J-Style

Very cheap, cheap products.
My son bought a mini limo car and the door broke within 5 minutes. They won’t change to the new car and the cashier said «you’re son must be strong» my son is only 3 years old.

This place sells animé toys and some car accessories like new driver stickers. It is located in the Mitsuwa in Costa Mesa. It is very narrow and the aisles can barely fit one person.
Every time I bring my tourist here, she insists on browsing this store, so one can bring their animé freak friends here if they want a lot of toys.
The toys here are pretty expensive, though, but they have a large selection of them. It is comparable to shopping in Taipei or Shanghai than shopping in Japan due to some of the merchandise being what one would usually find at a souvenir shop in Taipei or Shanghai. If one travels to Taiwan, Japan, or mainland China often, the prices would be lower there and the same merchandise is also available there, but at least here one doesn’t have to pay for the plane ticket. Most of them are Pokémon in the front of the store with Korean packaging, but they also have some Totoro and other animé stuff in the back. You break it, you bought it, they say.
Despite the price, we were proxy-​requested to purchase something here. They had two cash registers so it went faster than buying it at a comic book shop.

This store has SO many different things!
I love hitting this store when I take my trip to Mitsuwa to look at super cute plushies I don’t need… Other than plushies, they have animé figures, makeup and nail polish, shirts, bento boxes, and more! If you like animé, cute things, and Japanese makeup… you’ll LOVE this store!

This is for the J-​Style located on the Mitsuwa Marketplace in Costa Mesa, California (or OC’s Little Tokyo).
Not as big as other J-Style’s, it’s anyways crammed to the gills of almost anything Japanese: culture/​kitsch paraphernalia, toys, car accessories, cellular, religion/​belief items, collectables, food wares, clothing, make-​up and jewelry, manga and animé related products. No space is wasted, and they carry enough to make any visit worthwhile. Staff is really helpful, and if a item is not available, they will contact other J-Style’s or even fly the item from Japan if anybody related with this chain is traveling back from the mainland.
Manager already knows me and almost anybody I bring in and he is very cordial and attentive, making sure to help you out with any items in the store. His crew changes constantly, but so far nothing short of sheer politeness. There is a no return policy for certain items, but they will make the effort to see if they can help with problem. No dud items so far.
Friends and family always find something they wanted or wish to try, the stock gets rotated a little slower than usual, but still gets refreshed.
Caveats: No Photography! They will inform you politely that photography inside the store is prohibited, but if they photo has been taken they will let it slide. Clothing: A large in Japan is not a Large in the US, so add one size up on those shirts, for example. Sample with shoes. Ask them if you can try them on. Some items cannot be picked up without supervision. Valley girl found out why (heavy and delicate) and its price the hard way.
The Good: Well stocked, and if not present, ask to be shipped over, no charge. Polite staff. Inside Mitsuwa of Orange County, so plenty of other stores to peruse after your purchase.
The Meh: Not as big and stocked as other J-Style’s, but, eh. A few items can be pricey (car accessories or collectables mainly).
The Bad: Parking, but this affect all the business in Mitsuwa too.
Recommendable. =)

This store is kinda like a Japanese Autozone/Spencer’s. I expected Japanese etiquette but I was wrong. I was followed and watched like a hawk. Asked by each employee «If I needed help». Mind you the store is Starbucks small. Made for awkward shopping.

This place will never receive another penny from me. I’ve done business with them multiple times but today was unacceptable. In the past, I’ve purchased the HID light bulbs for my Mercedes and they started to flicker after a year. I came back and told him my problem and he said to buy the highest graded ones for $ 40 dollars (extremely over priced because I bought the same ones from an auto shop for $ 10). I told him if I had the same problem will he be able to refund me and he said yes. About 6 – 7 months have passed and the ones he sold me began to flicker. I came back and he said there was nothing he can do for me. I told him he said he would honor the refund if I had the same problem and he said «Sorry, I help 100’s of people a day» and told me he did not remember saying that. Great service.

