Their stores are more concentrated in the west coast with a few in the mid west. The airport location is large for an airport store, with a variety of great products! I tell you this from a standpoint of having been abroad in Japan and having seen some of their Daiso locations myself. I feel the need to give this disclaimer: of course it is more cheaper to go visit Daiso in Japan (everything there will be priced starting at 100 yen). If that is not feasible to you, then visiting this store is more reasonable despite the higher cost. (12HKD = 166 yen approximately). After checking in our bags at Terminal 1, we actually walked back all the way to Terminal 2 with our carry-ons (walk took about 12-15 mins walking quickly) in order to visit this store before boarding our flight. If you time it right on your next trip, you too can have a mini speed shopping spree (save room in your carry-on if you can!). I will call this store a higher end dollar store; a dollar store on steroids if you will. They have travel pillows, typical travel accessories you would really need on your journey, but they also offer a great home section: home decor, home organization, kitchen; laundry section (I picked up a cute laundry bag!), a beauty section and much more. The stationary section is so cute. I couldn't decide which pens to buy so I just walked over to the wall and grabbed a whole bunch! They make great souvenirs too and since they are so unique everybody at work will know this pen only belongs to you and you only! As the other reviewer has commented on, the pricing starts at $12 HKD which is affordable. My laundry bag was on the pricier side of $60HKD but if you compare it to something you would buy at typically Bed Bath and Beyond or Target, then I still think it's better due to quality and price comparison. There is a whole section for toys, dishes/bowls, snacks, hobbies (sewing, gardening, etc) and random tools/gadgets. I had found this baby stroller S hook and a baby stroller blanket clamp to secure the blanket from falling out, something I had been searching for in a few Daiso locations in Japan couldn't locate. I gave these out to my expecting friends as gifts (I don't think it's something you think about or see often in use in the US). If I had more room in my suitcase I would have shopped more. The store wasn't crowded when we stopped by and the cashier was friendly and courteous. I believe they accept Octopus card payment/Cash/Credit Card. Left a hefty balance on your Octopus card? Spend it here! For those of you returning to the East Coast, Daiso currently has two stores open: one in Edgewater, NJ by Mitsuwa Market and another in Skyview Center in Flushing, NY (both stores opened in 2019). I can't wait to return again, it is my new favorite spot to spend my layover time! Safe journeys and happy shopping!

Whether you have hours to kill before your next flight, in need of a quick small gift for someone…read moreyou're about to see, or need some travel accessories for your luggage, be sure to make time to visit this large shop in Terminal 2. No boarding passes are required to reach the area the shop is located in, so you can easily access it if you are at the airport. This store sells everything from socks to pet toys to travel pillows to makeup to plates/bowls/utensils. All made in good quality given its extremely low prices. If items are not marked with a specific price, then it's assumed to be only HK$12! Most other items that are pricier, like a travel neck pillow will run approximately HK$25 and thick nylon tote bags with zippers for around HK$60. All still very affordable for an airport store! The shop is always neatly organized and the employees are polite and speak English. A plastic shopping bag will run you $0.50. I could spend hours here, but alas, there's a flight to catch!

Lovely store with Ghibli products. I want to buy everything since it is so cute. If u r a Ghibli…read morefan, here is a place to go to buy their products.

First of all, I have to say I'm bias because Totoro is my all time favorite movie. It brings so…read moremuch joy and smile to my face it's crazy. So naturally, I'd have to give this store 5 stars since, it has a giant Totoro in the front along with the live size cat bus in the back! I can't believe I didn't know there was a whole Times Square mall until yesterday, when I was on a search for the Totoro store. I've always gone into Lane Crawford and the restaurants upstairs, but I just never knew what was between the two... Now I do, crazy it took me years to realize this. Anywhos, the only thing I'd like to see more of are Totoro goods. I feel bad saying this because they already have quite a bit, more than any other Japanese store, but I can't help but want to see EVERYTHING TOTORO since I've such a fangirl. Haha. Btw - the bath towels are ultraaaaaa soft. I can't say the same for the hand towels :( Just because there are so many designs and patterns on them in such a small clothe, but the bath towels are pretty legit - soft as a baby's butt. ;P

Saturday. 50% off…read more SHEER INSANITY. Great deals. I never miss the opportunity of taking the Star Ferry over to Hong Kong side and descending on Hennessy Road, when visiting Hong Kong. Pro-tip: this is primarily an area for shopping, not many exciting eats around. Eat before you embark on your retail therapy.

There are many floors in Sogo, however the layout on each floor just confusing for us…read more Not the greatest department store. My sis bought skincare items and the merchandise did not come with a carrier. I get it that we need to protect the environment and use less paper, etc etc.. But this a bit much. My sis has to put her purchase and stuffed it in her designer leather bag. The only thing I like is the grocery store in basement two. So many things to buy and many interesting food items to check out. And yep, we stuffed our groceries in our designer bags too :( Extremely crowded on weekdays evenings and all day on weekends.

