Cool, Nerdy, Geeky & Collectibles stuff I've seen in Tokyo.

[Darth Lars]

So, MattMunson has moved to Japan and become a J-tuber, huh?

 

[fifthchamber]

This entire area was for re selling?

I saw the plastic ball recycle station you showed in a previous video (for vending machine purchased toys) and it made me aware of the vast recycling and trash system that must exist. The entire area seems very clean in each video so this would be on par with systems present in "WALL-E", the movie.

This resell area is an obvious extension of that.

But it would hint at there being a vast network of hidden wasteworks, purchasing houses and those that work it. Maybe another aspect of the silent after hours, but underground? In our town it is a guy in a van trying to smash bags of cans in the back. But, I don't see anything like that here. Makes me wonder if selling my collectibles is just as common as collecting. I saw the store called, "One up" which makes me think there are even grades of quality for each item series and you collect-up. The purchasing aspect of daily life seems a lot like how I try to gather all possible items and sidequests in a video game I am playing.

Heya Matt....

Glad to see ya made it back to LA after the rush of Tokyo too!

As for this point, nobody here throws rubbish onto the street, or leaves it lying around, instead they'll have a bag to store it in till they get to a combini, or take it home and then divide it out and throw it. Tokyo functions like most other larger urban areas, all the clean up from home is first handled by households, dividing things up into the divisions needed, then there's specific days to throw those division bags out on, and the clean up happens either early morning (rarer) or mid morning, 9-10ish, when everyone is at work and there's less to get in the way of the rubbish vans...

Selling collectibles is entirely as common as collecting...The shops in Nakano are full of people offloading their last "crush" so they can 1) start on something new 2) get married 3) offload stuff they grew out of...Which means there's nearly always major finds to be made in the bigger secondhand shops here...(And the items will be in VERY good condition/brand new condition too).

Japan I think, after 20+ years here, is an exceptional collectors aimed world, Tokyo in particular, but those trends DO shift and rise and fall, and so the passing on and selling system is JUST as efficient as the "new item" selling set up here....Houses aren't as big as the US either, so people either have to use storage units, or resell and start over....Both quite common....

As for the clothing side of Tokyo, blacks and whites are just the "trend" here recently....Colour was ALL over the place when I first arrived, and is very seasonal still, although those in doubt will always fall back on simple block colours, understated, to match or fit in...The weekends are more colourful, and kids dress with more flair than those over 30-40 too...(Although still, recent trend is more for simple and less colourful choices)

And the eye meeting thing, yeah, if you're filming, especially, people won't want to be filmed, so will more actively avoid eye contact, but at best, it's rare here....The phone zombies too, trust me, are literally EVERYWHERE, although in a large crowd, it's less useful, and you WILL get bumped...So most people don't bother...Trains and areas where you have the space to use it though? They're on phones everywhere.....Even while cycling...And holding an umbrella...Some of the most exceptional balancing I've seen, even if dangerous...

Matt, I'm glad you made it to Toy Sapiens (the old location was SO much better!) and to Verse! Easily the best comics shop here I reckon! Next time you're here, I'd recommend Jimbocho for the older comics...They nearly always have one or two shops that are selling someone's classic collection, and the coolest older comics turn up there....Besides, it's just a nice book smelling area to chill out in.....