I came in to buy some item out there, the employees don’t say anything, just pass by you. I said «Hello, I’m back» then they just point me away.
The store manager doesn’t like to talk, doesn’t like to say hello, doesn’t like to smile.
Let’s go to item price. They gets their items for ¹⁄₁₀^th of the price because I have seen some of those items online for cheaper. When I ask about this price difference, the manager smiled at me and walk away. (Oh, that’s how they make money) and (customer is asking question, don’t work away)
Is everything real and made in Japan? Um… maybe 70% is made in China and 28% is made in Korean. 2% is made in Japan. Why is this Japanese store?
BE CAREFUL, THEY SELL YOU FAKE ITEM, you just have to look carefully before you buy, but if you are taking time, the employee will kick you out because they think you are stealing. Hey, we are customer, don’t push us away.
That stupid Japanese manager needs to learn how to treat customer.
Over priced? More people steal, they put more cameras.
Making bank because those Japanese are selling fake item for expensive price.
Oh they hire people, but employee needs to speak, write, and read Japanese. It’s America! Why not non-​Japapnese can be hired? Isn’t that part of discriminatory to hire only Japs?! Discrimination!
Service sucks, product sucks, manager sucks, what can I say? Negative Stars!

Be warned! Everything in here is expensive and you can find anything you want in here for cheaper else where lol. Don’t attempt to bring kids in here unless your wallet is stacked lol! They sell all sorts of cute plushies, animé figurines, car accessories, car freshners, stickers, Japanese tshirts, and BB guns. Staff here is nice but sometimes they like to stare and watch your every single freaking move to make sure you’re not stealing.

This is a Japanese gift store which has no particular theme or product line focus. It carries items like remote control model cars to the Japanese lucky cat Maneki Neko, and almost everything in between. T-​shirts, socks, car fragrance, cute Japanese stuffed animals, toys, sundries…
If you want to buy a Maneki Neko, this is probably the place to go as it has more selections and varieties than anywhere else that I’ve been to. Every item here is cute and appealing and might convince you to open up your wallet.
The place is cool and the atmosphere is relaxing. If you love Japanese goodies this is certainly a store that you will enjoy browsing, and you might even purchase something really cute while you are there.

Although this store may seem awesome at first it’s really anything but. Besides the fact that all of their merchandise is over-​priced, most of their products are cheap and defective. After purchasing a Fullmetal Alchemist pocket-​watch, i was displeased to find that the battery had stopped working literally the next day! After calling the store and asked if I could exchange the watch, since i had bought it JUST the day before, i was told that they have a ridiculous no exchange or return policy (wonder why). They only responded that I should go replace the battery myself, since it was «easy.»
Save yourself the trouble and DONT SHOP HERE, they are absolutely not worth your time or money.

I come here for car stuff only. They sell awesome air fresheners in scents that are not normally found in the regular stores. They cost more, but last longer. The other thing I look at are random car accessories. I bought a dashboard mount for my cellphone here and it works great.
Among the other items for sale: car models, led lights, manufacturer key chains, shifters, clutch pedals, car seats, steering wheel covers, vanity plate holders, blah blah blah.
Here’s a hint: before you buy car stuff here, ask the salesperson about it, because they will usually be able to answer your question. There have a no refund policy.

I’ve never bought anything from this store as all the items are overpriced. I did, however, find my favorite plush (a loaf of bread with a happy and sad face on each side) here but got it for cheaper on ebay instead.
But the real reason for this 1 star review is, I cannot fathom why a japanese store would sell FAKE Nendoroids.
This was the first time I’ve seen fake Nendos, but it was obviously so because the figures themselves were just «off» and badly painted. Hell, even the PICTURES on the back of the box was BLURRY. Just horrible quality and they were priced as regular nendos.
If you must buy Nendos at Mitsuwa, go to the bookstore instead. They have the real ones there and they look super awesome. Not too much of a selection though.

I think people who collect PVC Figurines, Nendoroids, Figmas, and etc should be reading this. Please, do yourself a favor and look at those boxes carefully before buying items from this shop. Majority of the Nendoroids I’ve seen are counterfeit items.
How to check:
— There’s no hologram sticker, nor a Good Smile Company sticker on any of the boxes. Be aware of this! Sometimes people put hologram stickers anyway, but always check for the quality of the item.
–Take a good look at the figure’s eyes and hair. If you see uneven hair or some wear and tear on it, it’s a counterfeit/​fake item from China/​Hong Kong.
–Try buying from Kinokuniya instead because usually they get shipments from distributors. But as always look at the quality of the box, the hair, eyes, and etc. A legitimate item does not have any chips or worn out pieces! The eyes of the figure should not have jagged outer layers either nor there should be discolorations.
If you want a good reference Good Smile Company has a great guide identifying such things:
I have not bought anything from them, but I think people who are avid collectors or beginners should be aware that these items are not legitimate. It’s unfair for those who pay nearly the same price as a legitimate item, and get some knockoff of lower quality. A lot of big stores, and small shops don’t know about this either! So always check!

