The flea markets in Tokyo are real treasure hunts. I love going through other people's junk and add to my own junk collection.
Japanese people throw away all sorts of stuff still in perfect conditions, or sell it in the flea market at unbelievably low prices.
So if you go to the flea market, you can find something you didn't know that you always wanted! For example, last month one of my friends got a wig for free at a flea market! And once I bought a helmet for the bicycle I still haven't got around to buy but I know I most certainly will one day.
But usually I go to the flea market to buy clothes and jewelry, then fix or redesign them at home. It's great fun to produce even more junk!
The people in the flea market are often very friendly, although they can also be brutally honest. Once I was trying on a leather jacket and its first owner, a young and fashionable girl, kindly informed me that the big jacket looked aesthetically offensive on my rather petit form.
Having said that, it’s great to be petit sometimes. I always find superb size-2 castaways at the flea market, while I usually have trouble finding my size in the shops, especially when I go abroad where huge people live, and then I have to shop at the children’s department.
Now after years of shopping at the flea market, I have collected enough junk to open a proper shop myself, although I would definitely make the worst shopkeeper because it often takes me more than 10 minutes to locate anything in my closet. It's like a treasure hunt at home too!
