Daiso Japan is one of the best 100 Yen stores and discount product chain stores in Japan, with branches now popping up all over the world. With many Daiso products costing around 100 Yen (£0.50 / $0.65 USD equivalent) and upwards, Daiso Japan makes it easy to fill your home, garden or school-bag with affordable […]
Author Archives: planmyjapan
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Oct
Oct
Visiting convenience stores is a classic traveller rite of passage when in Japan – and one of Japan’s biggest and best convenience stores is FamilyMart Japan (JP). As of late 2025, Japan has over 55,000 convenience stores (or konbini コンビニ as they are known locally) and the most popular shops are FamilyMart Japan, 7-Eleven and […]
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Oct
Oct
Harajuku is Tokyo’s hip shopping neighbourhood home to Takeshita Street, many malls plus cool as a Cat Street. Chock full of cute kawaii stores, thrift shops and modern shopping malls, Harajuku is also a great place to arrive hungry – colourful cotton candy, choice crepes and cheap traditional eateries are all part of the mix. […]
12
Oct
Oct
Takeshita time! Hararjuku’s most famous shopping street, Tokyo’s Takeshita Street (Takeshita-dori) is full of ‘character’ – literally, there are dozens of kawaii shops, cosplay clothing stores plus dweeb and otaku activities aplenty. Popular with Tokyo’s trendy teens and cool kids (plus tourists), Takeshita Street gets crazy busy at the weekends, but it is such a […]
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Oct
Oct
‘Drum and Fun’ all day long, ‘Taiko no Tatsujin – The Drum Master’ is a joyous Japanese drumming game and arcade activity developed by Bandai Namco (also famous for their cool gachapon toys) that is popular worldwide, both in arcades and home consoles. A Japanese video game with real rhythm, no trip to a Japan […]
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Oct
Oct
Tokyo Character Street (AKA First Avenue) at Tokyo Station is a colourful, cartoon world packed full of anime stores, gachapon galore and all your favourite animated characters. Otaku heaven and a cute Kawaii thing to do in Tokyo, Character Street (“東京キャラクターストリート”) is located in the First Avenue section of Tokyo Station (close to Ramen Street […]
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Oct
Oct
Tokyo Cat Cafe Mocha is one of the most ‘purr-fect’ things to do in Tokyo – ‘fur’ real. With around 11 Mocha Cat Cafe Tokyo locations including Akihabara, Ikebukuro, Harajuku and Shinjuku – you can also find them across Japan including Mocha cat cafes in Osaka, Kyoto and Fukuoka. You might have been to cat cafes […]
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Oct
Oct
Akihabara (also known as ‘Electric Town’ or ‘Akiba) is one of Tokyo’s top neighbourhoods to explore by day or night. From the highest concentration of maid cafes to manga game stores, Akihabara (“秋葉原”) is the ultimate place to release your inner ‘otaku’ and get your geek on. The Akihabara anime scene is epic and it […]
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Oct
Oct
Where to stay in Tokyo? Japan’s capital Tokyo has so many things to do, from the weird and wonderful to some excellent night-time activities. There are so many cool neighborhoods in Tokyo, from historic districts like Asakusa to hipster hang-outs like Harajuku that deciding where to stay in Tokyo can be challenging (especially if you […]
10
Oct
Oct
Spend some time in Shimokitazawa, one of Tokyo’s hottest hipster neighbourhoods where all the cool kids hang out, chock full of cafes, second hand / vintage stores and vinyl record shops. In fact, at the last count, there were said to be over 200 thrift stores in Shimokitazawa at the start of 2025, making it […]