Handy to have

Tie set

Brand: Amifa

Price: 100 yen

Place of purchase: Seria

Rating:

In Japanese, they are called tie sets, but I don't know what you call them in English, maybe "twist ties". They are made for closing treat bags, wrapping small gifts or adding a decorative touch to homemade snacks. I am sure they have other purposes too. I don't remember ever seeing these types of decorative tie twists in my home country before I came to Japan. There are basic tie twists, but more for practical than decorative use. But ever since moving to Japan I find I can't live without them! An exaggeration in truth, but they are very convenient and I do find myself (or the kids) using them regularly. Each tie is about 120 × 8 mm, so they’re useful for small packaging tasks. At 100 yen you can't go wrong, especially with 60 pieces in the pack.

Like all packets of 100-yen decorative twist ties, if you open the package the wrong way, it can be a disaster. In fairness, it didn't happen this time, but I can't tell you the amount of times the decorative twist ties have ended up on the ground in a matter of a split second. I think its their shiny finish which makes them slip easy on their plastic outer packaging. Because they're thin, they're best suited to light bags rather than anything heavy. I wouldn't be comfortable reusing them for gift packaging, but I try to reuse them in the house - for closing food packets to keep them fresh.