When people in Japan buy masks, then typically shop at drug stores, purchasing disposable ones. But increasingly, clothing retailers have been offering washable ones and now there’s even a mask specialty store that just sells masks.
This week Mask.com opened in Tokyo, selling over 200 different types of masks for prices ranging from 500 yen (under $5) to even an eye-watering 100,000 yen (under $940). Mask.com also launched an online store as well.
Specialty shops aren’t that unusual in Japan and masks were already popular in the country. But with the increasing demand during the pandemic, a mask shop seems overdue.
Apparently, the bricks-and-mortar shop has been drawing lines, which brings back memories of earlier this year in Japan when mask shortages caused people to line up in front of drugstores.