Daiso Stores in Minnesota

Daiso, an affordable retail chain known for their Japanese inspired home decor, stationery, snacks, and more, is opening stores in Minnesota. The Woodbury location is having a grand opening celebration this weekend with goodie bags for the first 100 customers!

When I first heard about Daiso stores I was pretty bummed out there weren’t any locations in Minnesota! Daiso is basically a Japanese version of the dollar store with lots of unique offerings. But Daiso is busy bringing lots of stores to MN– I went to one so I could tell you all about it!

I recently visited the Daiso store in Maplewood but there’s also one located in Crystal and one opening in Woodbury this weekend! I wasn’t expecting such a big store when I walked in but WOW– the store was huge, neatly organized and filled with lots of treasures.

First let’s talk about pricing. Daiso has posted their pricing guides all around the store to help newbies like me! If something doesn’t have a price on it, it’s $2.25. I noticed this was true for most things I looked at. Obviously bigger items had the tendency to cost more, items like storage containers, kitchen items, outdoor planters, etc. Their price guide shows $2.25- $18.00 but I didn’t find anything that was $18.00 while shopping.

It seems like Daiso has a little bit of everything– home goods, stationery, kids toys, food, makeup, outdoor planters, kitchen goods and more. I was immediately drawn to the kids crafts, stationery and stickers. I loved their sticker books– perfect for road trips in the car with kiddos! And their stickers and stationery were very fun and interesting. Not too many stores carry these items in store anymore, so I really enjoyed looking at them in person.

What I was blown away by were the home goods and storage containers. There were tons of very cute home items– decorations, picture frames, kitchen goods– for low prices. You could redecorate a space here at Daiso with a very low budget! And storage options?! If you need it, they probably have it. Honestly I was slightly overwhelmed by all the choices, I am going to come back the next time I need to tackle an organization project!

Diaso had a good selection of kids outdoor toys, which I always think are a bit overpriced at other retailers. I expect that bubble wands, bug houses, water squirters, sand toys won’t last more than a season so only paying $2.25 is a steal! But I wasn’t super impressed with their toys, which were on par with Dollar Tree. Lots of plastic items that my kiddos would break pretty easily.

There were lots of Disney items mixed into the aisles and a big section right in the front of Sanrio characters. While those aren’t really my thing, lots of items were sold out so I know some people really like to find those items!

There were also several aisles of Japanese snacks. These seemed very popular at the Maplewood Store and some of the shelves were looking a bit empty. But lots of employees were busy stocking shelves so I’m sure they put more product out as soon as they get it!

Overall I’d recommend Daiso! It was fun to explore the store and I’d come back next time with a shopping list. It felt like an upgraded dollar store with more interesting and unique offerings.

Daiso Woodbury Grand Opening Celebration

The Daiso store in Woodbury is opening this weekend, June 7th and 8th! They will be giving away an exclusive goodie bag to the first 100 customers who make a $30 purchase at this location each day. Plan to get there early– the employees mentioned there is usually a line out the door on opening weekend!