8 Unusual Items That You Can Find In Don Don Donki At Orchard Central

Singaporeans love to buy cheap goods, and if the goods were made in Japan, we love them even more.

Don Don Donki opened at Orchard Central in December, and it’s basically a Japanese megastore that sells anything and everything. It’s like a value dollar store, but bigger, pricier and much more interesting (or weird, depending on how you look at it).

If you’ve been on the Internet at all, you would know that Japan is the mecca of all things quirky and wacky. We can always count on the Japanese to make things weird and funny for us all.

So naturally, Don Don Donki has some pretty unique items that you can get off the shelves. We took a stroll around the massive retail space to discover what was in store for us.

1. Somen Slider Nagashi Machine

Want to make your noodle eating experience a little more fun? This machine makes your somen noodles go round and round as you try to catch them with a pair of chopsticks.

This is supposed to emulate the experience of the noodles slithering along a bamboo slide; something that you might have seen the Japanese do in videos.

As per the store’s description, “it’s cordless so you can enjoy it both at home and outside!” So pop in some batteries, and you’re good to go!

Price: S$49.90

2. Blue Juice

I saw this in the store and I swear it looked like poison to me. I don’t know if I was supposed to mix it with water before drinking it, but I didn’t and it tasted really, really sweet.

Actually, it tasted a little bit like cough syrup. Quick tip: if you are going to buy it, try mixing it with water and adding some ice; it’ll probably taste better.

Price: S$4.90

3. Katana Umbrella

This one is for the days when you feel like a low-key samurai but still don’t want to get caught in the rain. Forget those transparent umbrellas you see people in Tokyo carrying; this katana umbrella is the one you need.

Price: S$29.90

4. Suntory Orange-Flavoured Water

The transparent milk tea hype caught the attention of everyone not long ago, and here is another transparent drink that has a flavour to it.

It looks like a regular bottle of mineral water until you taste it; you’ll be quite amazed at how something like this, can taste like that. It’s sweet and really does have a citrus taste to it.

Price: S$1.90

5. Gosso Nose Hair Wax

I’m sure you’ve seen or know a few people who have nose hairs sticking out of their nostrils, which is really distracting and kind of disgusting to be honest.

Want an effective way to get rid of all that nose hair? Try this genius invention. Basically, you dip a stick into a hot bowl of wax, put that stick in your nostrils and wait for the wax to dry up, and then forcefully (and rather painfully) pull it out.

It’s going to hurt a little, but that’s the price to pay for beauty.

Price: S$24.90

6. Teeth Stain Cleaner

If your teeth have been taking hits from too much coffee and cigarettes, this little device might help.

It’s a soft, sponge-like swab that you use to brush on your teeth. Shouldn’t be too difficult to use, I mean the packaging has a picture of a baby on it.

Price: S$5.50

7. Giant Tuna Head

This massive head of a tuna was grilled to a crisp and put on display for your purchase. It’s called the Grilled Tuna Kabuto (S$50), and I’ve never seen anything like this before.

The store even has a banner to teach you the ways on how you should eat the tuna head. Strange and educational. Well done, Japan.

Price: S$50

8. World’s Best Apple

Do you know where the finest and crunchiest apples come from? According to Don Don Donki, they come from Japan.

This apple costs S$3.90 for one, so it better back up the claim of being the best apple on earth.

I tried one, and even though I’m not sure if it was the best, it certainly was a very juicy and crunchy apple. I like it. 

Price: S$3.90

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Don Don Donki is a fantastic place to visit for your shopping needs. You can get food, clothes, and basically all kinds of general items. It really is a store that has it all.

But when you shop at Don Don Donki, the packaging and item descriptions are all in Japanese. So you’ll sometimes be stuck wondering what some of the products are.

As such, the store has a nifty solution to this problem; there are machines around the store for you to scan the barcode of the product, and it will translate the details of that product to you in English. Problem solved!

So maybe take the Blue Juice to the barcode scanner and see what it’s made of. You know what, just take anything that is strange and scan it just so you know exactly what you’re getting.

And as usual, leave it to the Japanese and their creativity to amaze us all; they usually never disappoint.

Don Don Donki: Orchard Central, B1 & B2, 181 Orchard Road, Singapore 238896 | Opening Hours: 24 hours | Website | Facebook