I'm Biggie: avid cook, speedy lunch packer, mom in San Francisco, & former expat fluent in Japanese. 
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Shop: U.S. dollar store to sell bento gear online
Ichiban Kan, a rocking Japanese-style dollar store in the San Francisco Bay Area, tells me that they’re going to open an online store in November 2007 that will sell inexpensive bento gear. As I wrote in the Bay Area bento gear shopping guide, Ichiban Kan is an excellent bargain store with an ever-changing selection of matching bento boxes, insulated bento sets, bento accessories, collapsible sandwich cases, bento bags (kinchaku, insulated bags), egg molds (2 for US$1.50), rice molds, character bento goods (Cinnamoroll, Hello Kitty, Shinkansen, Pokemon), cute food cups, chopsticks and utensils with cases, etc. Most products are US$1 to $1.50 in the store; we’ll see how they price things online. I hope they’ll give us a nice break from those sky-high eBay prices (not to mention shipping from Japan — ugh)! Stay tuned for details.
RELATED POSTS:
- SF Bay Area shopping guide to bento gear
- SF shopping update
- Opinionated guide to lunch gear and cookbooks
July 25th, 2007 | Categories: SF Bay Area local, admin, equipment, shopping | 
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44 Responses to “Shop: U.S. dollar store to sell bento gear online”
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July 25th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Best news ever! Thanks for sharing the information!
July 25th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
YES.
im not that far away from san francisco myself, but far enough away that the cost of gas doesnt make shopping feasible, even at a dollar-ish store!
i hope they dont jack it up too much from store prices, or they have good deals on shipping!
July 25th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
this is great news! i’ve been to Daiso and really liked it but it’s about an hour from me. having a dollar store sell bento online will be fabulous! *crosses fingers for good prices*
July 25th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
Fantastic! Can’t wait, *huggles credit card* While my aunt can always buy me stuff, it’s different if I can get to choose what I want, then just have them shipped to her. Thanks for the news, biggie!
July 25th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
And this right after I spent just about $100 at Uwajimaya. Not all on bento gear, of course, but they do overcharge for the tiniest things… Thank goodness someone’s doing something about the market online.
July 25th, 2007 at 6:51 pm
W00t! Cannot wait. Just discovered bento this week and I do not have many options except Ebay. Too pricy to get started… but I am looking forward to the dollar store going online.
Thanks for your very sweet site BTW.
July 25th, 2007 at 8:27 pm
Oh, lordy! O_O Please let it be so~
July 25th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
Make sure you post this again when they go online, there is NO WHERE in Amish country Pennsylvania to buy Bento supplies, and I paid far too much to get my box from Japan.
July 25th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
i just headed out to ichiban kan today upon your advice =) SO CHEAP! i love it! thanks for the heads-up….btw anyone know where to get a CHEAP totoro box? (besides ebay grrrrrrowl) thanks!
July 26th, 2007 at 3:53 am
Hi,
did he told you (maybe you can ask? *puppyeyes*) anything about shipping to europe?
Thanks a lot,
Jan
July 26th, 2007 at 4:09 am
@10 from Jan:
Don’t know about shipping outside of the U.S. — I’ll ask next Tuesday when I go again (I go every week after Japanese playgroup for the kids). I’ll put a bug in their ear (maybe think about it for orders over a certain amount?).
July 26th, 2007 at 4:26 am
@8 from Shannon:
I’ll definitely post when they go online or when I get updated info. BTW, I added a function where you can elect to receive Lunch in a Box posts by email if you want — it’s linked in the upper right hand side under “Subscribe”.
July 26th, 2007 at 4:54 am
@6 from ME:
Thanks for the kind comment! Don’t feel that you need expensive gear to get started — you can always start packing lunch in shallow Tupperware, Rubbermaid or Lock & Lock boxes that can be found in supermarkets or superstores like Walmart or Target (my Amazon “shop” has some cheapo ideas). Once you’re into it you can either seek out a box you like, maybe stumble across a cheap one at an Asian dollar store (or Sanrio store), or cross your fingers about Ichiban Kan. Welcome to the fold!
