Daiso
# 1
Mountain View, CA 94040 (650) 947-9320
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
45 reviews
Palo Alto, CA
"I am new in town and was pretty scared going to this place because according to yelp, its a gamble. I read through the bad and the good…" read more »
71 Reviews for Daiso
I stumbled into this location one day waiting for my BF to get off work so I stopped in for some browsing. I always thought that the Daiso you can see from 280 at Serramonte was a Japanese restaurant so I was pleasantly surprised. I found at least 10 different bath thingies to scrub my face or ass. I also found a multitude of cooking things that I didn't know I needed, like a mini stovetop grill for my herring at lunch, baby's first teapot and strainers to suit all of my straining needs. If I wasn't such a hard living klutzy kind of a girl I would buy up a ton of things here. But I know that I would break most everything here using it the first time and I'm not fond of buying things just to throw them away. The smell of outgassing plastic/rubber, chemical air fresheners and cleaners gave me a headache, bleh! I might cave and get a pink lunch set with matching stuffed panda securing band because they are too cute!
o-Hi-OH!
You like Japanese goods? You'll like Daiso. Everything's $1.50 (OK not every-frelling thing but many).
HUGE store makes the Seramonte location store small by comparison.
Spend hours here and try to read the japanese labels. OK not everything's made in Japan: Some made in Korea and other places but very good selection for almost unheard of price today: One Dallah Feef-tee.
So you go now. Have a good time.
Sayonara.
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You know how IKEA has literally everything you would ever need for your home? This is like the mini Japanese cheapcheapcheap version minus the furniture. Also, you'll find stuff for your car, makeup, crafts, stationary, and more and it's ALL Japanese.
If you've never been to a Japanese 100yen store, you NEED to try this place out. It's definitely not the size of IKEA, but it's pretty darn huge. Not everything is $1.50, but I would say about 70%+ is (and I went through the ENTIRE store little by little with a friend - took us about 1.5 hours, but we were in such awe at everything).
I especially love all the Japanese house decoration stuff. The figurines, the wall hangings, the toys... it's just fun to browse and see what they have that could prove useful. I bought a very nice inside car duster, a paper fan, a wooden comb, some candy, some mats, and seriously considered buying some stationary, tea cups, and house slippers.
Things I think everyone should own or could find useful and are sold here --- they have those self-compression bags for storage and travel (think vacuum bags but you don't need a vacuum. You just push the air out. They're SUPER cool), really inexpensive kitchenware (no appliances, just gadgets and the like), and small bags to separate laundry (little woven cotton bags to put all your bras so they don't get tangled with all the other laundry when washing or for your socks so you don't lose any).
You do have to bag your own stuff once you purchase, so I recommend you bring your own reusable bag so you don't have to use the plastic one they give you.
Anyway, if any of this stuff sounds remotely appealing, check it out. It really is worth a look, and I know I'm definitely coming back.
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I love this store!!! All my tupperware comes from here because it's cheap and has the 4-sided tight snap seals.
I think the staff is dorky and funny. When I was there the nerdy cashier reminded me three times of their store policy that I am to "bag my own purchase." Even if you're they only one in line checking out, they insist you bag your own.
Went here for the first time today, and saw all kinds of cute little things I could have easily bought (lucky cat tea sets and piggy banks), but restrained myself as I did not want to see the look on my husband's face as I brought more stuff into our house. I did find a good selection of the Japanese snicky-snacks he likes so much, and bought some of those for him. We usually wait for my mom to send us those snacks from Hawaii - good to know we've got a place right next to our Hollywood Video - this might take the edge off all those late fees I always seem to accrue...
Don't mistaken this for a 99 cent store. Most of the items are $1.50 and there are even some products that are over $5 or even $10.
This store is good for some basics and cute Japanese knick-knacks -- although I've come to find that most of the items are made in China.
Surprisingly, I spent a TON of time in here, trying to justify my purchases. You can find almost everything here. Notebooks, trash cans, Japanese tapestries, store signs, bowls, CD cases, etc.
Make sure you are 100% satisfied with your purchases because there are no returns or exchanges allowed.
This place rawks! We actually stumbled upon it after hitting up the Walmart and Trader Joes off of San Antonio since we were in the area.
Dollah-fitty, for almost everything in the store?? Good lawd!
We got there when it was about to close, so we only got to spend about 15-20 min to scope out the place and pick up what we could. We'll definitely be back to clean the place out! This place puts all the other dollar stores to shame.
Daiso is nam-bu-wa won! Domo arigato!
