Second Hand in Omotesando

Omotesando is not generally thought of as one of the cheapest places to shop. Its tree-lined boulevards house some of the swankiest designer boutiques in Tokyo designed to pull in the big time spenders.

However, if you don’t feel like parting with three months salary in a single afternoon, don’t despair, Omotesando has something for you too! Just a few buildings down from the huge ‘Gap’ store on Meiji Street, near the intersection with Omotesando, you will come across YM square, where a much more wallet-friendly shopping experience can be found. Here two of the biggest and best second-hand clothes stores in Tokyo co-exist. In the basement, you can find ‘Kinji’ and on the 3^rd and 4^th floors ‘Hanjiro.’

When I first visited Tokyo, 18-years ago, at the end of the bubble, the idea of a second-hand clothing store in trendy Omotesando would have been laughed at.

If you wore something back then, it had to be new, preferably designer-made and most likely expensive. With the bubble era now only the subject matter of late night drinking stories, Tokyoites too have to count the pennies. This frugalness combined with today’s emphasis on all things environmentally friendly has meant that second hand clothes stores have had an image make over. As a matter of fact, they’re cool! Why else would they be in the heart of Harajuku?

Being Japan, things are not done in half-measures and the two stores in the YM square don’t just sell any kind of used clothing, but promote their very own distinct style. Kinji is the cheaper of the two, and its look is young, brash and colourful, it’s aisles filled with patterned shirts, multi-coloured T-shirts, as well as jeans, furry hats, combat gear and shiny waistcoats. The shop assistants attire as well as photographs plastered over the windows helpfully show the mix and match Kinji look that customers are encouraged to copy.. T-shirts go for less than a thousand yen, and jackets around 2000-3000 yen. When buying, for a little extra cost, you are also given the option of a guarantee that you can re-sell it to the shop later; an idea rooted in good business sense and eco-friendly principles as clothes get re-used again and again.

Three floors above, Hanjiro, aims for a somewhat different, more laid-back hippy feel. The interior alone is worth going to the shop for. At the entrance you find yourself confronted by three faceless mannequins, representing a man, woman and child, all decked out in Hanjiro chic. On the walls behind are pictures of Jesus and Mary that appear to have been taken from a Jehovah’s Witness magazine. All wonderfully surreal! The interior lives up to the entrance as the ceiling is lined with an array of chandeliers that light up rows of decent quality used jackets, dresses, hats, stoles, scarves and accessories.

Hanjiro’s appeal is broader than that of Kinji, attracting a slightly more mature customer, as well as students in their early twenties. Hardly surprising then that prices are a little higher, although shirts at around 2000 yen are not likely to cause too many sleepless nights.

While most of the big name brand shopping is done on the main Omotesando, a short stroll away, you’ll find the second and third floor ‘Kindness’ store here buying and selling brand goods. Perhaps this is where some of the Vuitton bags and Fendi coats purchased just around the corner end up when the owners are forced to cut costs. If you’re a brand buying kind of person, then the store is worth a visit before splashing out on new goods. The stuff on display at Kindness looks as good as new and goes for a fraction of the price.

A little further down the road brings you to Takeshita guchi, where Takeshita Street ends on one side and Harajuku Street begins on the other. Takeshita Street is a teenagers’ paradise - a Mecca for wearers of street fashion ,with shops and stores specializing in punk, goth, cute, Lolita and whatever else is big among the under 20s. The street includes shops selling used clothes as well as new. Of special note are the wonderfully named ’Wego’ and the outlet store ‘Freaks,’ with a second-hand section in its basement.

Harajuku Street is a bit quieter and includes some interesting second hand shops like G2, which stocks Vintage American and European clothes. The store is well worth a look around as you find yourself taken back to a different era. If you’ve ever felt a wish to dress like a 50s Hollywood film star or don the tweeds of a British aristocrat, then this is the place for you!

The second-hand clothes stores, as well as selling good-quality, affordable clothes, are also worth visiting to see just how young Japanese people are changing and becoming more creative with increasingly limited resources. The used shops styles and interiors are the result of imagination and a DIY spirit, a contrast to the state-of-the-art brand shops nearby which seem to be no different from other brand shops the world over and where money alone seems to have been the source of inspiration.