It is never easy to buy gifts for your friends or family, however, if you stumble upon a store that…read morehas such vivid and vibrant colours, I am sure you will not take much time to know what you are going to buy as a present. What I am saying is a store called Prints. I saw this store when I was just wandering around the Elements, for a mall filled with so many shops, this one is rather eye-catching. Normally I am not easily drawn to walk inside a store, but this one certainly caught my eyes that day. Enter and you will find yourself surrounded by all kind of colours, stationary and paper products. They have such bold and creative designs that cannot be found else where. You may also check out their instagram (@printsinternational) to see the latest designs. The best part is that the staff are super nice. They provide professional advice to cater your needs whether you are planning a party looking for invitation cards or simply looking for thank you cards. They will help you customise your cards, so that your gifts can be one of a kind. So worry no more about your choice of present, come here and have a look. It is easier than you think.

The first time I was in this store, I was delighted (I have an unhealthy obsession with stationery…read morestores). Then I realized the assortment. never. changes (well, I am estimating 80-90% of it). It is so stale (and has seemed roughly the same over the past few years!). The plain stationery cards and envelopes are reliable options but the merchandise range becomes extremely tiresome after a few visits (and is on the pricey side - no surprise given the chain's high-profile locations, I supposed).

Central is the central business district of Hong Kong. For two MTR Stations' distance, there is a…read morefamous Toy Street named Tai Yuen Street in Wan Chai. No matter how old we are, Tai Yuen Street can evoke our happy childhood memories. It is because every toy from the latest marvel heroes' figures, limited edition Japanese figures to Tin Toy are available there. Apart from toys, there is also a great place to pick up seasonal decorations. In the weeks before Chinese New Year, Halloween and Christmas, they sell festival decorations, party outfits, and accessories. In addition, many people in Hong Kong believe that good Feng Shui can attract prosperity and ward off bad luck. Feng Shui decorating can be found there. Honestly, there are just less than 10 toy stores in Tai Yuen Street, even it is known as a famous toy street. For someone who has a tight schedule during a business trip in Hong Kong Island, the location is perfect.

See, there are many things that I love about Hong Kong - all that density makes up for a diverse…read morescenery, and all that commerce means everyone is at each other's throats for your business. If you are a savvy shopper, you pretty much know where to go for certain things. I know that if you want remote control cars or airsoft guns, you hit Kwong Wa street (廣華街) - if you want Legos, you hit In's Point (現時點). If you want a crap-ton of Japanese figurines, you hit Richmond Shopping Arcade (皆旺商場) or Sino Centre (信和中心). If you like diecast display planes, you hit West Main trading (西幹線玩具) near Prince Edwards MTR. If you want diecast buses, that's 80M bus shop, which has multiple locations in the territory. If you got the money you can try hitting the spiral at Langham Place (朗豪坊) if you want to check out the latest fashion accessories from Shinjuku or Seoul. Me, I like collectibles - stuff like Rement food kits, F-Toys trade models, little double decker buses like the stuff that TinyHK (微影) put together. I enjoy collecting stuff like that for the display cabinet back in New York. Now, normally, you can hit Wonderland Superstores (奇趣天地) all over Hong Kong, but you could end up paying a lot, and their selection is often meh. That brings us to Tai Yuen street (太原街). If you know your Hong Kong history, you would know that Lee Tung Street (利東街) used to be right next door - it's a 3 block long street of little print shops and stores that were the go-to spot for doing wedding invitations. The Urban Renewal Authority of Hong Kong (市建局) tore that entire street down and replaced it with a shopping mall, which gentrified the place but also killed a crapload of those little businesses. The URA is not known for being nice and understanding to the little shop owners, and none of them were invited back. Basically, Tai Yuen is a peek at what that area looked like in the past, and frankly, the place is a freaking jewel. Just wait until past noon if you want to see stuff bloom here. First, check out the intersection with Johnson Road (where the Tramways run), the stalls in the middle sells all sorts of stuff like the Japanese fortune kitties. One of the stallkeepers there also has a really nice diorama of a Hong Kong Dai Pai Dong and a couple of buses, so thats cool. Then there's the toy stores. Well, there's really only, like 6, but if you have to choose one, check out Hung Hing Toys (鴻興玩具), which spans 2 storefronts and has nearly everything, from Gashopons, to Giant Robo figurines, to Legos, and to TinyHK/F-Toys/Rement figurines that I like so much. The others are still rather nice, but not as extensive as Hung Hing. You also got stalls with trinklets, bags, and stuff like that. Note that the usual crapload of cheap gaudy ugly Mainland products (ala Lady's night market) are kept to a minimum here. Next, continue down the block - wanna try some snake soup? Se Wong Sun (蛇王燊) makes a decent meal out of them. Now, if you continue on down, you'll hit the market area on Cross Street - keep an eye out for a classically Hong Kong treat - Smith's Orange Jelly candy (史蜜夫鮮橙花軟糖), which is made by Smith's Candy company (史蜜夫糖果廠) out in the New Territories. It's the flavor that most Honkers grew up with, and there are usually at leas one candy peddler with bags of candies and a scale. They sell them by the pound, and you can mix and match. Smith's makes an Orange jelly, a Melon jelly, and the classic nougat. Keep an eye out for the produce markets nearby. If you want a real Hong Kong treat, hit Cross Street until you get to Spring Garden Lane, and then look for Kam Fung (41 Spring Garden Lane) - it's a decent with fresh out-the-door Bolo and Cocktail buns, and one of the best pre-blended iced milk tea in the Central district. I hope you took photos, because this is probably as good as it can get in terms of outdoor markets. This is also about as good as Hong Kong can get.

