08/20/2007   English German
  Edition # 69  
San Francisco, 08-20-2007

Japanese 1-dollar stores: Ichiban Kan and Daiso
Figure [1]: Japanese Ma-o-am from the "Ichiban Kan" store

Michael On our weekly tours through the culinary establishments of San Francisco's Japantown, we had discovered "Ichiban Kan" years ago. It's a kind of "Rudi's Reste Rampe," where almost everything costs just one dollar, but with a Japanese twist.

Figure [2]: Japanese tool

And Japanese and Germans have more in common than one might initially suspect: a love for all sorts of desk accessories, for example. Filing folders, expensive felt-tip pens, in/out trays for the desk--these are things sloppy Americans can't make sense of, but in Japanese offices, it apparently looks just like German desks.

Figure [3]: The Japanese dollar store "Ichiban Kan" in Japantown

Recently, I tried a quiz on the internet, and one question asked about typical features of a German apartment. Alongside obviously misleading suggestions like lederhosen hanging on the wall, there was: Leitz folders on the shelf. And it hit me like a ton of bricks: That's true, that is typically German!

At "Ichiban-Kan," in addition to all sorts of plastic folders, there are certainly also two dozen different plastic baskets that you can use to tidy up your desk. Or hotel slippers with "Westin" and "Hilton" written on them. They cost a dollar at "Ichiban-Kan," and we always take our pairs with us when we stay in budget motels. Or Japanese soup bowls. Or Japanese sweets. In illustration 1, you can see the Japanese Ma-o-am. It tastes really good!

Figure [4]: The "Daiso" store south of San Francisco

Recently, we were driving around south of San Francisco in the "Serramonte Mall" and accidentally discovered a new gem in this ugly suburban shopping center: the Japanese one-dollar store "Daiso." "Daiso" is certainly four times the size of "Ichiban Kan," a paradise for exotic bargain hunters! A huge selection of tools, stationery, organization systems, and almost everything costs $1.50. It really should be mentioned in every travel guide!

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