Mujin / Daiso can have questionable quality so I avoid them for items I know will get a lot of use. I'm talking about places like Shimachu or the kitchen store

Mujin / Daiso can have questionable quality so I avoid them for items I know will get a lot of use. I'm talking about places like Shimachu or the kitchen stores in Kappabashi. Tons of "made in Japan" products for about half the cost of what I remember paying for cheap Chinese wares in USA. And, when I do buy an expensive item "made in Japan", I can generally trust that it is of high quality. Compare this to shopping for appliances in the USA, where brands like KitchenAid and CuisinArt are perpetually cheapening the quality of their products while keeping the price the same and coasting on the reputation they built in the 1970s and 1980s.