Star Music

Don’t be misled by other reviews if you’re looking for stationery. Like me, you too could be on a mission for a few of those imported, disgustingly cute Sanrio/​San-​X mechanical pencils.
You will not find those here.
They only had one (1!) mechanical pencil — which I purchased, because obviously, and also because desperate — which they had sadly displayed, almost as an afterthought, in a can by the register. The pencil shared the can with their singular (1!) pen option. I was really disappointed, especially after having double-​parked in Chinatown for some serious San-​X action. Maybe they were just low on stock, but I was expecting a case of pens to browse or SOMETHING!
They have an almost exclusive Hello Kitty focus, and it’s mostly stuffed animals for kids, not the stationery I was looking to indulge in as an adult. (I may have left with a Mexican Hello Kitty cell phone charm, that’s just between us though.)
Alas. The San-​X stationery search in Boston goes on…

I was visiting Boston with my family and hadn’t been to a Sanrio store in ages, so we were very excited to see that Star Music came up on a Unilocal search. I was especially excited after reading great reviews and seeing store photos. We walked all the way to Chinatown and found out the store was closed. It was Sunday and we figured it was worth the trek to come back the next day, and we did. There were two men working at the time of our visit; one sat behind the counter and looked irritated; the other, an old man, stood behind a small wall in the store incessantly selecting lotto numbers. Not much reception there. Much to our disappointment the store was not chock-​full with Sanrio products like in the posted photos. The shelves were pretty empty. Sure, at one time this store had what was once the grandeur of a Sanrio store, but no more. The store predominantly carried stuffed animals and a large selection of scratch off lotto tickets. We left disappointed. It was a waste of two trips.

What a great little store! They have a variety of Sanrio items that are priced at retail value. I got 150 sheets of lined Chococat paper, a penguin notebook, and a deer wallet for $ 32. Not bad. The clerk was very nice too.

I love this store! It’s a small store that’s packed with all things adorable.
I’ve been having a sucky day — okay, it’s been a really sucky week, honestly — and I decided during my lunch break that I needed to treat myself to some cheap Hello Kitty goodness. They have a lot of HK toys, pens, stationary, etc. I ended up leaving with a pen… a gaudy, awesome Hello Kitty pen… for work meetings, of course. And maybe a notebook or two. And a plushy for my goddaughter. Ahem. No shame.
FYI, this place only accepts cash so stop by the ATM before coming here.

I like this little shop. It’s tiny, but I still think it isn’t quite packing in the selection that they could manage to squeeze in there. However, whenever I’m looking for something sparkley to hang off my cellphone, something sparkley to glue to my cellphone, something that becomes offensive when incorrectly translated into English, or something that is just DARN CUTE I come here. This place does have a large sanrio focus, but also some Korean items. The prices are fairly standard, the mark up on some of the Korean items is more than 100%.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get Miffy pens and Art Box items. PLEASE! If anyone knows where I can buy these little gel pens covered with MIffy, please tell me. They are the world’s best pens. Ok, they look silly to write with and no one will take you seriously if you keep one in your front pocket, but there is no pen that writes more perfectly than a Miffy pen. My last one dried up a few months ago. I’m still not over it.

Because I work directly across the street, I spend more time in Star Music than any other white girl before. I actually haven’t even looked at the music — its the thousands of Asian tchotchkis that draw me whenever I am bored at work (aka all the time). More Hello Kitty encrusted things exists here than I thought was possible… plus you can find lots of more obscure Asian cartoon animals like Ago Mon. Pretty much if you ever wanted any typical item covered in cute characters and hilarious jumbled English, then go to Star Music. Plus its mad cheap… more fun toys for me!