What to Buy in Japan: Vintage, Thrift Stores and Matcha

Siya P · 31 Oct 2026

What to Buy in Japan: Vintage, Thrift Stores and Matcha

Every Japan trip we plan comes with the same question: what should I actually bring home? Our travel experts keep a running answer, and we checked it against what Reddit's Japan travelers recommend thread after thread. This is the list.

Inside: the vintage and thrift neighborhoods, the resale chains worth knowing, how to buy matcha that is actually good, and the smaller things people wish they had bought more of. Bring an empty bag. This is part of the Akshar Travels Founders Series: the lists our own team uses to plan Japan.

Last checked October 2026. Places our team has been are written from experience, and anything we found but have not tried yet is marked. If a place has changed, tell us and we will update the list.

Racks of secondhand shirts and jackets at an open air vintage sale in Shimokitazawa
Shimokitazawa on a Sunday: the racks come out onto the street.

Where to shop vintage and thrift

Japan's secondhand clothing is famous for a reason: people look after their things, so used often looks new, and the curation is serious. These are the neighborhoods to give a whole afternoon.

Racks of vintage clothing in a Shimokitazawa shop

Shimokitazawa, Tokyo

Tokyo's vintage capital

Start here. Low rise streets packed with secondhand shops, from carefully curated American vintage to racks where everything is a few hundred yen. Most shops open around noon, so start after lunch and stay until dark.

Shimokitazawa on Google Maps
A shopping street in Koenji

Koenji, Tokyo

A few stops west of Shinjuku on the JR Chuo line

Then the cheaper one. Rougher round the edges than Shimokitazawa and usually cheaper. Workwear, band tees, punk, and the odd designer piece priced by someone who did not know what they had.

Koenji on Google Maps
The crowd on Takeshita Street in Harajuku

Harajuku, Tokyo

The side streets, not Takeshita Street

By the afternoon, Kinji, a big basement vintage store, is the cheap and cheerful stop. The backstreets of Ura-Harajuku are where the designer resale and the small boutiques are.

Kinji on Google Maps
The Amerikamura street with its Statue of Liberty on a rooftop

Amerikamura, Osaka

A few blocks west of Shinsaibashi

In Osaka, the vintage street, an easy walk from Dotonbori. Our Osaka list has the rest of the neighborhood, including where to eat vegetarian nearby.

Amerikamura on Google Maps
A stallholder handing over goods at a Kyoto market

Kyoto's temple flea markets

Plan your Kyoto days around the date

Two monthly markets fill temple grounds with old kimono, ceramics, tools, prints and antiques. Kobo-san is at To-ji on the 21st of every month, and Tenjin-san is at Kitano Tenmangu on the 25th. Go early, bring cash, and haggle gently if at all.

To-ji on Google Maps

Shopping a big part of your trip? Tell us your dates and we will build the shopping days into your plan: the flea market dates, the right neighborhoods and time to pack.

The resale chains

The ones Reddit swears by. You will see these everywhere, and that is the point: when a neighborhood shop is closed, one of these is around the corner. Sizes run small, so try things on, and many fitting rooms ask you to wear a thin face cover when you try on tops.

Everyday secondhand

  • 2nd Street
    The big one. Huge range, low prices, branches in every city.
  • Treasure Factory
    Clothes, homeware and the odd bit of furniture.

Designer resale

  • Ragtag
    Japanese labels like Comme des Garcons, Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto at a fraction of retail.
  • Kindal
    Osaka born designer resale, well edited.

Luxury bags and watches

  • Komehyo
    Authenticated pre-loved luxury. Check the condition grade on the tag before you fall in love.
  • Brand Off
    Same idea, and worth comparing prices across both.

Cameras, games and the junk bins

  • Hard Off
    Film cameras, lenses, old consoles. The junk corner is a hobby in itself.
  • Book Off
    Books, CDs, games and figures, often in the same building as Hard Off.

Buying matcha

"Ceremonial grade" is a label made for export. In Japan, matcha is graded by how it is meant to be whisked.

Usucha grade is for thin tea, the everyday bowl. Koicha grade is the top tier, smooth enough to be whisked thick. For lattes and baking, a cooking grade is fine and much cheaper. Where it was grown matters too: Uji, just south of Kyoto, is the famous name, and Nishio in Aichi and Yame in Fukuoka are excellent.

Also worth a tin: hojicha, a roasted green tea that is low in caffeine and great as a latte; genmaicha, green tea with toasted rice; and gyokuro, shade grown and naturally sweet.

