Muji Desk

Mujirushi, or Muji for short, is a popular place to buy furniture in Japan. It means "no brand" but in fact, it is now it's own brand. (Sort of defeats the purpose, don't you think?) The idea is that they sell things of medium quailty (not too bad) for medium prices (not too expensive), with no stickers or words adverstising the company. And it's all stuff that Japanese people need, like containers, desks, chairs, beds, shelving, etc. measured down to the centimeter, so you can make sure it fits in your teeny, tight space. The colors all match each other and are very urban--greys, white, off white, brown. Got a desk, 40x128x60cm, beech color. Delivery was included for a small fee.

And I must say, I was impressed that the delivery men were on time. They called at 9:15am to say they would be between 11 and 1, and they arrived at 11:30. Yay Tokyo! Are all delivery guys this punctual? I doubt it.


No power driver. Shucks!!

But the best part was when I opened the box for my desk, which was like a shoebox, in two pieces with the top fitting around the sides of the bottom. I was surprised to see a plastic bag flop out on a red piece of tape. The bag for assembly was designed to pull out as you opened the box! Inside the bag were the instructions and a tool pack, which impressed me so much I had to find my camera. The main thing which impressed me was the tray--totally obvious that all pieces were there. Such an improvement over little bags, where there are often too few or too many pieces! Second thing I liked was the screw driver, because as a foreigner in Tokyo I have no tools. Yes, I miss them, but the little L-shaped driver got the job done.

Muji reminds me a lot of Ikea, which is opening near Tokyo next year. Where as Muji has delivery, Ikea has lower prices. It will be interesting to see how Ikea fares in a city where most people don't drive!