I recently lost my Columbia rain jacket which was purchased for about 7,000 JPY in the US (standard price). I tried going to the Columbia store to find a replacement and the comparable model was selling for 20,000-27,000 JPY. I was really shocked by the pricing difference so I checked several other similar stores like Patagonia and North Face. The pricing was the same. I also looked at a domestic brand (Montbell) which also was priced similarly. Walking around Tokyo, I see tons of people wearing these brands, but how do people afford it here? Do normal people wear Columbia or is that actually a luxury brand here?Are there any outdoor recreational brands that are more affordable? Thank you.
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i wear a uniqlo tshirt with a Uniqlo jenes on Mount Fuji. It really depends on where you hike because a lot of Japanese people are over prepared
Thrift stores maybe or like secondhand ones? Unless you’ve already checked there.
WorkMan. Seriously. Recently, a lot of outdoors-y types have realized their clothes are cheap, weather appropriate, and extremely durable. As such, they’ve even started designing some of their stuff with that aesthetic in mind.
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Edit: Forgot to mention, the “brands” are very much about how expensive the are. Just as girls want to be seen with Coach bags, many ‘urban’ types wear North Face, Columbia, Patagonia, ArcTeryx, Mont-bell, etc., to show off they can afford it.
I just did a quick search on Amazon Japan and most of them came up between ¥8000 ~ ¥12000.
You really need to start hitting thrift stores. I buy all my branded hiking gear there and it’s always in mint condition, at very cheap prices..try Second Street, Don Don Down on Wednesday, etc. Preferably those not in central locations.
Definitely hit the second hand stores. Japanese seem to go all in on their hobbies then when they stop, take it all to the second hand shop and sell it. My local second hand shop has a huge section of outdoor stuff that is all like new.
Workman, for sure. Sometimes MontBell has good sales, as well.
I love Workman, pretty affordable clothing and gear and very durable!
[Decathlon](https://www.decathlon.co.jp/)
Try workman
Like others have mentioned: Workman, Uniqlo and Amazon. Columbia is not considered a luxury brand.
A luxury outdoors brand would be something like Snow Peak.
Montbell is nice, but when I see someone wearing it on a hike 8 times out of 10 it’s the super fit retirees who have nothing to do but go for a hike every weekend.
Other local brands that are at least hikercore if not actually outdoorsy are Logos and Chums, and they have their own aesthetic.
I went to Nagano hiking last year, and me and my wife bought our clothes at workman. It was less than 10,000 yen and super comfortable.
We ordered the shoes online though, and they were around 8,000yen each pair
Besides Workman and Mont Bell, I was just in a Sports Depo that had some raingear, so a third option. One local Mont bell has a section for foreigner sizes, not much selection but there might be something for what you want. Also, depending on where you are Mont Bell has some outlet stores (google-able) that have discounted items.
like others said, check out thrift stores
Second Street usually has reasonable price and quality for secondhand outdoors item, and they are always available year round (i.e. not on seasonal rotation) for the one near my place
There are a lot of Patagonia and other sportswear brands at thrift stores luckily.
Welcome to buying anything outside of America. This goes for bicycles, computers, clothing, TVs etc. The rest of the world pays considerably more for everything.
Go to LOGOS!!
Check out their online stores as well as some of the brands have a sale or outlet section. For example, Montbell has a few jackets in the neighborhood of ¥10000. Problem may be sizing
if youre ok with used, maunga is the place at literally get ALL of my gear, great discounts, clear description on the condition, and excellent service. sleeping bag, tent, sleeping pad, rain jacket, etc. Bonus points for cheap mat rental at mitake and discount vertere cans
Mon bell
Workman, Uniqlo, Decathlon all have reasonable quality stuff for cheaper.
If it has to be Columbia check recycle shops/Mercari
Even ¥7,000 isn’t very affordable, they are not luxury but cool professional brands.
when i went to harajuku chicago’s shimokitazawa store the other week, they had a rack of second-hand rain coats out front from brands like north face and columbia with most selling for less than 7000 JPY