WEBVTT 00:00:00.100 --> 00:00:05.300 [Music plays] 00:00:24.400 --> 00:00:25.420 Annika: Helloooooo! 00:00:25.420 --> 00:00:26.620 Oh, we just walked right into the sun. 00:00:26.620 --> 00:00:28.300 Oh, we're so sunlit! 00:00:28.300 --> 00:00:29.120 Luci: [singing] Into the Sun! 00:00:29.120 --> 00:00:29.620 Annika: Ooooo! 00:00:29.630 --> 00:00:31.090 There's a car behind us. 00:00:31.090 --> 00:00:31.770 Oh no. 00:00:31.770 --> 00:00:33.070 Luci: Hey. Annika: Hey. 00:00:33.070 --> 00:00:34.460 Luci: We're in Shimokitazawa. 00:00:34.460 --> 00:00:35.200 Annika: We're in Shimokitazawa! 00:00:35.200 --> 00:00:36.540 Luci: It's the coolest suburb in the whole of Tokyo. 00:00:36.540 --> 00:00:37.040 Annika: Mmhm! 00:00:37.040 --> 00:00:38.040 Luci: It's where all the coolest people go. 00:00:38.040 --> 00:00:39.040 Annika: Uh-huh! It's true. 00:00:39.040 --> 00:00:40.620 Luci: I'm saying that like I'm being sarcastic, but it actually is. 00:00:40.620 --> 00:00:41.620 Annika: It is. 00:00:41.620 --> 00:00:44.660 [laughs] Luci: It's all vintage shops, cafes, live-houses... 00:00:44.660 --> 00:00:47.240 Annika: Live-houses are places where you see bands - 00:00:47.240 --> 00:00:48.239 Luci: Places where you - yeah. 00:00:48.239 --> 00:00:52.919 Annika: But the - the thing that I'm going to show you all is the vintage stores, coz 00:00:52.920 --> 00:00:53.820 - [gasps] Luci: They're amazing 00:00:53.820 --> 00:00:55.340 Annika: - guys - it's amazing. 00:00:55.680 --> 00:00:57.550 [Music plays] 00:01:02.670 --> 00:01:07.820 Most of the thrift shops in Shimokitazawa, which are more commonly known as USED or RECYCLED 00:01:07.820 --> 00:01:12.820 stores, are located on the NORTH and the SOUTH sides of the suburb, if you divide Shimokitazawa 00:01:12.820 --> 00:01:14.100 up by its train lines. 00:01:14.100 --> 00:01:17.780 I think that there are at least 100 thrift stores in Shimokitazawa. 00:01:17.780 --> 00:01:21.951 I spent 2 and a half weeks staying at an AirB&B in this suburb, and I don’t think that I 00:01:21.951 --> 00:01:23.970 even found all of the thrift stores. 00:01:23.970 --> 00:01:29.090 Luckily, I also travelled to Japan with basically an empty suitcase, because I knew that I wouldn’t 00:01:29.090 --> 00:01:33.170 be able to help myself at all of the thrift stores in this glorious suburb. 00:01:33.170 --> 00:01:37.830 Luci: So, what Annika's demonstrating here is that if you get lost, you can come and 00:01:37.830 --> 00:01:47.890 find this thing, which is the "Shimokitazawa Ichibangai Guide", which is like an interactive 00:01:47.890 --> 00:01:50.939 - completely interactive - map of the town. 00:01:50.939 --> 00:01:55.421 You can turn it into English, and it has a listing for pretty much every shop, every 00:01:55.421 --> 00:02:01.329 pub, every everything - like, it lists all these categories of different things and you 00:02:01.329 --> 00:02:08.149 press it and it goes to the map, and it gives you the opening hours and a description - it's 00:02:08.149 --> 00:02:13.400 just - this, um, map is in a thing called the "i-park" which is just like a little parking 00:02:13.400 --> 00:02:18.939 lot, which is just off Sakae-dori street, the south end of Sakae-dori street - 00:02:18.939 --> 00:02:20.620 Annika: Good description Luci! 00:02:20.620 --> 00:02:23.879 Thank you! [laughs] Luci: Annika was demonstrating like the person 00:02:23.879 --> 00:02:27.500 on the game show who demonstrates the washing machine that you can win... 00:02:27.500 --> 00:02:28.719 Annika: [laughs] thank you Luci for the description. 00:02:28.719 --> 00:02:33.090 Now, because the sheer number of thrift stores in Shimokitazawa is pretty overwhelming, I 00:02:33.090 --> 00:02:35.939 put together a little guide of all of my favourites stores. 00:02:35.939 --> 00:02:40.159 If you only get a day in Shimokitazawa, these are the places you definitely should visit. 00:02:40.159 --> 00:02:43.959 My number one recommendation to visit is a place called “The Garage”, located on 00:02:43.959 --> 00:02:47.079 the North side of Shimokitazawa train station. 00:02:47.079 --> 00:02:51.189 Shimokita garage is a collection of vintage and handmade stores run by small designers, 00:02:51.189 --> 00:02:53.540 all located in this one large warehouse space. 