DAISO – The AWESOME 600 Baiza Store in Ruwi, Oman!

  My gorgeous wife, Che, with  Henry and Ansu who came all the way from Ibri to visit Muscat.  (Seeing my reflection in the door reminds me of that scene from Liam Neeson’s movie “Taken“, ha!ha! But I digress…)  Apparently, these “Japanese 100-yen shops” (Japan’s #1 Value Store) are blossoming in the Middle East.   The 1st ME Daiso store opened in Dubai, UAE in 2004 and I only recently came to know about this shop here in Oman which opened on Dec 8, 2005.  There are at least 15 of these shops across the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman.  They are similiar to the “$1 store” or ”Looney Stores” of Canada.   Shampoo hat, anyone?! ha!ha! Okay…some of the items for sale here are just RIDICULOUS! (but that’s what makes it all the more interesting! A Japanese store in Oman?!)  I like how some guy described these stores saying “You can stand in the aisle for 15 minutes wondering if the product you have in your hand is for eating or something for washing your armpits!” LOL!   Just look at those cute little piggy-panks!  I bought one of the pandas! Remember-EVERYTHING in this shop is only 600 baisas or $1.55 US/$1.90 CAD.   What home would be complete without “the animal magnet“?!    (And YES, I did buy this one!) Some of the products here are cute-others are outright hilarious! (Let’s not forget that Japan is the country that gave us “Hello Kitty”!)  The English errors on some of the packaging are worth the trip alone, ha!ha!  To enjoy other Japanese attempts at labeling products in “Engrish”, check out this site: www.engrish.com (CAUTION! You may crack a rib from laughter!)  If you live in Oman and end up in Muscat, you HAVE to check out this store.  It’s located in Ruwi next to Khalijana Supermarket and has over 3,200 ft²(300m²) of shopping area.  The opening hours of this store in Ruwi, Oman are: Sat-Thur 9:30am-1pm, 5-10pm; and Friday 5-10pm.   For any of you Canadian viewers out there, there is one daiso store in Canada.  It’s located in Richmond, BC. http://www.daisocanada.com/contactus.html  If you are reading this and pouting due to the fact that there is no Daiso store in your area, take heart, dear reader, for there is an on-line site!   http://www.daisojapan.com/  There are friendly employees ready to help you out in this store…but they are cautious as there have been reports of “cultural problems” – “”We have tried saying ‘Irasshaimase’ (Welcome) when customers visit the shops, but this annoys some people. And in Kuwait, where there is fairly strict adherence to Islamic principles, I made a man angry when I was explaining to his wife how to use our products. I think he thought I was ogling her or something,” he said. (from http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20070609a4.html)  More info on Daiso found here: http://www.daiso-sangyo.co.jp/english/about/about04.html  So if you are ever in Ruwi with some extra time on your hands, why not check this shop out?!  You will have a good laugh, find some interesting products you might not find elsewhere and you will feel as if you have taken a “small trip to Japan” as an escape from the desert heat!