Paul C.
Yelp
While escorting my friend around, she wanted to work on her souvenir list. But after shopping at Don Quixote for several hours, there were some items she couldn't find.
While heading back from shopping near JR Ikebukuro Station East exit, we passed by Matsumoto Kiyoshi (MK) where she also stopped by.
MK, widely known as "Matsukiyo", is Japan's largest and most popular drugstore chain. Originally started in Chiba in 1932 as Matsumoto Pharmacy and reorganized to MK in 1954. They now have over 3400 stores nationwide and also expanded overseas - - in 2015 Thailand and currently they also have stores Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. MK sells health, personal care, daily necessities, beauty, and cosmetics. They offer tax-free shopping which also makes them attractive to shop at for international tourists.
I've previously shopped at MK when I needed to pick up odds and ends where I noticed the very attractive pricing here. Need economical souvenirs to take back? You can find popular snacks near the front entrance to lure people in with great pricing. This explains the long lines at the checkout counter.
I'm unaware of the staff's ability to assist customers in foreign languages but previously I was looking for a specific item so I asked for help in Japanese. The staff was able to navigate me to the product I was looking for - - great customer service.
My friend was looking for a specific cosmetic and her lucky stars were aligned as this MK them in stock. The packaging matched the photo that was texted from her niece.
With heavy foot traffic these stores can be a hit or miss. Multiple stores of MK can be found near JR Ikebukuro Station via foot on other blocks. Just look for their iconic blue and yellow signage.