This place is super cute! It is like a Japanese dollar store. We got Ramen bowls, little booties for our chairs, so they don't scratch the floor, and some other various stuff. We had to drive around the huge parking lot looking for the store, but once we found it, we were happy campers. Next time I need Japanese wrapping paper, or cards, or dishes, this will be my first stop. So worth the trip!
At Daiso, you will most certainly die one of 3 ways.
1) From shock at how much you can buy for $20.
2) In hysteria from laughing at all the great Engrish ("Look it's a CREAMING pad ftw!")
3) From oxygen deprivation; the place reeks of plastic and I can almost feel the sublimating polymeric molecules inhaled and attach to my bronchioles.
It's like a game--cheating dyspnea and certain death--seeing how long I can stand the fumes before I pass out or get delirious and convince myself I need a Bad Batz Maru trashcan for every room in my home. Fortunately, I got out of there with only a skimmer (for shabu shabu), a rice spatula, some magnets, and a soapdish.
They make you bag things yourself which is odd.
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"CLUSTER-FUCK, CLUSTER-FUCK, CLUSTER-FUCK!!!"
Holy mother of "What?!" is EVERYWHERE in this store... I've been to the Eastridge location, and it pales in comparison to the variety of "what-cha-ma-call-its"... This place has a much bigger selection of everything they carry, and I came up on some more organizational goods/paint brushes/craft stuff/pumice scrubs and loofas. They have awesome smelling car fresheners for $1.50 that would usually cost you $5...
If I had more time, I would scour the place from head to toe to explore their sumi paints and calligraphy section... however, because of the sheer volume this place consists of, I could not afford to spend more than an hour here... which made me yearn for the familiarness and compact area that Eastridge stood for. I will be back, but I need more time to be able to weed out the key differences between the two locations and to find more tiny knick-knacks that I could put to good use.
The best value I saw just so happened to be someone else's good find... a couple in front of me happened to have a basket FULL of wooden toys for the kids on easter, and they made out with enough for 15 kids w/ less than $20 spent. They were high quality toys that could have been passed off for a $5-10 toy at a trendy children's boutique store... They looked so good, I wanted to cop some for myself, but I had to remind myself I didn't have kids... -__-
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A $1.50 store with cool stuff!!!
I came here today after lunch at Krung Thai and bought 8 gift bags, 1 pack of gift tags, and a pack of origami paper - for $15! Thatsa good deal!
The Japanese plates that you would spend $10 a pop for at Cost Plus are $1.50 here. If only I didn't already have a million dishes in my place...
There was a robot ruler that I really wanted today, but it was just in centimeters. Don't they realize in the US, we don't use the metric system?
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I lovelovelovelove this store! Most things are $1.50 and the stuff that isn't is still pretty cheap and reasonable. You can buy basic home supplies (I picked up cheap soap) as well as more Japanese-culture specific items (I bought two of the little lunchboxes-one fore me and one as a birthday present for a friend). This store gets huge props in my book as it was the only place I could find decorative hair combs. I've only seen about 1/2 the store and I can't wait to go back and peruse the other half!!!!
Be aware that you're supposed to bag your own stuff, but they do give you the plastic bags for it.
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I am a great lover of all things kitschy, cheap or Japanese. I sort of love Daiso based on principle alone, but when I need something and I head to Daiso, they DELIVER. This time I needed a pill organizer, and they had several varieties to choose from. I also got a bunch of stuff I sort of needed but didn't want to pay a lot for: paintbrushes, small tubes of acrylics (I'm no pro, I'm going with the cheap stuff), cute envelopes large enough to mail a small book, origami paper, ANOTHER tea pot. I'm so glad this place isn't closer to my house, I'd be there all the time.
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I've read so many positive things about the Daiso Japanese Company that the Fantastic-4 finally got that opportunity to check out one of the store, which is located inside the San Antonio Shopping Center.
Wow, we're amazed on how much imported goods are there crammed up in this store. Everything here is affordable. This store resembles like a Japanese version of IKEA or any five and dime store.
For my wife and kids, they happily can spend hours and hours admiring and shop for the nicest and cute Japanese gadgets and accessories to worth spread the news to all their friends. They bought a variety of cool items including a bunch of cool and inexpensive Japanese bowls, utensils and other housewares.
For jocks like me, this place is too delicate for my taste. Don't get wrong, Daiso is primarily a Japanese store for girls. And for me, just looking at the girls shopping is kind of entertaining as well.
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Yeah another discount store! Tight budget smiles!
Have to minus a star because so much stuff int his Japanese market is made in China and I have this nagging feeling that it's better for the world if I just don;t buy CPC (cheap plastic crap) made in china, BUT...
I did much of my stocking stuffer buying here before Chritmas.
