I live in a part of Western Europe where village-wide garage sales are frequent and some century-old flea markets still operate. It’s always fun to rummage through the clutter and find something unique for a few bucks. I’m a vintage vinyl records and video games collector, so I try to go as often as I can.
My question is: Is there a similar tradition in Japan? Of course there are plenty of high-profile record stores and game shops in Tokyo, but it’s not as fun — and not as cheap — as garage sales. If there are, I’d also like to know if it is considered acceptable to bargain in such situations; it’s a given that buyers will try and negotiate where I live, but it might not be the case in Japan.
Thanks!
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This is interesting! Since *most* things exist in Japan, I would assume there must be some kind of flea market situation, but I lived there for a couple of years and have been back many times since and I can’t actually picture ever encountering anything like a garage sale/rummage sale/flea market before…
There are! Check out this list: [Flea Market List](https://tokyocheapo.com/shopping-2/fashion/top-tokyo-flea-markets/)
I heard the shrine one is particularly good
Around central shrines, neighbors may set up markets for used items. I ran into quite a few walking around Kyoto, but also found some in smaller towns on the weekend.
https://www.japan.travel/en/story/guide-to-antique-and-flea-markets/
“When I was living in Kyoto, there were one or two weekends where they converted the plaza space in front of the city hall into a big flea market. There were about 50 or 60 stalls set up, with most ‘stalls’ consisting of a blanket covered with various clothes, books, toys, etc. and the family who was collecting money.
I don’t know if they happen as frequently as they might in America. Perhaps that’s due to most Japanese people not having a ‘yard’ in which to host a sale. It’s probably easier to schedule a bigger sale every few weeks or so than a bunch of weekly, smaller ones.
I picked up a Japanese copy of FFIX for the paltry price of 800円, along with a few children’s readers for 100円 each. Great deal!”
https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/10zz4a/japanese_yard_sales/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
Many such markets are held in Tokyo. These are called, Nomi-no-ichi, garakuta-ichi, kotto-ichi in general. Ichi means market. Mostly in near area of old shrine, temple. Also there are for more specific ones like for only chinas, secondhand books etc.
Im not really a fan of those things, so have not much own experience.
Scroll down to see a list of links:
https://tokyocheapo.com/shopping-2/fashion/top-tokyo-flea-markets/
There are regularly scheduled markets at various places, though how much (if any) vinyl you’ll find at them is largely down to luck. I frequently recommend Kobo-san on the 21st and Tenjin-san on the 25th of every month in Kyoto as very large and famous markets, but there are plenty of others both in Kyoto and elsewhere throughout the country on various dates.
I used to go to a lot of Flea markets. Ohi Racecourse one was massive, loads of good stuff. Many other small ones not worth the time. Temple ones are small but have nice stuff like antiques.
There’s a very cool market that pops up at Tō-ji in Kyoto. I believe there’s a big one on the 21st of each month, and a few smaller ones each month as well. I just happened into it last time I visited. It had much the same feel as a garage sale or flea market anywhere else in the world, but was filled with a lot of vintage Japanese stuff, as one might expect.
I went to a market in front of a Temple in Kyoto. I bought kimonos for $30-40 each. It was great.
For people in Osaka, there are sometimes flea-markets at Banpaku park.
Flea markets are pretty common. Expanding on the nice English list that u/thetravelingpeach provided for Tokyo, [Furima (**Fle**a **Ma**rket) Guide](https://fmfm.jp/) has listings for the whole country in Japanese. You can see that weekends have tonnes of events listed.
Private garage sales are almost non-existent. During some smaller festivals you can see people setting up what could be considered an individual garage sale in front of their residence.
I went to a lovely one in Osaka, near a temple. Wearing the glasses I bought there as I type this!
Hey fellow video game collector!
Garage sales are not a thing in Japan. Like others have mentioned, flea markets are quite common. I went to the Tokyo City Flea Market at the Oi Racecourse, they had a lot games and vinyl. Good prices, I think I passed on a Saturn in a 500 Yen pile.
The best IMO is going to stores like Book Off and Hard Off for games. I’ve been to around 20 or so in my times in Japan and I was always find something I want there. If you’re into game hunting like me, send me a PM.
As far as Vinyls go, record shops are much more convenient. The records are organized.
But your best bang for buck is going to a prefecture far away from big population centers, and find their second biggest city, and hit up all the second-hand shops.
If you want something that’s fun and almost a treasure hunt try [Nakano Broadway Mall](https://goo.gl/maps/QDWocZ1yhHagqyBs5) It’s a maze of many different stores about half of which are owned by [Mandarake](https://earth.mandarake.co.jp/shop/#:~:text=MANDARAKE%20was%20established%20in%201987,getting%20more%20popular%20every%20year) which is the closes to a flee market I could find.