Ebisu Japanese Life Store — Local services in Pittsburgh

For context... we go to Japan about once every 18 months. I've spent a lot of time in Bic Camera, Don Quixote, you name it.

This shop has a LOT of what we normally stock up on to bring back home. Product wise, if not brand wise. From a personal grooming perspective, I'd say my wife found about a dozen of her favorite items here. Soaps, lotions, face masks... all the skincare.

And when they didn't have her most favorite brand (Nivea Ultra Light UV) they had a pretty good alternative (Biore UV Perfect Milk).

Same with me, they didn't have the exact eye drops I might but, but they had a few good options. Had the breath mints I like. The sore muscle/joint patches we use over there. And a terrific assortment of drinks and snacks.

They even stocked cleaning products. I was even able to get a room deodorize that we wanted, but couldn't bring back last time because it'd explode in our luggage. Not the exact same one, but one we liked as much.

There's a small toy and hobby section, stationary section with really great options.

It's like a 10% sized Don Quixote.

All of that said, worth mentioning the prices. The prices were actually not horrible. I was doing price comparisons with the Bic Camera app. They were charging $10 for sunscreen that currently goes for 825 yen. With today's exchange rates, that 825 yen is closer to $6-$7. So, yeah, it's about 30% more expensive. But you know what? Cheaper than flying to Japan and way cheaper than what you'll find online.

Same sunscreen is anywhere from $25 to $42 through online resellers. $10 is an absolute steal if you make realistic adjustments for shipping, and honestly, cost of living.

Provide this store hangs around, this is really going to change the way we go shopping in Japan. We normally bring home a suit case filled with basic consumer goods like I listed above. The skincare fixed all of my wife's weird breakouts she's always had, and it's nice to be able to buy them in a store and not have to hoard them from semi-annual...

If I had to make a complaint, which I really don’t think I can complain about it because they were very respectable and they greeted my party as I walked in. The prices are a little bit steep, but it’s very authentic. The store is very clean and it has a very wide variety of Japanese figurines treats hair & skin care, products and toiletries as well as very nice music playing. They have several claw machines and they also have trading cards like Pokémon and some other trading cards in Japanese style as well. They have just about everything and anything in there and if they don’t have anything that you like if you ask. They can get it for you. They have great service. I found out about this location via social media per Instagram. I heard excellent things about them and they did not disappoint. It’s way better in person. There’s so much stuff and it’s a very stimulating environment. It’s like you walk into a store and you feel like you’re actually in Japan Tokyo to be exact! They come highly recommended, but don’t take my word for stopping...

Edit: Adjusting my review. I visited again and the prices were lowered. What I bought on my first visit cost half as much on my return visit. With the new pricing, my issues have been resolved.

The selection is really good, but the prices are absolutely ridiculous. You're paying at least twice as much or more as other stores for these items. Unless you need something immediately, I'd recommend shopping online elsewhere so that you can save some money and pay more reasonable prices. I went into the store hoping to do a ton of shopping, but I just couldn't get over how insanely marked up everything was. If the store was more reasonably priced, I would've bought a lot more than the 2 items that I needed. Those two items somehow cost me over $20, when I can find them online for around $10 (and even those online prices are marked up from what they cost in Japan). I really can't see myself shopping here because of the overly high prices and it's a...