They have such a wide selection- from kitchen gadgets to baskets to fake flowers to kid's toys...
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Okay - you've heard all about the nifty Japanese knick-knacks, food-shaped erasers, and household goods. The real hidden gem in Daiso is all of the supplies for babies and young children - things I have never seen in any Western dollar store.
The toys (both educational and just fun) are really cute and quite unique. They even have finger puppets to act out Momotaro - although you need to buy two different sets to complete the story. There are also puppets for Little Red Riding Hood as well. For when the baby is a little older, I bought some Katakana-English placemats and some neat hooks to hang toys and other things from the stroller handle.
Where Daiso really shines is in childproofing supplies. They carry 5 different kinds of foam padding in different shapes and sizes to help prevent your early walker/crawler from running into a sharp corner and injuring themselves. They also have foam padding blocks that connect together like puzzle pieces to make a safe, clean place for baby to play - especially on a hard surface where a tarp wouldn't work as well.
The only downside of the store is that they have very little of the cooking gadgets required for cooking Japanese food. If you are looking for a soba strainer or mortar and pestle, then you would need to go to Lychee Tree for it.
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Everything is cheap except for the Japanese snacks, I think I could get a better deal at Ranch 99 for Pocky!
Daiso is a Japanese dollar fifty store in the San Antonio Shopping Center, by Trader Joe's. Most items are $1.50, but they do offer items up to $14, all clearly labeled. It is absolute browsing heaven! I have never been in such a nice, clean, well organized "dollar" store. I spent nearly an hour walking every single isle, and delighting that after adding 5 things to my shopping cart, I still hadn't spent ten dollars. Great kitchen items and office supplies. Lots of junkie tchotchkies and keepsakes. A fabulous place to take a 12-year-old girl to shop (which is what I did). I must confess that I kept thinking about how the row after row of plastic containers in myriad shapes and colors would make the Fake Plastic Fish (http://www.fakeplastic...) blogger cry (she's trying to live a plastic-free life).
Notes: They do not take AmEx. They do not allow returns or exchanges, which is lame. You have to bag your own stuff, though they provide bags as well as newspaper for wrapping fragile items.
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DAYAMMMMMMMMM! They have mostly everything in there. Perfect for some people who just moved into a new home because there are aisles of home accessories! Great, now I have a place to go to on my lunchbreak! That means, spending more money. Hah.
I just wonder about the quality of their japanese goods, you know?
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HOLY MOLY! What isn't Japanese in this store? Seriously though, I wanted to look at EVERYTHING! Most of the stuff they sell is stuff for the house. Kinda reminds me of the game Katamari. Lunch boxes, tupper wear, stationary, markers, pencils, pens, etc.
I love how everything is cheap. The paint pens/markers, regardless of size were $1.50. I was mesmerized by anything and everything they had. The kanji, katakana, and hirigana got me stuck. I love it!
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My friend Jacqui told me to go. She said I would like the store. I Love it! It almost doesn't matter that I can't read the labels on the merchandise, I love this store so much. If I really wanted to know what something said, I could always ask one of the Japanese employees. I spent about an hour wandering the glorious aisles the first time I went. Now I'm ready to go back. I purchased some beautiful chopsticks, a cute little dish cloth, and some of those cool oil-absorbing papers and a few other silly forgettable items. I was over-whelmed by the tons of useless merchandise and now I just HAVE TO GET MORE OF IT!
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So my girlfriend kept on talking about this place for the longest time...
She said there were things here that were mostly $1.50. I've been to dollar stores and know how shitty they usually are.
OMFG a ton of things that I can actually use! I found car air freshners for only $1.50!! I stocked up on those, and bought the most random stuff. They have things from kitchen ware to pet supplies! I was sorry I ever doubted my girlfriend.
This is one of the few places where I don't hate waiting around for my girlfriend to finish shopping.
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Obviously I can't stay away from this place! In the past week I have been in here about 4 times for one reason or another. I see something cute, buy it, see somethings else that I don't. I get home and realize that I just have to have what I didn't get and voila...two days later I return...only to get what I originally wanted and about 20 other things! Hard to pass things up too, when most things in here are only $1.50. I love their selection of baskets and fans. It has inspired me to get organized and to decorate that bare wall in my family room!!
My husband is a trooper and goes with me when I go (or maybe he's just keeping an eye on the checkbook...lol)!
Weeee Daiso...I'll be back!!
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Like its counterpart in New Manila/Serramonte, this place sells random/wacky Japanese knick-knacks for a buck 50 each, with some items costing more.