July 26th, 2007 at 4:56 am
@9 from anj:
The only Totoro boxes I’ve seen in person so far have been PRICEY at Moritaya (not that different from the JList/JBox prices). I wish I knew a cheaper source, but things get pricey quickly once you start wading into character goods…
July 26th, 2007 at 5:25 am
Wow, this is great! Also, I recently noticed that Japan Centre (http://www.japancentre.com/) has a Daiso logo with “coming soon” beneath it. I was hoping they’d sell bento things, as well.
July 26th, 2007 at 5:32 am
@15 from Syrra:
If Japan Centre starts selling Daiso goods, that’ll be great for readers in the U.K. — I hear it’s quite difficult to get good bento gear there. Keep us posted!!!
July 26th, 2007 at 7:19 am
I think this is the best thing I have heard all day! Man those dollars will add up quickly!
July 26th, 2007 at 7:31 am
*cries tears of joy* YOU ROCK!!! SO HAPPY!!!! Of course, I’ll be in SF in September so hopefully will already have some of the stuff I want, but this is still sooooo awesome!!! *does the dance*
July 26th, 2007 at 11:43 am
Oh yes! Thank god! That was my favorite part about visiting SF…so I guess I don’t have to fly over there as soon as I thought. Thanks! =)))
July 26th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Woo! That’s really great! Can’t wait, supah excited! >_
July 27th, 2007 at 7:48 am
My greatest wish is that more Amazon-linked companies and for that matter, many online companies that sell bento boxes and bento accesories would start to offer international shipment. I would pay for internation shipment on handy bentoboxes and otherwise food related japanese storage accesories. I have searched through the japanese shops I can find and have basically emptied out what they have to offer.
I realise that international shipment poses the threat of extra work with basically no margin of profit. However, my wish is regardless that more will offer international shipment over time.
July 27th, 2007 at 9:04 am
@21 from Jessica:
Gosh, that used to drive me crazy when I lived in Japan and tried to mail order things from the U.S. and other places. That, and U.S. companies that gave a 1-800 number without a regular toll number that could be used from outside the U.S. (Don’t even get me started on phone numbers using letters to spell words — Japanese phones didn’t have letters on the buttons, so I’d have to sit down with a pencil and paper and try to reconstruct a U.S. phone…)
July 28th, 2007 at 7:30 am
Hello! I just wanted to say that I recently found your site through LiveJournal. I wish I needed to pack a lunch for myself! I work at home. But I’m inspired to start doing it for my husband.
And my mom loves bento. When she comes to visit this fall we will definitely go lunchbox shopping at some places you recommend (we live in East Bay).
July 29th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
thanks for this wonderful news!!!!!!! cup dividers here i come!
July 30th, 2007 at 7:53 am
@23 from Stephanie:
Hi Stephanie, and welcome! I know we wind up saving a lot of money by packing lunch as Bug and I tend to be outside at mealtime three days a week. It’s really just a treat that the meals are nice and compact so that I can cram them into the diaper bag… Anyway, enjoy bento shopping with your mom this fall — there are so many places you can go in this area for cheap/good bento gear (Ichiban Kan and Daiso first!!!); it’ll be fun for you, I think. Again, welcome!
July 30th, 2007 at 7:55 am
@24 from lalalady7:
They have a good assortment of cute food cups (silicone coated) in many different shapes/sizes with fun characters (the Clickety Clack guys, Sanrio characters, etc.). Not as many as Daiso, but nothing to sneeze at!
July 30th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
Oh this is such great news! I just bought my first bento box and some accessories off ebay. After reading over on flickr and finding out how inexpensive this stuff is if you live in the right place I feel a little sick about the money I spent. Good to hear they have the Clickity Click guys as I’m currently loving Mr. Mink Monkey. he cracks me up.
