Five Incredible 100 Yen Store Buys for Kids

Here are top five buys for kids from the amazing wonderland that is the 100 yen store.

I heart the 100 yen store. It’s full to the brim of stuff I didn’t know I needed. From the trusty corn kernel cutter to the Miffy and Friends themed chopsticks sitting in our kitchen drawer, there’s just no limit to what I’ll buy from our local shop. And when it comes to things for the kids, it’s very easy to get carried away, as the myriad of toys and activities on offer is amazing—and won’t cost you an arm and leg either.

1. Bubble Time!

Usually when I use the word bubbles, I’m referring to the alcoholic kind. But when using 100 Yen Store in the same sentence, I am of course referring to the round, floaty, pretty kind that all kids seem to love and be mesmerized by. And these bubbles come in a five-pack no less! Bubble guns and other kinds of bubble-related merchandise are also usually available and provide some pretty good balcony fun. Best ¥110 I ever spent.

2. Get Creative

Put together an amazingly full and varied arts’n’crafts box for very little cost. Pipe cleaners, mini pom-poms, streamers, glitter, buttons, sequins, felt, oil paints, water paints, cardboard, tracing paper, drawing paper, colored paper, markers, crayons, oil pastels, glue, sticky tape, modeling clay…you name it, you can probably find it. All you and the kids need to add is some imagination.

3. Who Can It Be Now?

What kid doesn’t love dress-ups? Forget spending exorbitant amounts on costumes at toy stores. Most 100 yen shops will have at least a few costumes and props in store. While some are aimed at the more adult market (might want to bypass the French maid outfits), ninjas, sumo wrestlers, hats, masks, wigs, and animal-eared headbands are just some of the items that are child-appropriate, and with Halloween coming up later in the year, check out what’s on offer at your local 100 yen store sooner rather than later.

4. Make Some Noise

For only a small handful of change, your kids and their friends can turn their dreams of starting a band into reality—that is, if their dream band consists of instruments such as the recorder, drums, bells, maracas, and plastic trumpets. So while the kids are choosing their instruments, you can pick yourself up a pair of earplugs too.

5. Water Play

From the classic plastic bucket and balls, to rubber duckies and squirt guns, there are lots of things available to turn bath time into fun time. Strangely enough, my kids can’t go past the alphabet and hiragana charts­—all you do is wet the back, and these charts will stick to any surface in the bathroom­­—which have made learning the ABCs and some kana very easy indeed.

What have you found at the 100 yen store that your kids couldn’t get enough of? Let us know in the comments!