Its what I imagine the bastard child between a 99 cent store and a Sanrio would be. Now you can get a knock-off hello kitty vibrator, batteries for it, and some Japanese toilet paper all in one place! (well maybe not the hello kitty vibrator).
Its a fun place to wander to see what kinda of random crap they carry, and if you don't find it, the king of crap stores (Wal-Mart) is just across the parking lot.
I did NOT want to leave this store.
After an hour and a half, I finally made it to the check stand. However, I did the mature thing and made myself put half of it back.... so now I have to go back tomorrow and get it! (But at least now I know I *really* want it, you know?)
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i think i'm in love! so much stuff here, i could've spent hours in here except my boyfriend was getting antsy.
they have all sorts of stuff from plastic toothpicks shaped like little animals, scented erasers, party goods, gardening tools and flower pots, baking utensils and lots of rice molds in the shape of animals, make up bags, trash cans shaped like pigs, oil blotting paper, magnetic earrings, bath items, japanese snacks, kitchen utensils to hair brushes, cd cases, pens/pencils/stationery and fake eyelashes. i even saw little bits of tape for making double lidded eyes o_O
it's like a clean and organized larger Lychee Tree. some neat things i purchased: erasable highlighters - one side highlights while the other side has some kind of ink that chemically cancels out the highlighting and also a pen with blue, black and red ink as well as a highlighter on the flip side. awesome.
you do have to bag your own things and there are no returns. but overall, i definitely will be back, especially around xmas for stocking stuffers.
My husband laughs at me and thinks I'm crazy. I love this place! I'm determined to make to all the N. CA locations. hahaha. I love their niknaks. Just started into Bento Boxes and the accessories!!! So cute so cool.....I feel like a kid again collecting Hello Kitty stuff... haha.
Though the Daly City location is bigger, I like this location better. Much cleaner and arranged better.
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This was my first time to a Japanese dollar store. This location is huge. I was there for 1 1/2 hours roaming around looking at all the stuff they have. I love cute Japanese items. The store itself is not that huge, but every corner is lined with items. It is helpful that the store is broken down into categories. The housewares /kitchen area is great -cute saki / tea cups, soy sauce dispenser, and plates. Look to see where the item is made because not all items are made in Japan. This is great place to go if you are having a party and are looking for cute favors for children and adults.
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HUGE dollar store filled with cheap crap, but fun cheap crap. I don't know what most of it is because I don't read Japanese and not everything has a diagram, but it was still fun to browse around. Came away with some fun stuff for the kids, including coloring books, little cars, food-themed erasers, notebooks - the usual cutesy Japanese stuff. No plans to return anytime soon, but when I see "Japanese dollar store" on yelp, I can't resist checking it out. Thanks yelpers.
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This location is so much more organized than its Daly City counterpart. Rather than finding myself in a maze, I can actually distinguish where one aisle ends and another begins. Yay!
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this is like, one of the best stores i can think of. in the world.
EVERYTHING $1.50 + CUTE JAPANESE STUFF = XOXOXOXO!
right?!
actually, not everything is a dollar fiddy. some of it is like, three whole bucks. but who cares?! because you can get a basket full of crisps & hamster tissues & chihuahua notepads & stickers & bento box accessories & makeup & dog outfits & tupperware & cleaning supplies & a few puffy craft balls & won't even break your bank, or get close to it.
that sounds like five stars to me.
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Woohoo, Daiso! I've been to Daiso in Taiwan and 100 yen stores in Japan, and finally they've come to the bay! My mom used to ask me why I needed to buy 60 items at the dollar stores in Asia to bring back to America...and I'd be like, I can't get this stuff this cheap in America! Now I can save carrying this stuff across the Pacific. :)
Anyhow, too bad it's not a dollar store ($1.50 mostly), but this is a great place to find random stuff you need. Cheap air fresheners, knifes, musical cards, stationery, cat toys, ties, purses, anything you can think of. Bunch of random stuff in here. Like I got steel soap that is supposed to wash away strong smells on my hand and got an eyelash brush. hehe.. I like how they have so many organizers in here. I feel a bit bad for the other small dollar store around the corner...they're gonna probably close soon! Poor guys, but Daiso's quality of dollar stuff is just soooooooo much better!
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I wasn't even planning on Yelping this place since I covered the Serramonte location already, but when I saw the soap section, I knew I had to.
Never saw these kinds of soap before:
Green Tea Soap
Black Bean Soap
Soy Milk Soap
Pearl Soap
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
A wacky
SAKE (Ginjo!!!!) soap
and next to it was....
NATTO SOAP
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
I shit you not....NATTO, aka fermented, sticky stinky soybeans. It's got some great benefits when you EAT them, but a SOAP? Oh wow.