00:02:53.540 --> 00:02:57.829 My favourite shops in this garage are: number 1, the Marco Polo Thrift Shop. 00:02:57.829 --> 00:03:02.779 This shop features high-quality, flattering, stylish and timeless pieces, for very reasonable 00:03:02.779 --> 00:03:03.619 prices. 00:03:07.069 --> 00:03:12.559 Another favourite is this store, where most of the items are 648Y – and this price hasn’t 00:03:12.559 --> 00:03:15.040 changed since I was last here 5 years ago, either! 00:03:15.040 --> 00:03:18.170 And lastly, I know this isn’t secondhand, but it’s worth mentioning because it’s 00:03:18.170 --> 00:03:22.150 so cool – on the right-hand side when you enter the garage, there is a whole section 00:03:22.150 --> 00:03:25.760 of handmade items, mostly jewellery, by hundreds of designers. 00:03:25.760 --> 00:03:29.749 It’s like wandering through Etsy in real life, and it’s a great place to pick up 00:03:29.749 --> 00:03:30.749 gifts. 00:03:30.749 --> 00:03:33.059 Here’s just a couple of the items that I got from there! 00:03:36.639 --> 00:03:41.730 Stick out is a store located on the South Side, and inside it, every item of clothing 00:03:41.730 --> 00:03:42.730 is 700Y. 00:03:42.730 --> 00:03:46.889 I wasn’t allowed to film inside, but visit this store on a weekday – it is extremely 00:03:46.889 --> 00:03:48.540 crowded on the weekends! 00:03:48.540 --> 00:03:49.560 Annika: [gasps] This place here! 00:03:49.569 --> 00:03:50.569 Okay. 00:03:50.569 --> 00:03:51.579 I need to show you guys this place. 00:03:51.579 --> 00:03:55.749 This is called "Grand Bazaar Mega Store" and I know lots of you following my youtube channel 00:03:55.749 --> 00:04:01.339 really like lolita fashion - it has a whole floor dedicated to secondhand lolita fashion, 00:04:01.339 --> 00:04:08.079 um, brands like... where was it... brands like Jane Marple, Milk, Emily Temple Cute, 00:04:08.079 --> 00:04:13.290 Angelic Pretty - and it's all secondhand so it's cheaper, um, yeah and it's like the whole 00:04:13.290 --> 00:04:15.519 third floor of this place, is dedicated to that. 00:04:15.519 --> 00:04:20.030 Luci: And that secondhand thing is a big deal, because lolita fashion is very expensive if 00:04:20.030 --> 00:04:20.590 you buy it. 00:04:20.590 --> 00:04:21.090 Annika: Yep. 00:04:21.090 --> 00:04:23.220 [Music plays] 00:04:27.520 --> 00:04:32.120 One of the trendiest thrift stores in Shimokitazawa, New York Joe exchange is a place where you 00:04:32.120 --> 00:04:35.009 can bring in secondhand clothing, and you can get store credit for it. 00:04:35.009 --> 00:04:37.710 You can also buy pieces without bringing in your old clothes. 00:04:37.710 --> 00:04:40.430 I loved this store, and I visited it a couple of times. 00:04:40.430 --> 00:04:44.979 Keep an eye on their Instagram page for weekend sales where everything is 50% off – although 00:04:44.979 --> 00:04:49.020 beware, it becomes extremely crowded when these sales are on! 00:04:49.020 --> 00:04:54.080 “Puchikoshon”, which google translate wants to translate to "Petit Coconut" in English, 00:04:54.080 --> 00:04:59.030 is a gorgeous vintage store stuffed into a sliver of a building on the South side of 00:04:59.030 --> 00:05:00.030 Shimokitazawa. 00:05:00.030 --> 00:05:02.199 Definitely worth a visit. 00:05:02.199 --> 00:05:08.330 Eco Wear is high on my list of recommendations, because it’s both very cheap and very well-curated. 00:05:08.330 --> 00:05:15.300 For $5-$15, they sell high-quality used clothing, and I even saw pretty high-end Japanese brands 00:05:15.300 --> 00:05:19.300 being sold for about 5% of what they originally would have cost. 00:05:19.300 --> 00:05:22.449 This store is a great place to find retro toys! 00:05:22.449 --> 00:05:26.380 Inside is a mix of vintage and new toys, and being right next to the station, it’s well 00:05:26.380 --> 00:05:28.240 worth a visit. 00:05:28.240 --> 00:05:32.069 Grapefruit Moon is a bit more on the expensive side, but it’s still worth a visit: because 00:05:32.069 --> 00:05:36.430 even if you don’t buy anything, the interior decoration is just gorgeous – And it’ll 00:05:36.430 --> 00:05:40.969 give you a lot of styling inspiration as well, with styles from the 70s being very prominent 00:05:40.969 --> 00:05:42.289 when I visited this time! 00:05:42.289 --> 00:05:47.360 Undoubtedly one of my favourite stores, because it exactly matches my current style, inside 00:05:47.360 --> 00:05:51.800 is a mix of both vintage and new pieces that blend really seamlessly with each other. 