is like a Japanese version of IKEA that sells everything for 10 kuai an item. Its scope of available goods is just as wide, but instead of Scandinavian minimalism, Daiso opted for the CandyLand look. Bright lights, rainbow hues and annoyingly adorable anime characters poking out of the all the product packaging -- kawaii ne!
The best thing about Daiso –- well, apart from the universally low price tag -– is that the stuff it carries is mostly manufactured by the company itself. It’s not just a crappy bargain bin of factory rejects or unsold goods from other stores, nor does it have that stale grandma smell that dollar stores in the States have accumulated over the years.
Yup -- everything here is new and fairly well-made, for the most part. Especially useful are all the kitchen items, such as utensils, ceramic dinnerware, bottle openers, vegetable peelers, jars for food storage, bento boxes and just pretty much everything, OK.
They also have rows of rice molds as far as the eye can see, for all your heart, star or rabbit-shaped sushi needs.
And of course, all kinds of well thought out crap that only the Japanese have the imagination to come up with. Check it out, it's a "microwaveable ham and egg and various dish cooker".
All the single ladies, all the single ladies. Kidding.
THEY EVEN HAVE KNIVES.
Holy shit!
Outside of kitchen stuff, Daiso also has...
iPhone accessories:
Stationery and arts stuff:
Accessories for your bike:
Cosmetics:
Pet stuff:
Storage bins:
And these economy packs of disposable underwear, for those times you just can't be bothered to do the wash.
You get the idea -- they've got a lot of goodies here. Most of it is pretty useful. And, just to reiterate, yes, everything here and pictured above is 10rmb an item, even the knives. I'm pretty sure that one could subsist from just buying stuff here and at the Avocado Lady if in penny-pinching mode.
Right now the only Daiso location in Shanghai is on Huaihai Zhong Lu. Details and map here.
