Bright opening for Japan store

Although people are unable to travel to Japan due to the pandemic, Hongkongers showed their love for Japan by visiting Japanese drugstore Matsumoto Kiyoshi, which opened its first Hong Kong branch yesterday.

More than 100 people queued outside the shop in apm mall at Kwun Tong before it opened at noon.

The first in line said she came at 9am from Ho Man Tin. "I have been waiting for it to open for months," the woman named Chow said.

Another customer, Fung, said he spent more than HK$300 on snacks and medicine. "It was a bit as though I'd traveled to Japan again," he said.

The drugstore offered a 10 percent discount for its opening. It sells Japanese cosmetics, health products and medicine as well as snacks and necessities, but it said some Japanese medicines are still waiting approval in Hong Kong. The drugstore says it plans to open three more branches in Hong Kong this year - in Sha Tin, Tuen Mun and Causeway Bay.