I had a similar experience to Julie’s down below. I typically do not review «non-​foody» stores on Unilocal,but my experience today pissed me off so badly that I have to share it.
So my bf bought me one of those solar-​powered cute car thingys over the weekend and for some reason, the heads weren’t bobbing as they should. I took it into the store today because I remembered they had an «exchange only, no return» sign by the register. I’ve uploaded this picture to Unilocal for everyone to see.
The guy at the register kept telling me that I could not exchange it, saying that there were NO exchanges and NO returns at this store. I kept pointing at the sign to him, since it clearly stated that exchanges are OK. So then, he calls his boss and the conversation went something like this, «aldsfkjlkj-​SAN, SORRY, AII NOOOO… GOMENASAIIIII…» When he got off the phone, he said that I could exchange the item, but that the store would keep the difference in price between the first item and the second one. WTF? Shady, but I conceded, since it was only a 2 dollar difference, and by this point, I just wanted to get the heck out of there.
So he gave me the new item and he started to tell me about how I just got this poor girl fired (presumably the girl who sold me the item that day). I told him, «she’s probably better off working somewhere else anyway», grabbed my shit, and left.
When I went to my car and mounted the new Flip Flap flower bobbly thing, it didn’t flap like it was supposed to! It would flap for a few seconds, then stop, seemingly as though the solar battery was dead. By this point, I was too annoyed to go back for another one. According to Julie’s review, they’re all broken anyway!
Case in point, don’t shop here. And if you must, if you bump into the cashier named, «TAT», please give him a swift kick in the nuts for me.

It was okay. There stuff is pretty pricey but they don’t rip you off.(I bought some DOMO stuff0

Cute stuff.
But aside from all the plush characters, girly accessories, and cutsie stuff there are also model kits, car accessories, and t-​shrits. Quite a wide variety of items stuffed into this small space next to the Mitsuwa food court. Staff was very helpful and friendly. I found a great gift — a small plush turtle with a spot in it’s back to hold a cell phone. Cute.

KNICK KNACKS!!!
I LOVE KNICK KNACKS!!!
They have all kinds of goodies and trinkets straight from Japan. You can seriously find a gift for ANY kind of person in here. Not only do the sell a lot of «kawaii» stuff, but they sell a lot of practical things as well. The guy who was working there was really nice and helped me pick out a little tofu guy because I couldn’t make a decision on my own.

So my bf went to try to return the flip flap THAT DIDN’T WORK. He opened up the other ones that were in the store and none of them worked either!!! These people are selling fake NON-​WORKING goods knowingly. Shadyyyy

Damn, I’ve been shopping in this store for years and never reviewed it! Whenever we go to South Coast Plaza, we go to Mitsuwa. And whenever we go to Mitsuwa, I stop by J-​Style. I love looking at all the super-​kawaii stuff they have. They have every freaking adorable keychain/​cell phone strap you can imagine. They also now have an extensive collection of Japanese nail polish and nail art supplies– all the gems, decals, polish, glue, etc. that you could want to do your own crazy, elaborate manicures. I did notice that some of the nail stuff was cheaper in the actual Mitsuwa market, but they have a much smaller selection. They have miniature collectibles, stuffed animals, and various household items. Today, I bought Hello Kitty tabi socks to wear with my flip flops. Won’t I look super cute? Haha. Anyway, this is a really fun store for cutesy Japanese gifts, animé stuff, and also lots of car accessories. If you like the fancy Japanese air fresheners, they have lots here. My only complaint is that everything is pretty pricey, but most of it is imported so…

one of my favorite places to go!
you’ll constantly go «kawaii!!!»
i’m a huge OPI nail polish fan but sometimes it’s too «boring…» so i love «pa» nail polish (japanese) which always has even more whimsical and girly polishes. this store has a decent amount of nail art and stickers too. i think this section has recently expanded though… i’ve been coming here since i moved to the OC (almost 2 years ago) and i haven’t seen this «nail and beauty» section this big until last weekend. lots of cool stuff…
anyway, you’ll also find plush dolls that are so cute, including the famous domo-​kun and totoro stuff, car air freshners and mirrors and etc., some stationery, and more.
j-​style is next to the mitsuwa cafeteria — it’s small and cramped inside similar to many of the stores in seoul/​tokyo.
you’ll like it here :)