Popular is a chain bookstore that originates from Singapore and has locations in several Asian…read morecountries and Hong Kong. This location is on the third floor of Pioneer Centre in Mong Kok. The store is moderately sized, not on the scale of Eslite. The books sold here are in Chinese, but some of them (ex. cookbooks) have English translations in them. I did not see any magazines or newspapers, so don't come here for those. They do carry a selection of music and DVDs though it is not on the scale of HMV. Though these days, the selection there is getting smaller. And the offerings do not seem to be the most current. Since I can't read Chinese and the entertainment selection did not appeal to me, what garners three stars is their selection of stationery. The stationery here seemed mostly imported from Japan or Japanese inspired. What appealed most to me is their selection of imported Japanese pens. There is plenty varieties to choose from and they have test papers for you to scribble on to see if the pens are for you. They are slightly marked up, but not by much. Certainly not double the price like at one bookstore here in Seattle. If you are looking for Japanese stationery, check out Popular. It is the main reason I would come here.

We were actually in pursuit of a greeting card to send to someone for their birthday. Yelp guided…read moreus to this bookstore. On a Sunday, we had to make it through the maze of sales guys pushing condos before boarding the escaltors to get to the 3rd floor, but other than that, the bookstore provided what I was looking for. Not a big selection of greeting cards, but some. This store is half bookstore (not in English for the most part) and half gift/office supply store (wrapping paper, notebooks, pens/pencils, pads, toys, themed product lines of stuff, music CD's, puzzles, etc). Not a bad bookstore, but not the best either. Seems to be a chain of sorts.

誠品生活 Eslite Spectrum is so much fun to browse…read more Love their books collections! Taiwanese publishers has so many good diversify topics both fiction and non fiction. Make sure you check out their cooking. bartender and barista collections, concise instructions with beautiful photo illustrations! There are also smaller counters that specializes in imported lifestyle items from Taiwan: cookware, aromatherapy, healthcare, pop fashion, travel and more! This is probably one of the best lifestyle shop inside Cityplaza.

I come back again on a normal weekday. There isn't as much people anymore and the shop feels much…read moremore spacious. I find it more familiar as a book store finally. I hope that the regular reading habit can be promoted in Hong Kong through these kind of stylish bookstores. People are attracted to visit these stores for their style and product diversity then encouraged to pick up some books to read. Reading is actually quite a good pass time when you needed some private space to release yourself from pressure. When reading, all you need to do is to concentrate on the content of the book, drawing out the novel scenes in your mind, nothing else. Pretty soothing right? I can feel that the concept of this store is quite different from its branch in Causaway Bay, perhaps more focusing on people's life (since it is located in a residential area), the shop is introducing more lifestyle specialty counters. Counters include: Taiwanese Bubble tea store, organic skincare, designer culinary, coffee shop and so on. Great place to check out if you are hanging around the Cityplaze in Taikoo!

In Hong Kong you can still find a large supermarket that is part of a department store, this is…read morevery common in Japan and also other Asian countries. As for Apita Supermarket, it is part of the Apita department store, there's a large Japanese section where you can get fresh flown in seafood and speciality meats, even their vegetables are from Japan! There are also a section where they carry famous Japanese confections and baked goods! Remember to get your parking validated once you reach the requires purchase amount!

Looking for somewhere to get unique gift? Or just wanna window shopping?…read more I highly recommend Apita! Apita is a fun Japanese department store in Cityplaza. Just to underground and you will find it! They offer different stuff - from stationeries, to clothes, to food, and even to baby stuff! Everything is in here!