Kawaii Corner

When I was a kid in the late-70's, I remember being obsessed with anything Sanrio. My grandma took my sister and me to Shirokiya, a Japanese store in Honolulu, Hawaii, that sold tons of Sanrio items. Hello Kitty, My Melody and Little Twin Stars were the most popular characters back then. Every Wednesday after school, I looked forward to adding something small to my multi-compartment pencil case. There was a pencil case craze back in elementary school; everyone was on the hunt for the coolest pencil case with the most compartments. The more compartments you had, the more envious the other kids became of you. The compartments housed your pencils, pens, mini rulers, scissors and erasers. In order to show off these fun pencil cases, you had to buy more loot to fill it. You could never have enough pencils (preferably mechanical), cutely shaped or scrumptiously scented erasers, puffy stickers or pens.

As I was surfing the net for these "kawaii" (means cute in Japanese) items, I came across Kawaii Corner, a small shop STOCKED with items that remind me of my childhood obsession. Interestingly enough, the brick-and-mortar store is located in San Francisco, CA, which is a mere 45 minutes from where I live. To give you a sample of these adorable Japanese character items, I will post a few products from their online store:

Gakken Japan "Pichi Lemon" Bunny Kids Letter Set ($5.95):




Q-lia Japan "Happy Sweets" 0.5 Mechanical Pencil ($4.95):




10pc Sea or Zoo Animals Eraser Set w/ Case ($1.95):




Kamio Japan "Sweet Paradise" Letter Set in Case w/ Marker (on sale $3.60):




Monokuro Boo Black White Pig 2pc Eraser Set ($1.25):




Kamio Japan "Pop' n Friends Mushroom" Mini Memo Pad ($2.50):




Asterialand Fashionable Cow Girl Vinyl Tote Bag (on sale $7.99):




Gakken Japan "Pichi Lemon" Puffy & Soft Sticker Sheet (A) ($2.49):




Tomy Yujin "Hello Kitty Apple Charm #1" Capsule Strap ($1.50):




Vintage Sanrio Keroppi Thank You Greeting Card ($3.49):





There are so many other neato items at Kawaii Corner. With Christmas just around the corner, these would make great gifts or stocking stuffers for adults and children alike!

All descriptive text and images from Kawaii Corner website.

Jeanne - Three Paper Pigs