July 31st, 2007 at 6:36 am
I’ll definately order from them! Let them know lots of us will be good customers.
Can’t wait!
July 31st, 2007 at 3:09 pm
@27 from dcdesigns:
I just stopped by IBK again today (every Tuesday!); they’re still on for an online store launch by the end of the year. So much cheaper than eBay if their prices hold…
July 31st, 2007 at 3:11 pm
@28 from Cheryl:
Have done so!!! Fingers crossed…
July 31st, 2007 at 3:13 pm
@10 from Jan:
I asked Ichiban Kan today about shipping outside of the U.S., and they said they’re still planning the details. Definitely shipping within the U.S. is fine, but no decision yet on international.
July 31st, 2007 at 11:59 pm
@31, Biggie. You can nudge at them, in a Japanese manner, saying more customers (hopefully) would come their way ;).
August 10th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
Awesome news! I can’t find any of the cool stuff where I live.
August 10th, 2007 at 8:55 pm
@33 from Jennifer:
I have high hopes for this too; if their online store is like the retail store there will be some great bargains.
August 24th, 2007 at 8:38 am
[...] Egg Molds = You hard boil an egg, cool it just enough to be able to handle it, place it in the mold and dunk it in ice water for a few minutes. Here are the molds: http://lunchinabox.net/2007/07/25/us…o-gear-online/ [...]
August 24th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
OMG I will go totally bananas (read: broke) once they finally open. I feel so sorry for all the poor people that will still get robbed on eBay after this.
I’ll definitely blog about this next week!!
August 24th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
@36 from Pikko: You said it! I don’t know how their online inventory cycles are going to be, but the retail store definitely cycles through different bento-related products over a 6-week or so period.
August 25th, 2007 at 10:29 am
Hi -it’s been a while since I’ve stopped by but I have found the following useful in the UK:
Japancentre now have some Daiso stuff for mail order - not strictly bento related, but they have a tamagoyaki pan for under £5 and a nigiri sushi mold for £1.45 (under cookware on the Japancentre website).
I’ve also used the guys at http://www.mountfuji.co.uk for Japanese food items before and I would recommend them.
Hope you don’t mind me posting these here, still loving the bentos!
August 25th, 2007 at 11:34 pm
@38 from docsarah: Hey, welcome back! Thanks for the U.K. sources; I remember someone writing (you?) that Japancentre was going to stock Daiso stuff, but no date or details. Excellent news for UK readers!
August 29th, 2007 at 9:25 am
I can’t wait for this. It’s hard to find affordable cute bento goods where I live,and I hate using E-bay. This is definitely awesome news!
Oh, and I love your site! I’ve been going through the archives for the past week and getting lots of ideas!
January 16th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Is there an updated word on if a site is up and running as December 2007 has come and gone (and January is flying by too!) ? I tried an internet search but didn’t get anything. Thanks!
January 16th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
@41 from Jessica: I was in Ichiban Kan exactly one week ago, and I asked a clerk (not the manager I usually talk to) for an update. She said the store wasn’t up yet, and kind of pulled a face. I wish they would get their act together!
January 25th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Those things are sooo expensive here in UK, one of those boxes you bought for $1.50 they are selling on eBay for $10 plus another £10 for shipping… So I’m staying with my plain boxes for now. I bought only some accessories… egg mold, dividers, picks… also few times more expensive than it is worth… but I did not know that few days ago… I’m half way reading your blog… It is very useful resource of information for me. Thank you
Margot
January 25th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
@43 from Coffee and Vanilla: Yes, you really don’t *need* a lot to start packing bento lunches — a lot of it is nice little frills (that, as you say, the eBay sellers have figured out they can charge a premium for). You might want to check out the geographic shopping guide on the LiveJournal Bentolunch community (linked from my Shop page) and bentobusiness.co.uk — I think they have U.K. bento shopping info.