Do they have 2nd hand shops in Japan???

Answer 1

oh oh oh I want to answer this one YES YES YES and they are wonderful!!!

Sometimes they can be hard to find, and you have to be careful of the 'fake' secondhand shops. The stuff is secondhand import stuff so they sell it as vintage, trendy stuff like a boutique.

But there are good normal secondhand - clothing, books, appliance ones around.

Secondhand is still not so popular in Japan (other than the secondhand american clothing that is) so most of the stuff you find in secondhand stores is in near perfect condition (20% of the time it's new) and it's so much cheaper than new.

Certain areas are more likely to have secondhand stores, downtown Tokyo - not so likely, unless it's brand bags.

Oh and there are also chain secondhand stores. The biggest I know of is Book Off, which does books, but it has offshoots for all other things, the Book Off closest to me does sporting goods, jewellery, men's and women's clothing, kids and baby stuff too. Just down the road there is another that does PC hardware.

Although in Japan they are called recycle shops. Look for リサイクル. (which is re sa i ku ru)

Answer 2

Yes, there are many and a lot of them have high quality goods. One thing that drives that industry in Japan is that Japanese men who can afford it and are so inclined tend to give their mistresses, favorite hostess, etc. expensive gifts.

However if the object of such affection is the favorite of many or a rich guy that person may end up with more baubles than they need. Hence the brand new fancy handbags and watches, etc. that secondhand shops always have. You can find more mundane stuff in second hand shops as well.

Answer 3

Hell yeah. just like any place else. The flea markets are the best place to buy 2nd hand stuff.