What to Buy for Kids from the 100 Yen Store in Japan

Last Updated on July 18, 2024 by Kay

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In a follow-up to my article about my favorite things from the 100 yen store in Japan that would make great souvenirs, I thought I should write about products I think are great for kids. Many of these are items that I’ve gotten for my daughter and she loves, so I would recommend them to any parent.

100 yen stores in Japan include:

DAISO
Seria
Watts
Can Do

For an overview of each store, read this article.

As 100 yen stores are Japan’s version of dollar stores, I know that some parents might feel apprehensive about getting their child, or someone else’s, something from there. But I’ve found that the quality is very good, especially for the price.

My daughter has toys from the 100 yen store that I got her years ago and she still plays with them.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that everything is great, which is why I’m sharing my top picks regarding what to get.

My Favorite Things for Kids from the 100 Yen (Dollar) Store in Japan

Toys

As mentioned in my prior article, I love getting my daughter toys from the 100 yen store. I’m especially a fan of toys from Seria, pictured below.

My daughter has the bento box set, which contains a colorful assortment of bento items that are fun for her to play with.

This cup noodle toy is also an adorable way for kids to pretend like they’re slurping down noodles.

I’m also a huge fan of these wooden toys that come in various kinds of food like dango, roll cake, and fried shrimp.

For kids who like LEGO and building things (or even adults), these petit blocks would make excellent gifts. They even come in bullet trains!

Sticker Books

Sticker books are called シールブック in Japanese. Although stores sell blank ones that kids can fill with stickers, there are some activity sticker books that come with stickers. These books have colorful illustrated pages where kids can place stickers over and over again, which is why this is something I love having on me when we travel.

There are not just princess ones, either. You can find dinosaurs, marine life, as well as Disney.

Origami Books

These instructional books on how to make origami are great because they’re in both Japanese and English! There are lots of different kinds of books as well, such as ones on how to make animals or toys, and seasonal ones for events like Christmas.

I’ve had a lot of fun making the different origami with my daughter, although since she’s still little I have to do a lot of the heavy lifting.

Origami Paper

You can’t make origami without the paper, and thankfully 100 yen stores carry a huge variety. They have lots of designs as well as paper featuring Disney or Sumikko Gurashi characters.

Uchiwa

If you’re visiting Japan during the summer, you might want to pick up some cute uchiwa. These are summer fans that not only help kids stay cool but have cute designs on them as well.

I’ve given some of these to my family members in Canada and they like to display them, so they make great souvenirs as well.

Folding fans

Folding fans, called sensu, are another great item for kids during summer. Unlike uchiwa, they’re more compact and some are even waterproof like the ones pictured above.

Letter Sets

My daughter loves giving letters to her friends and Japan has so many cute letter sets that she has plenty to choose from! These can be used by adults and kids alike and also feature characters from Sanrio and Disney.

Bath Balls

Like many kids, my daughter is obsessed with bath balls. It’s super exciting for kids to see them dissolve in the bath and reveal a small toy, especially since you don’t know which toy you’re going to get.

As you can see in the image above, there is a huge variety of bath balls that kids can choose from, including Disney, and fun ones you can get for souvenirs like sushi (or animal sushi…?)!

Anime Goods

For kids who like anime, you can find lots of anime good for just 100 yen! These range from keychains to small acrylic stands featuring characters from popular anime like Oshi no Ko, Tokyo Revengers, Gintama, and more.

Similar to bath balls, you don’t know which character you’re going to get when you open a package, which is why you might want to pick up more than one pack.

Character Goods

Alongside anime goods, 100 yen stores fell a variety of goods for popular characters as well such as Sumikko Gurashi and Chiikawa.

There’s masking (washi) tape (マスキングテープ), acrylic stands, keychains, and so much more. It’s really hard not to buy several (not speaking from experience, of course not…).

Cutlery and Lunch or Bento Supplies

If you’re into making bentos for your kids, then you’ll want to buy supplies from the 100 yen store. They have so many great and affordable products to help make a cute lunch for children.

They also have cutlery, which I buy for my daughter, and lunch boxes. Keep in mind that these products are not dishwasher safe.

Workbooks

If your child is learning Japanese, you may want to get them these workbooks to help them learn basic vocabulary as well as hiragana and katakana. If they know Japanese already, there are workbooks that help with subjects like math as well.

These books are categorized according to grade. For example, 小学１年 is for Grade 1 and so forth.

Training Chopsticks

If you want to teach your child how to use chopsticks, these training chopsticks are an excellent buy. My daughter used these from around age 2 and they really helped her. Now that she’s five, she can use regular chopsticks.

For those looking for regular chopsticks for kids, you can find them with all the other chopsticks in the housewares section of the store. It’s easy to tell which ones are for kids because the size is smaller and they will have a cute design that appeals to kids.

Bowls and Cups

There are a lot of character-themed bowls, plates, and cups at the 100 yen store. For instance, Seria sells Kirby ones, which are hugely popular with kids. I think all of my daughter’s friends have these!

Sanrio Merchandise

For Sanrio fans (like my daughter), there are a lot of Sanrio goods to choose from. My daughter has several of the Kuromi items pictured above and I’m quite happy with the quality.

I especially love the little bags they have for sale, which you can use to store a variety of items such as crayons, makeup, and toys. We have several of them and I like giving them as gifts as well because they’re so practical!

Bandages

Kids are accident-prone so it’s always good to have some bandages in your bag. I like how travel-friendly these are, not to mention cute.

Applique Patches

These iron-on applique patches are a great way to give your child’s bag or clothes a little glow-up.

Many kids at my daughter’s kindergarten in Japan have one of these patches on their hats, shirts, bags, and/or shorts. It’s a great way to differentiate their items from others and be unique.

Toothbrushes

I was really surprised to find such cute children’s toothbrushes at the 100 yen store in Japan, especially since they have popular characters like Sumikko Gurashi and Hello Kitty.

Take note of the age on the package when purchasing. For instance, 0才〜3才 is for babies up until age 3, while 6才以上 is for kids ages six and up.

Stickers

When I was a kid, I couldn’t get enough of collecting stickers, and it seems like my daughter has inherited this hobby. Thankfully, I can buy a lot of cute stickers from the 100 yen store! They have Sanrio characters, Paw Patrol, animals, vehicles, and some doll stickers that you can dress up using other stickers (these are really fun for my daughter).

Cute Erasers

These puzzle erasers are bound to be a hit with kids and would make a fun souvenir. My daughter has the dinosaur and unicorn ones (so far). We haven’t tried using them as erasers, though, because they’re too cute!

Snacks

You don’t have to fear the snacks for sale at the 100 yen store — they’re perfectly safe and products you can find for sale at convenience stores and grocery stores as well.

There’s a lot to choose from and trying out different kinds is fun for kids. My recommendation is to try the Sanrio chocolates and the Baby Star Ramen (ベビースタードデカイラーメン).

Wrap-up: Japanese Dollar Store Products for Kids

I hope this look at my favorite 100 yen products for kids has been helpful to you. Many parents in Japan get their kids a variety of things from these stores because they’re affordable yet good quality.