Yasukuni Shrine flea market, Tokyo

Hundred-Yen Shops

A 100-yen shop

Tokyo used to be known as the most expensive place in the world, but economic conditions over the past decade have led to a breakdown in the traditional price structure. A prominent symbol of this price breakdown is the 100-yen shops offering a surprising array of goods for the equivalent of less than one U.S. dollar. These stores, which can be found on just about every shopping street, carry underwear, toiletries, tools, tableware and kitchenware, stationery, toys, cosmetics, and snack foods, to name just a few categories. One thing that allows the stores to offer their wares so cheaply is quick sales at low profit margins. Besides ordering in bulk, the shops also buy up excess inventory - a strategy that allows them to offer deep discounts on goods that would normally sell for ¥2,000 or ¥3,000. The 100-yen retail sector is fiercely competitive. If a store fails to provide a ceaseless parade of new goods, customers will take their business elsewhere. The largest chain in the business, with 2,400 locations in Japan and several other Asian countries, carries some 60,000 different items and introduces 700 new items each month. Shopping at 100-yen stores is one Tokyo diversion that is easy on the wallet.

Tomioka Hachimangu Shrine

Antique Festival

On every 1st(except January), 2nd, and 4th(except 28th) Sunday, you can enjoy antique festival at Tomioka Hachimangu Shrine.  They say on the 1st Sunday, you can see more asian antique and on the 2nd Sunday, more western antique.  What about 4th Sunday?  I am not sure about it!

Tomioka Hachimangu Antique Festival
Every 1st(except January), 2nd, and 4th(except 28th) Sunday
The event will take place in light rain from the sunrise until the sunset

Flea Market
On every 15th and 28th, you can enjoy flea market.

It is very interesting just to stop by, walk around and watch the items.

Yoyogi Flea Market

Resale and vintage fashion is booming on the streets of Harajuku. Most of the stylish Japanese girls and guys we snap put together their outfits from an ever-growing list of Tokyo resale shops. But some resale-loving fashionistas know about a not-so-secret (and cheaper) alternative – the Yoyogi Flea Market!

To say that the Yoyogi Flea Market is the hippest flea market in all of Tokyo might be a bit of an understatement. On a recent day, during a two-hour visit to the market, we ran into lots of familiar Harajuku street snap personalities out searching for deals – including Coi (the owner of Bubbles Harajuku), Guppy,Equador, Harue, and FRUiTS Magazine favorite Manapyon. Many of the fun and friendly sellers at the Yoyogi Flea Market are the same young people you see in Japanese street fashion magazines – sometimes selling off the actual clothing that they wore in a magazine. If we were making a list of fashionably fun ways to spend a weekend morning in Tokyo, shopping for resale fashion with Harajuku kids at the Yoyogi Flea Market would definitely be in our top ten!

Started in 1981, the Yoyogi Flea Market claims to be Tokyo’s first modern flea market – and it’s still going strong. Because of the low cost to vendors (under USD$40) and close proximity to the fashionable streets of both Harajuku and Shibuya, the market’s shopping and selling base leans younger than other Tokyo flea markets.

The weak economy over the last few years along with the boom in used clothing shops – from lower-cost destinations like WEGO and Panama Boy to high-end vintage boutiques such as Berberjin and Kinsella – has created a new generation of fashionable shoppers who appreciate both the reasonable prices and the fun of the flea market experience. The emergence of Tokyo street styles like Dolly Kei and Cult Party, which use vintage pieces extensively, has also helped to drive fashion-seekers in their teens and twenties toward the Yoyogi Flea Market.

The Yoyogi Flea Market is open only to sellers of recycled/used goods. The purpose of the market is to promote the environmentally-friendly practice of reselling usable goods rather than throwing them away. No professional sellers are allowed, which gives the market the feel of a hip garage sale. All sorts of clothing and accessories can be found – from acid wash to leather jackets and purses to vintage concert tees to sequined dresses. But clothes aren’t all that’s on offer. There are plenty of cute stuffed animals, vintage vinyl records, lunch boxes, a wide variety of trinkets and things that we couldn’t identify (but wanted to buy anyhow).

We know that not all of you live close to Harajuku or Shibuya, so we decided to go out to the Yoyogi Flea Market and bring back some pictures and video to share with you. We tried to give you a good sampling of the buyers, the sellers, and the various items on sale. Of course, the best way for you to experience the Yoyogi Flea Market is to come to Japan and see it for yourself!

Yoyogi Flea Market Video

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Yoyogi Flea Market Pictures

The Yoyogi Flea Market is awesome, but they don’t really have an English language website. In fact, the flea market is organized by several different groups, so they have multiple websites. It gets a little confusing to try to figure out exactly what’s going on and when (dates and hours vary, though it’s usually on Sundays from 10am to 4pm), but the Tiger Festival Website might be your best bet if you’re scheduling a trip.

