Tokuya

In Melbourne we found an Australian equivalent of the Japanese hyaku-en shoppu (100 yen shop - can one of my talented Japanese-speaking siblings let me know if I have that wrong?). At a basement store near Target on Bourke Street the kids and I discovered aisles and aisles of lovely Japanese homewares, pretty much everything selling for $3.50.

As I have mentioned previously, I love exploring international supermarkets/stores. Tokuya is not a grocery store, no food. They sell toys, bento supplies, stationery, kitchen products, giftwrap, beauty products, laundry items etc.

Here is our haul.......


I picked up some boxes of little re-usable plastic toothpicks with cute faces/animals on the top . I try to minimise the use of plastic bags and gladwrap in the children's lunchboxes and bento supplies are perfect for this.

Ethan and Erica were each allowed to pick one item that caught their eye. Ethan picked a fantastic origami book - each page has a pre-printed tear out square of paper. Above the paper is the instructions needed to fold your origami creation - such as fish, samurai, ninja stars etc.

Erica picked a stationery set featuring a frog in a bath. I adore the 'Japlish' phrases that appear on Japanese stationery. Erica's choice reads....

Have a nice bath time! The head is washed. The body is washed.
It is soaked to the bath. Let's spend it happily and pleasantly.

How cute! Totemo Kawaii!