Original message cards are sure to bring a smile to the face of anyone who loves bargains.

In the theme song that plays through the stores’ speakers, Japanese discount retailer Don Quijote calls itself “ a jungle of bargains,” and it really is an apt analogy. Since they deal in a huge variety of items, everything from shampoo to electronics and furniture to groceries, Don Quijote’s wares are arranged in a dense, arguably chaotic way, with the inventory enveloping you evoking thoughts of thickly overgrown vegetation.

So to help customers navigate, and to draw their eyes to the biggest discounts and most in-demand items, Don Quijote branches are filled with signs.

There are so many that the distinctive thick font and bright color scheme is instantly recognizable to anyone who’s made a handful of shopping runs at the chain, and now you can have your very own Don Quijote made with a custom message on it.

You have a total of nine different designs, as shown in tweet above, to choose from, as well as three sizes: postcard, A4-size (21 x 29.7 centimeters [8.2 x 11.7 inches]), and A3-size (29.7 x 42 centimeters).

▼ Looking through the samples

At the Mega Don Quijote branch in Shibuya, you can have your sign made at either the service counter on the fourth floor or at the register for the “brand corner” up on the 4th.

▼ Tell the staff you’d like to make an “original message card” (orijinaru messeji kado).

Postcard-size signs cost just 550 yen (US$4.10), A4s 1,100 yen, and A3s 1,430 yen. We decided to have two signs made using the “Thank you!” template, one postcard-sized and the other A4. The process is simple, with a form you fill out with the text you want added to the card (the message can be up to 15 characters for the base price, and you can also add the name of the person you’re giving the card to for no additional cost). The staff will also ask for your phone number so that they can contact you when your sign is ready to pick up, in case you don’t want to stand around waiting the whole time.

After about an hour, our call came in, so we went back to the counter to pick it up, and…

…both signs came out great! The larger one is a thank-you to our readers, with the added message that we hope you’ll continue to visit our site, while the smaller is a personal thank-you from our Japanese-language reporter Suzu to coworker Momo, plus an invitation to grab a beer together soon (Suzu did just have a nice bit of cash come back from the dead, after all).

Currently, this Don Quijote sign service is offered only at the Mega Don Quijote Shibuya branch, but considering how the chain uses this signage aesthetic nationwide, hopefully we’ll see it expand to other branches in the future.

Shop information
Mega Don Quiojote (Shibuya main branch) / MEGAドン・キホーテ渋谷本店
Address: Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Udagawacho 28-6
東京都渋谷区宇田川町28-6
Open 24 hours a day (sign service from 9 a.m.-8 p.m.)
Website

Photos ©SoraNews24
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Follow Casey on Twitter, where he’s always happy to see the Don Quijote penguin at southern California’s Tokyo Central.