If you’re wondering exactly where the market is located, it’s about a 10-15 minute walk from either Harajuku Station or Shibuya Station. It’s located at the very end of Shibuya Koen Dori, where the walking part of the street hits Yoyogi Park (in the area of the famous NHK TV Studios, Shibuya A/X, and the Olympic Stadium). You can see the exact location on this Yoyogi Flea Market map.

These are some groups that organize or help to schedule to the Yoyogi Flea Market (all in Japanese):

• Yoyogi Koen Flea Market Schedule Website
• Jinsei Geki Official Website
• FRMA Official Website
• Recycler.org Official Website

Game Hollywood

Game Hollywood

Claiming to be the best place to buy US games in Japan, Game Hollywood is an ex-pat favourite. Visitors might scoff at the high import prices, but Game Hollywood embodies the Japanese vision of what an American game shop looks like, complete with the Stars and Stripes over the doorway. It's located on the fifth floor, so keep an eye for a movie style logo surrounded by yellow lights. Not only is this an interesting location, it's also a good place for non-Japanese speakers to take a break from the aisles of aisles of indecipherable domestic games. Be aware that the "Asian versions" of Xbox 360 games (intended for South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore) are priced slightly lower than US imports. • Uchida Building 5F, 1-9-9 Soto-Kanda, Chiyoda-ku, +81 3 5297 3281, gmh.jp. Open 11am-8pm

Book-Off

Book-Off

Manga at Book-Off. Photograph: Alamy

This Japanese chain, with branches in North America, France and South Korea, specialises in used books, and its Akihabara branch offers good gaming deals. It spans six storeys, with floors dedicated to DVDs and CDs, manga, and, of course, books. The narrow building, with its grey stones and mirrored facade, looks more corporate Japan than secondhand game shop – if the sign "Please sell us your books and games" wasn't written on top of the building, it might be mistaken for an insurance company. The Akihabara branch also carries new consoles and accessories, often cheaper than elsewhere. • 1-6-4 Kanda Sakumacho, Chiyoda-ku, +81 3 5207 6206, bookoff.co.jp. Open 10am-11pm

Mandarake

Mandarake

Photograph: Dushan and Miae on flickr/some rights reserved

Created by a CEO who said of his company, "Our mission is to take over the world using manga and otaku things", Mandarake is Japan's number one chain of secondhand anime and manga superstores. Locations can be found throughout the country, but the 16 original stores, each specialising in a different otaku obsession, are inside the Nakano Broadway shopping mall and are still the best. Over a million items line the shelves, and some 45,000 manga titles, anime DVDs and toys are bought and sold each week. Be sure to check out the surreal spectacle of the buy/sell counter, where otaku line up to trade in treasures for cash, only to go right back into Mandarake's black-lined corridors to re-invest. • Nakano Broadway 3F, Nakano-ku, +81 3 3228 0007, mandarake.co.jp. Open daily noon-8pm

Gachapon Kaikan

Gachapon Kaikan

Photograph: Patrick Macias

Japan's gachapon vending machines (the name comes from the sound a machine makes: "gacha" when a dial is cranked, and "pon" when the prize drops) dole out brilliantly detailed toys and figures ranging from anime and manga characters to animals and tiny bowls of ramen. Gachapon machines are found all over Japan, but the mother lode is at Akihabara's Gachapon Kaikan where more than 450 machines are lined up inside a warehouse-like space. Blaring rock and J-pop heightens the confusion. It's like playing the slots at a run-down otaku casino, but at ¥100-¥500 (around 80p-£4) a pop, you can afford to lose a bit until you score a prize you really want. • MN building 1F, 3-15-5 Soto-Kanda, Chiyoda-ku, +81 3 5209 6020,akibagacha.com. Open Mon-Thurs 11am-8pm, Fri-Sat 11am-10pm, Sun 11am-7pm

Cospa Gee Store

Cospa Gee Store

Photograph: Patrick Macias

Cosplay ("costume play") is one of the most popular activities for otaku to indulge in: dressing up like anime and manga characters for conventions and photo sessions. While hardcore cosplayers often create their wardrobes from scratch, plenty of off-the-rack costumes, ranging from Sailor Moon to Final Fantasy fare, along with accessories and wigs are available for sale – or just to try on – at Cospa Gee in Akihabara. Every square inch of the store is lined with ads hawking the latest arrivals, and the store also carries a wide selection of sharp and well-designed anime T-shirts for people who want to show their otaku colours without going the whole nine yards. • MN building 2F, 3-15-5 Soto-Kanda, Chiyoda-ku, geestore.com. Open Thurs-Tues noon-8pm

Spank!