The best part? Strips of label paper near the edge, explaining the (generic) benefits of these flavored soaps.
The pearl soap was "It will make your skin smooth"
Natto Soap "It will make your skin moist"
Yeah
but you'll be gooey, sticky, and smell like SH*T! Apparently in French, the appropriate comment would be "Ca sens la merde!"
What happens when you use Natto Soap first, then Pearl Soap?
You'll be gooey, sticky, smell like SH*T but hell yeah you'll be all shiny and pearly*!
All these for about a buck to a buck fifty a piece!!! After all, Daiso is a dollar store... Don't quote me on the price, I'm just guessing. I was more amused by the flavors!
Any guess when the MAGURO SASHIMI Soap is coming? I mean if you're gonna be sticky, gooey, stinky, you might as well smell like a fish too! Of course, you know that maguro + natto go together right? With soy sauce and mustard or wasabi and a ton of scallions?
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There is so much useless crap here, I LOVE IT!!!!!!!
**UPDATE**
I bought one of those kitties with paw sticking up from here for $1.50 SCORE! now can someone tell me what it means??????
******UPDATE 12/23/07************
This year, my Christmas present to my 10 year old niece was to take her out to lunch and shopping for her presents (since she already knows that presents don't come from Santa and she's already got her own particular preferences about what she wants.)
After we had lunch, I took her to Daiso to shop for what she wanted. I gave her $20 and told her that she could buy anything she wanted in the store - and she went to town!
She purchased all sorts of pencils, erasers, note cards, a little change purse, a few hair barrettes - all the things young girls like to have.
My niece is a very happy girl - and I'm a cool auntie!
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I read Lolia S.' review of Daiso and it sounded just like the perfect place to go to buy all my stocking stuffers and little Christmas items for my nieces and nephews.
My b/f and I had fun browsing through this place. You'll find all sorts of knick-knacks that you never even thought existed. My cats are going to have fun with the toys I bought for them - at $1.50 for a cat toy that costs much more in any other store, I couldn't pass it up!
There was an aisle where they had all the massage/fitness items. Apparently, the Japanese have their version of an exercise ball. The model on the exercise ball package looked like a throw back to the Jane Fonda "feel the burn" days complete with leg warmers.
The kitchen item section is vast. I particularly loved some of their ceramic dishes and plates - just like they have at other import stores, but at a fraction of the cost.
When I go into stores like this, I have to set a time limit or I'd be in there for hours.
Definitely worth another trip.
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This is where you come to get your White Elephant, gift exchange, secret santa gift, especially if the limit is $5. Most everything is $1.50 unless otherwise specified. I bought 2 pretty tea cups and a little appetizer plate, all for $4.50 for my gift exchange at work. It's always cool when it looks like you spent a buttload of money!
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My friends told me about this place last week, so today I went and browsed for over an hour. Basically it's a Japanese dollar store. OK, dollar-fifty store. Most items are $1.50, and those that are higher are clearly marked. I loved the home decor items, the dishes and glasses, and the pens and paper. The cutest thing I got: tiny little plastic bottles with animal tops to fill with soy sauce and put in a lunchbox. My son begged for these, so I guess I'll be sending him with rice and soy sauce for lunch one day.
Fun to browse, very clean and tidy, and they really did have just about everything you could need. I love this place! I just wish it was a little closer to my house.
LOVE THIS STORE. This location is huge as I'm used to a store location in a shopping mall in the Seattle area. There's so much stuff to look at that it can be overwhelming. It's certainly an adventure when you go shopping here b.c you're trying to figure out what the heck this "thing" is used for. LOL. Have fun.
Oh, at this location - you gotta bag up your own goodies. So don't be alarmed that after you pay, it's still in a basket and not a shopping bag.
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Pretty impressive store with any type of random Japanese stuff you can think of. Most stuff is $1.50. Lots of Japanese household items, gift items, toiletries, etc. Wished they had a bigger selection of Japanese snacks and drinks though - that was rather weak for the size of the store.
The place is hidden in the San Antonio plaza right near Trader Joe's and Krung Thai.
Bottom line: If you are looking for everyday random Japanese stuff. this will be your nirvana. But increase your food and snack collection for me please.
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Daiso is quite the amazing Japanese market. This store has a plethora of things from which you can purchase: soap, pens, dishware, dog clothing, and basically whatever else you can thing of to buy. Most everything is $1.50, except for things specifically marked. After you purchase your supplies, you get to bag them as well. You can think of this place as Maido, yet except of specifically selling stationery, they sell a wide-variety of products like a general store.
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