  • Ippodo Tea

    Teramachi, Kyoto

    A Kyoto tea house since 1717, with its main shop on Teramachi street and a branch in Tokyo's Marunouchi. Clear grades, patient staff, and small tins that travel well.

    Ippodo on Google Maps

  • Nakamura Tokichi

    Uji

    In Uji since 1854. Buy your tea, then stay for the matcha parfait.

    Nakamura Tokichi on Google Maps

  • Marukyu Koyamaen

    Uji

    An Uji grower and blender that tea schools trust, with its own shop in Uji and counters in department stores.

    Marukyu Koyamaen on Google Maps

  • Department store food halls

    The basement food floors of Takashimaya, Daimaru and Isetan carry the big tea houses under one roof.

    Takashimaya Kyoto on Google Maps
Wooden Uji tea chests stacked with their brushed paper labels

Buy small tins and keep them sealed and cool, because opened matcha fades within weeks. Some shops have set per person limits since the matcha shortage, so do not leave it to your last day.

Worth the suitcase space

The things people come home wishing they had bought more of.

A Japanese kitchen knife on a dark board

  • Kitchen knives

    Kappabashi, Nishiki, Sakai

    Kappabashi in Tokyo is a whole street of kitchen shops. In Kyoto, Aritsugu in Nishiki Market has made knives for centuries, and Osaka has Sakai, Japan's knife making town. Pack them in checked luggage, never in your carry on.

    Kappabashi on Google Maps

  • Stationery

    Loft, and Itoya in Ginza

    Pens, notebooks and washi tape you will not find at home.

    Itoya on Google Maps

  • Skincare and sunscreen

    Any big drugstore

    Matsumoto Kiyoshi and the like. Japanese sunscreens such as Biore UV, Anessa and Skin Aqua are the cult buys, and cost far less than at home.

  • Snacks

    Don Quijote, open late

    Regional KitKat flavors and everything else. Vegetarians, check savory snacks for katsuo, the bonito fish extract hiding in a lot of them.

    Don Quijote on Google Maps

  • Ceramics and tenugui

    A handmade cup from a Kyoto potter, and tenugui, the printed cotton cloths that are light, flat and actually useful.

Tax free, the short version

Spend 5,000 yen or more in one store on the same day and you can shop tax free with your passport. That is 10 percent off most things and 8 percent off food.

Since November 1, 2026, Japan has used a refund system: you pay the tax at the till and get it back when you leave the country. Keep every receipt together, keep the goods unopened, and give yourself extra time at the airport.

Clothes hanging on a wooden rack in a vintage shop
A matcha dessert with a crest drawn in the powder
Shoppers on a Shibuya street

Want a shopping day built in?

Kyoto on the right flea market date, Kappabashi on the way to your Tokyo hotel, and an evening to pack before the airport. Send us your dates and we plan the shopping in the right places.

Akshar Travels plans luxury Japan too: the hotels and ryokan worth the splurge, the best rates we can find for your dates, and reserved seats on the bullet train in the weeks they sell out.

More Japan guides

Pictures from Wikimedia Commons: the Shimokitazawa racks and Takeshita Street by Syced (CC0), the Koenji street by Stephen Kelly (CC BY 2.0) and the Uji tea chests by おいでやす千年の都 (CC0). The rest are ours.

FAQ

What is the best place for vintage shopping in Tokyo?

Shimokitazawa is Tokyo's vintage capital, and Koenji is usually cheaper. For designer resale, try Ragtag and the backstreets of Ura-Harajuku.

What should I buy in Japan?

Secondhand and vintage clothing, matcha and other green teas, kitchen knives, stationery, Japanese sunscreen and skincare, and ceramics are the buys travelers most often wish they had more room for.

Where should I buy matcha in Japan?

Uji and Kyoto are the best places: Ippodo Tea in Kyoto and Nakamura Tokichi in Uji are both long established. Department store food halls carry the big tea houses under one roof.

What does ceremonial grade matcha mean in Japan?

It is mostly an export label. In Japan, matcha is sold by how it is meant to be whisked: usucha grade for thin tea and koicha grade, the top tier, for thick tea.

How does tax free shopping work in Japan?

Spend 5,000 yen or more in one store on the same day and show your passport. CONFIRM BEFORE PUBLISHING: from November 1, 2026 the tax is refunded when you leave Japan rather than taken off at the till.

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