My Favorite Things at Disney World #10

I love Japan!

I love the technology, I love the food, I love the people, I love the pro-wrestling (shut up) but most of all, I love the pop culture.

Now I know that most likely I’m either never going to Japan, or if I do its going to be a long long time before I get the chance, and until then, I have EPCOT.

Now within EPCOT’s Japan Pavillion there is a 10,000 square foot nerd paradise, called the Mitsukoshi Department Store.

Owned by the Mitsukoshi Ltd Company in Japan, which was the first Japanese Department store when it was founded in 1673, Mitsukoshi in EPCOT has everything from Bonsai trees, to candies to kimonos to t-shirts to toys

And oh the t-shirts and toys they have there…Hello Kitty, Tomagotchi, Inuyashi, and for older nerds like me Transformers, Robotech, Godzilla and Voltron.

I’ve mentioned before how there are products in Disney World that you can buy at 20 different places on the resort, and probably at the Disney Store in your town. This is the totally opposite. There are things here that you cannot find anywhere else in the park, and to be quite honest, there’s some stuff that you would have a difficult time finding in the Western Hemisphere without buying online.

I mean how awesome is that shirt? Seriously!                       

Now of course, things are going to be expensive. That shirt ran me $34 but let’s be honest, its in Disney World and it is Imported. There are less expensive products, the Inuyashi t-shirt was I believe $24 but I’m willing to justify the price.

The candy and snack section has a wide array from the chocolate stick cookie Pocky to Shrimp Chips (and you’d actually be surprised which one tastes a whole heck of a lot better.), making them blow a Jungle Jim’s or any other International Grocer away as far as selection.

There is also jewelry including a Pick a Pearl from an Oyster counter, which is guaranteed to find a pearl in your oyster. My wife found a rather rare blue pearl in a smaller kiosk in Downtown Disney, but if you wan the “show” aspect that comes along with it, you have to go to Mitsukoshi.

The young women who work in the store are some of the sweetest Cast Members you’ll find in the parks and are always willing to help you out.

The only thing I could say bad is that they could increase their DVD selection, now granted I understand what they are doing here. Disney probably gets the most money by selling the Anime from its Japanese affiliate, Ghibli Studios, but I would love to see more stuff from perhaps the Toho Studios, which put out the Godzilla films. But really that’s a small gripe. I can get those films but other places, but darn it if they worked out that, this would definitely be top 5 for me.


Note: If you are not a Japanese nut like I am, the other international pavilions have some great imported items, but they don't have Samurai Swords.