One thing I realized that there is a store which I have visited often, and that is Don Quijote in Akihabara and MEGA Don Quijote Shibuya Honten in Shibuya and shocked I have not even blogged about it.
In Japan, Don Quijote (a.k.a. “Donki”) is a discount chain store with 160 locations throughout Japan, 6 in Singapore, 1 in Thailand and in Hong Kong and 2 in the USA (both in Hawaii).
If I have to compare it with a store in the United States, I guess the first thing that comes into my mind is Big Lots.
If Daiso Japan is looked at as the dollar stores of Japan (although there are other stores that are actually 100 yen shops in Japan), Don Quijote is where people can find discounts and each building floor features different things to purchase such as snacks, electronics, cosmetics, skincare, souvenirs, clothing, luggage and stationery.
I actually go to Don Quijote to purchase electronics (ie. several years ago, my iPad and iPhone cable broke, so I needed to get one and sure enough, found them at Don Quijote).
The store became popular during the bubble collapse of Tokyo and many people wanting to save money shopped and Donki. But the popularity of Donki, especially in Akihabara, was when AKB48 opened its AKB Theatre on the eighth floor of Don Quijote.
I’ll talk more about the Akihabara store in another post but for now, let’s talk about MEGA Don Quijote Shibuya Honten. A 24-hour store in the Udagawa-cho area of Shibuya (not far from Shibuya Scramble).
And one of the biggest differences compared to a normal Don Quijote store is that it sells actual food and drinks. In fact, there are more food, drinks and snacks offered at MEGA Don Quijote Shibuya Honten that are quite inexpensive.
Unfortunately, I don’t have hardly any photos to share with you inside the shop because my hands were full trying to purchase a lot of food and snacks for a Welcome Tokyo Hanami party at Yoyogi Park.
So, consider this post a part 1. I’ll do a video or take photos while inside MEGA Don Quijote Shibuya Honten. But here are a few photos on Instagram:
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But myself and a few friends did quite a bit of grocery shopping. I want to give thanks to Itsuya and Sashko for joining me in the effort to make the Hanami party lively, by splitting the costs in purchasing food and snacks. I believe keeping your circle (or several circles) of friends happy with food really helps pass the time and brings everyone together.
