Further proof that no matter what we need, we can probably find it at Japan’s favorite 100 yen store.
Japan has embraced the frights, fun, and food of Halloween in a big way in recent years, but still not in a complete mirror of how things are done in America. For example, Japan doesn’t anything equivalent to Spirit Halloween or other temporary discount specialty shops that move into vacant shopping mall spaces to offer costumes ideas ahead of October 31.
So what should you do if you find yourself in need of a quick, affordable Halloween outfit that’s still some mix of creepy, cute, or cool? Head to Daiso, Japan’s favorite 100 yen store chain.
That’s what our Japanese-language reporter Natuski Goto did, since as of September Daiso is stocked with Halloween items. Because wallet-friendly shopping is Daiso’s whole deal, Natsuki decided to keep her Halloween outfit decidedly low-cost, limiting herself to three budget points: 110, 220, and 550 yen (roughly US$0.70, US$1.40, and US$3.50), even accounting for Japan’s 10-percent sales tax.
Let’s see what she put together.
● 110-yen budget
When you’re limiting yourself to just a single item, you’ve got to pick something that provides a big impact, and Natsuki’s pick is Daiso’s Skull Mask.
Officially, this is the “Skull Mask -Color-,” as it’s got a faux metallic sheen to it with a distressed effect that makes it look like it was dragged through a dungeon, graveyard, or some other suitably spooky scenery. With a simple single head strap, this mask only covers the front of your face, so it works best paired with a hoody to help sell the skull illusion, and a black garment gives you a nice shinigami/death god vibe.
One thing to be aware of, though, is that as a one-size-fits-all mask, the eyeholes may be a little on the large size for some wearers. Because of that, your eyes might need to do some acting to suitably match the dark depravity of that ghoulish grin, but at a price that’s less than a bottle of tea from a vending machine (and much less than a can of vending machine hot pot), this mask is pretty impressive.
● 220-yen budget
Shifting gears to the cute category, Natsuki’s pick for the mid-range of extremely low budgets is a bit of cat cosplay. Daiso actually has a variety of Halloween-themed hairbands, some featuring quirky pumpkins or naughty devil horns, but with enough money in this budget tier for a second item, Natsuki says the “Cat Headband” is the best choice because of the potential to pair it with Daiso’s crayon-style face paint set.
The Face Crayons are incredibly easy to use, with a tactile feel pretty much the same as coloring on paper, just that you’re using them on your skin. You get four colors in the set, and since they’ll work just as well on your arms, you could also use them to make a zombie costume by giving yourself an array of scars or bloody wounds.
But like we said, Natsuki’s preferred way to use them is to give herself the whiskers and nose of a friendly kitty.
Of course, you could skip the face-painting and wear just the hairband, which would put this costume into the 110-yen budget space. With cat ears being a common motif among the otaku/YouTuber crowd, though, taking the little extra time to add some whiskers does a lot to make this look feel like something special for Halloween.
● 550-yen budget
Part of Halloween’s expanding popularity is that a lot of times you might want yourself looking to get in on the fun but without the impracticality of wearing full-on costume elements. So for those times, Natsuki’s 550-yen Daiso Halloween look is something that you can easily do for fun photos with friends or family regardless of your wardrobe. Daiso has all sorts of Halloween hair clips, so Natsuki grabbed four of those, plus a pack of body stickers.
▼ The bow with a zombie hand coming out of it is especially clever.
After a few minutes of arranging them, Natsuki was giving off a selfie-worthy Halloween aura.
With more than a month to go until Halloween, there’s still plenty of time for hardcore costumers to sort out more involved and extravagant costumes. But for those who simply want to get into the spirit of the season in a lighthearted way, or who get invited to a last-minute Halloween party and need to put something together on their way from the office, Daiso is definitely worth checking out.
Photos ©SoraNews24
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[ Read in Japanese ]
