Recycle Shop Hunter

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Are you perhaps looking for long lasting quality goods with a story to tell? Antiques, bargains, and the sweet feeling of a lingering treasure around each corner. All these things can be found in Japan’s recycle shops. While you wouldn’t even enter most western antique shops, because of hefty prices, Japanese recycle shops are different. Most are extremely cheap and since the Japanese tend to be very careful with their possessions, you can expect excellent condition.
Still, I’d like to discern between two types of shops: commercialized & privately operated recycle stores. The latter will usually carry a more erratic assortment of cheap and surprising items. The reason for that being that they don’t need to pay staff, and may lack the expertise to properly asses all prices. Also, customers tend to be much fewer, as most privately owned recycle shops look rather scary and untidy from the outside. My rule has thus become: the scarier and discouraging the shop looks from the outside, the better the items and deals will likely be! The other category is commercialized recycle shops, such as chains like (Hard Off, 2nd Street, ビッグバン) or other staff operated shops. These will also sell items much cheaper than getting them brand-new from a mega store. However, the items are usually all labeled with final prices so there will be no room for haggling. Another thing is that they are usually quite clean and orderly, which is likely why they are favored by Japanese. Actually, recycle shops are very popular in Japan, since the economy is struggling and you can get awesome things, which aren’t sold anywhere else.
During my search for a suitable set of Mahjong tiles, I pretty much checked out all recycle shops in Obihiro and I can honestly recommend Green Store (グレーン商会) to you. If you’re in the Tokachi area and are looking for some real Japanese items or perhaps a gift, go check it out. Basically they have everything and you’ll get it cheap. From outside it may look like some run-down storage building with stuff all over the place and a stray cat waiting up front. Remember the rule.
There is only one better place, which I have had the pleasure of visiting, Kawariya (カワリ屋), a shop in Memuro run since forever by a kind grandma. This place is truly like another dimension, a glitch in the matrix. The outside looks like it could collapse any minute or like some entrance to inner earth. When you enter you will find things, you didn’t even know existed for a price you didn’t even conceive possible. For example, I found a type writer next to a snowboard next to an electronic acupuncture machine – lul. Visit there and you will leave happy <3 Unfortunately, the pictures below will never do the shop any justice, since it’s much bigger, much more magical and there is things behind things under things inside drawers of shelves which are filled with many more things. Here, please have a glimpse!

Memuro Recycle Shop | Outer Area #1
MRS | Outer Area #2
MRS | Outer Area #3
MRS | Outer Area #4
MRS | Outer Area #5
MRS | Inner Area #1
MRS | Inner Area #2
MRS | Inner Area #3
My 15$ Recycle Shop Loot

There you have it. Hopefully, I managed to spark your interest and inspired you to check out one of these stores yourself. If you’re curious what I ended up buying, I got two ’96 Kirin Lager Beer glasses, three Edel glasses, a metal matcha tea container and a one of a kind rice bowl ceramic. All in all, after showing some patience and negotiating just a little, 15$. I’m curious about your own experiences with recycle shops in Japan or perhaps thrift shops in the west. Please share your favorite story below in the comments. In case you end up going to Memuro’s epic recycle store, which is opposite the JP mail office, please let grandma know that the tall German guy sent you there. Good luck with your rare finds! ^_^ )/

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