I have shopped at the Japan Centre on many occasions and I thought it was about time I did a review!
The Japan Centre…well….you can guess what it sells.
Nope, it’s not small pieces of Japan but in fact everything else Japanese!
The Japan Centre has a shop in London and an on-line store which will send to many places all over the world, though outside of Europe only non edible items can be sent.
I have visited the Japan Centre in person and it is a great place, certainly a lot smaller than I was expecting for the amount of stock available on-line but it packs so much in!
When I went a couple of years back there was a Sake tasting event, one of many events in store they organize throughout the year, a big selection of pre-made foods like sushi and baked goods like Dorayaki and Karepan (pancakes with red bean paste and curry bread), chilled cabinets of fresh meats and fish; some ready prepared, a small freezer section and a great selection of cooking accessories, Japanese books and shelf staples like curry cubes, sauces, rice, soy sauce etc!
This is a review of their on-line store though so let’s get back to that!
I’ve brought sake, mirin, rice, soy sauce and lots of other tasty treats from the Japan Centre before but there is one thing I had never brought……….bento boxes!!!
So, just to help you out of course, I put myself under the terrible burden of more bento boxes, yay!
I ordered last Monday (the 26th) when there was a Bank Holiday special of free delivery over a £30 spend.
I admit that I order from the Japan Centre less than I would like to because of postage prices so this was a big plus for me.
Don’t get me wrong, I order on-line a lot and am not adverse to paying but it ends up a little pricey if you want just one or two items.
On the plus side, though postage for about a kilo of goods will cost you around £5.50 via their Royal Mail option their courier service offered isn’t much more expensive and will send up to 30 kilos!
The on-line ordering process was easy with quite a few options to pay which is a great plus!
Through email I had notifications on each step of my purchase such as my successful order, that my order was being picked and packed, and that it was sent as well as mail to let me know the exact date and tracking of my delivery, which could even be changed to my liking.
All this leaves you with little to worry about and complete reassurance that your package is in safe hands!
As I have mentioned before, I shop on-line a lot.
I have had packages from many couriers, some terrible, some good, some great, but I have never experienced a courier as good as the one I had with the Japan Centre.
When I tracked my package from the email given, I was given an hour slot for the delivery to come (a Godsend for anyone who knows the joy of waiting in for packages) as well as a literal tracking of the delivery van with map and exactly how far away they were.
They even gave the name of the delivery driver, a number in the “queue” of how many people were to be delivered to before me and information on how many minutes approximately they would take to get to me, just amazing!
So, I have my package!
It took 4 days to receive all on all, I ordered on Monday and got it on Thursday, not bad!
To the package!!
One of the most important things when opening a package, for me at least, is good packaging.
The Japan Centre have perfected the art of packaging here I have to say!
To welcome you into the package you are given a small magazine (Zoom Japan) which has some interesting information on Japanese events happening around England, news and interviews all written in English of course!
It also includes the nice little touch of a signature from whoever packed your package! Great job, thank you!
Everything is bubble wrapped where needed and added shredded cardboard has been placed in.
Along with the bento boxes, I also ordered some Plum Wine, I know, poor me…the things I do for you huh?!
As you can see, it came perfectly intact, despite the fragile glass.
It was packaged inside a sturdy cardboard casing, sectioned off from the other half of the box with lots more shredded cardboard all around to cushion it!
So, after unwrapping all of my goodies, what did I get?
My hubby saw this and thought I would like it, it is so cute, even if it does have 7 scarily sharp looking mini razor blades in it, ekk!
It is a spring onion or leek cutter, to get leeks into small strips.
It will also be brilliant for cutting noodles into strips when making them, something I would love to try!!
Now I know what the Japanese is for “Ouch, spiky”
Next I got this rather pretty 3 tier bento box, the type perfect for family picnics, really spacious!
Next is this Viva Style bento box!
Now, I am far from a fan of pink but this box looks so handy with all of it’s compartments I don’t mind!
I will have to give it a review in itself!
Last but certainly not least, I got this “Maru” lunch box.
Nope, it’s not THAT Maru!
It’s perfect Pepper Bento colours so I just couldn’t resist!
Looking forward to reviewing this box too!
All in all, everything came undamaged, everything was packed well, I was fully informed through the whole order process and the delivery was fantastic!
All in all 10 out of 10 for the Japan Centre!