I don’t use the secondhand shops today nearly as much as I used to, but they can be a real boon to those of us starting out in Japan, or here for the relative short term. It’s sometimes hard to find any shops like that worth visiting, though.

One fairly major shop I saw recently is part of a chain of secondhand shops. The branch I visited is called “News,” and is on Koshu Kaido (Route 20) just west of Chitose Karasuyama Station on the Keio line, in the outer area of Setagaya Ward (Minami Karasuyama 6-18-4). You can call the company toll-free at (0120) 666-801. They sell all the usual stuff, plus large furniture, western-style beds, scooters and so forth. Prices seemed OK as far as these shops go.

The entire chain seems to have shops all around Tokyo, in places like Itabashi, Sasazuka, Okubo, Suginami and a few other locales. You can visit their main page and get a listing of shops; the site also seems to list some of the items they have for sale, though I would expect these are of better quality and lower-priced than you could expect to actually find in the shops.

Or, if you’re up for a walk from the station, try visiting the weekly Salvation Army sale on Saturday from 9 am to noon at the “Kyuseigun Danshi Shakai Hoshi Center,” located at 2-21-2 Wada, Suginami-ku. Telephone number is (03) 3384-9114. Directions are on this page. The closest station is Nakano-Fujimi on the Marunouchi line (you have to transfer at Nakano Sakaue), though some people take the longer walk from Higashi-Koenji Station.