Spank!

Credit: Spankworld

This shop started a trend that weaned potential Lolitas off goth and into a world of 80s and 90s nostalgia in which My Little Pony is the height of style. Come here for secondhand cartoon sweaters, neon petticoats and pink roller skates or a T-shirt with a cracked silk screen of 1980s-era Madonna. You get the picture. Despite the candyfloss palette, the fashion here is still decidedly DIY and punk, and pigtailed store manager Tavuchi has a cool attitude to match. Sister store Spank Me! in Shibuya-ku goes a little easier on the sugary sweet styles. • 2F Shiraishi Building, 4-24-7 Kouenji-Minami, Suginami-ku, +81 3 3317 5690,spankworld.jp/spank. Open 1pm-8pm

Bubbles

Bubbles

Photograph: Misha Janette

Bubbles is part of a new wave of young female-run used clothing boutiques that have colourful, cute pieces of nostalgia from the 80s and 90s that are rampantly popular in Tokyo. Shop manager Coi is a local fashion icon and blogger who posts the outfits she puts together online. Think PVC raincoats, retro jacquard prints and kitschy fascinators. The shop has a new, fancy space in the back streets of Harajuku. It's been lovingly made to look like the home of a modern girl obsessed with the 1970s and 80s, replete with a snakeskin sofa, iMac and a stuffed ET that perches on a mannequin's shoulder. • 1F 4-32-12 Jingumae Shibuya-ku, +81 3 5772 7126, bubbles-sawthecity.com. Open daily 12pm-8pm

Faline

Faline

Photograph: Mami Tanabe

Hectic, narrow Takeshita-Dori at Harajuku station is nothing more than a shopping trap for tourists, but step off the main drag and you'll find Faline, one of city's most iconic boutiques. It's micro-closet size belies the power it has over the street scene in Tokyo, and funky brands like Jeremy Scott have it to thank for their success here. Clothing that will get you noticed by street photographers is the name of the game, so expect an eclectic high-low mix of neon sweaters from Scott and couture headbands from Maison Michele. The too-cool staff may be deep in chat with local "it" girls and boys, but a nod is all it takes to snap them into happy-to-help mode.

• 1-7-5 Jingumae Shibuya-ku, +81 3 3403 8050,bambifaline.com. Open daily noon-9pm

The Contemporary Fix

The Contemporary Fix

Photograph: Misha Janette

One of the most innovative shops in Tokyo, Contemporary Fix often invites the designers of the brands they carry to do unique events in the store. Recently Mastermind opened a ramen stand, and a pop-up store by must-see menswear brand Phenomenon proved so popular that the label closed its own headquarters and is now permanently carried here. These brands are at the top of their game, so expect prices to match. Try not to get distracted by the restaurant and the toys and vintage posters that line every inch of the walls, and aim up the narrow spiral staircase to get to the good stuff. • 3-12-14 Kita Aoyama Minato-ku, +81 3 6418 1460, thecontemporaryfix.com. Open daily noon-8pm

Candy

Candy

Candy/Sister Photograph: Misha Janette

At the forefront of Japanese street style, Candy is where the edgiest Tokyoites converge – no dedicated shopper should leave Tokyo without a visit. Its selection of used clothing – think zebra-stripe down jackets and 80s graphical sweaters – sits comfortably among new pieces by labels likeGareth Pugh, KTZ and Mikio Sakabe. It also gives ample space to the out-of-this-world stylings of underground local brands like Runurunu and Balmung which take a no-holds-barred approach to colour and outrageous volume. • 1F 18-4 Udagawa-Cho Shibuya-ku, +81 3 5456 9891, faketokyo.com. Open daily noon-10pm

Harcoza

Harcoza

Photograph: Misha Janette

Harcoza serves up fashion quirks with an eclectic selection of accessories like necklaces made from melted rubber balls and bonsai trees fashioned into watches, but the showstealer is the interior – featuring a floor-to-ceiling bouncy-ball dispenser, a ceramic purple poodle guarding the stairs, and carpet patterned like Lego blocks. Housed in a brand new building with a terrace and glass facade, it may sound crude but it's not. Downstairs a small stage spans the width of the room, replete with velvet curtains and disco ball – close the curtains and it transforms into a fitting room where you can try on playful womenswear like blouses with hexagon-shaped puff-sleeves and asymmetrical tulip skirts. • 1F, 2-15-9 Ebisu-Nishi Shibuya-ku, +81 3 6416 0725, harcoza.com. Open Wed-Mon 11am-7.30pm