00:05:51.800 --> 00:05:56.259 I also found this one reaaaaally good, cheap thrift store called M’s Collection, but 00:05:56.259 --> 00:05:59.099 sadly it was only a temporary pop-up store! 00:05:59.099 --> 00:06:05.879 Most of the items here, apart from a couple of coats, were 400Y each, which is $4, including 00:06:05.879 --> 00:06:10.249 this handpainted cardigan and cute white satchel backpack that I picked up. 00:06:10.249 --> 00:06:14.379 The shop space, however, often holds pop-up stores like these, which is the reason I’ve 00:06:14.379 --> 00:06:15.599 still included it on my guide. 00:06:15.599 --> 00:06:20.210 A little tip for going clothes-shopping in Japan, to save you some embarrassment – you’ll 00:06:20.210 --> 00:06:23.569 be expected to take your shoes off before entering any change-rooms. 00:06:23.569 --> 00:06:27.770 In some places they also gave me this little baggie when entering the change-room, which 00:06:27.770 --> 00:06:30.590 I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what it was supposed to be used for. 00:06:30.590 --> 00:06:34.030 I mean, it's like, too small to hold my clothes... 00:06:34.030 --> 00:06:35.699 So I’m coming to you, youtube. 00:06:35.699 --> 00:06:37.030 What is this for? 00:06:37.030 --> 00:06:40.759 There’s also a couple of other stores which I loved – but they are a bit more on the 00:06:40.759 --> 00:06:43.189 pricey side, so I didn’t buy anything from them. 00:06:43.189 --> 00:06:46.729 However, I’m putting them on my guide because they’re just SO pretty inside, you HAVE 00:06:46.729 --> 00:06:49.400 to visit them and just look around. 00:06:49.400 --> 00:06:54.439 These include the Flamingo stores, of which there are 3 in Shimokitazawa, and can be recognised 00:06:54.439 --> 00:07:02.819 by their distinctive neon signs; the iconic Haight & Ashbury, which has been running in 00:07:02.819 --> 00:07:15.199 this one place for almost 25 years now; and this one smaller vintage shop called Rainbow, 00:07:15.199 --> 00:07:21.090 which is just opposite Haight & Ashbury, and it had some really gorgeous vintage pieces. 00:07:21.090 --> 00:07:25.930 Another really cool thing about Shimokitazawa is that, um, if you like night-time shopping, 00:07:25.930 --> 00:07:32.259 like I do, all of the vintage stores are open 'til 9 o'clock on a Monday night, or up to 00:07:32.259 --> 00:07:38.460 midnight if it's the weekend - which is awesome, you can go out for some dinner and a drink, 00:07:38.460 --> 00:07:40.020 and then go shopping. 00:07:40.020 --> 00:07:41.020 Which is really cool! 00:07:41.020 --> 00:07:45.309 I'm going to leave you with one last really important tip for shopping vintage in Shimokitazawa 00:07:45.309 --> 00:07:46.819 – put your explorers cap on! 00:07:46.819 --> 00:07:51.490 Make sure you’re looking in nooks and crannies, down tiny side-streets and also make sure 00:07:51.490 --> 00:07:52.570 that you LOOK. UP. 00:07:53.490 --> 00:07:57.680 Many of the thrift stores are located above street level, or up teeny tiny little staircases 00:07:57.680 --> 00:07:59.120 like this one. 00:08:01.480 --> 00:08:05.199 So that's it for part-one of my thrifting in Tokyo series! 00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:10.039 The next videos in the series will include a lookbook and a haul of all the things that 00:08:10.039 --> 00:08:13.280 I thrifted, AND a guide to thrifting in Harajuku! 00:08:13.280 --> 00:08:17.139 If you can't wait to see what I thrifted, I've posted a couple of the items, styled 00:08:17.139 --> 00:08:20.490 into outfits, to my instagram page which you can find here. 00:08:20.490 --> 00:08:23.229 Thank you so much for watching, and I'll see you all next time. 00:08:23.229 --> 00:08:24.229 Bye! 00:08:24.380 --> 00:08:25.540 Annika: Hey Luci. 00:08:28.280 --> 00:08:29.640 Annika: Can you move out of the way. 00:08:30.660 --> 00:08:31.940 Annika: [laughs] Thanks. 00:08:33.340 --> 00:08:37.740 Thank you to all of my supporters on Patreon for making these videos possible. 00:08:37.740 --> 00:08:39.880 To become my patreon supporter, go to patreon.com/annikavictoria!