" I might have gotten a little carried away. " ..... Ya think ??? 😄 😄

 

Yeah I also was watch hunting in japan back in mid-December and I also only found 'the dregs'. Stuff like old Timexes and ladies watches that no one wanted. It was kinda obvious to me that the good stuff was where I wasn't!

 

I was at a jewelry expo, so there were only 4 or 5 venders with watches. There were piles of Rolexes, Omega mens watches, as well as one vendor with a ton of vintage JLCs, but all seemed to be priced at US retail, so I wasn't in a rush to spend $800-4k on a single watch. I will be in Ginza this weekend, and am planning on visiting Osaka to watch hunt later this month.
I am hoping to find a good deal on a King Seiko or JDM exclusive Grand Seiko while I am here, So I don't want to go over budget buying common watches at average prices.

Yes, the bins these came out of were overflowing with womens watches. Of course, many were trash, but a good amount of decent looking Omegas, Longines and other budget Swiss mixed in, as well as a couple nice looking Citizen ladies watches. The little Seamaster I got for my wife was what I felt was the nicest looking in the price range, although a cheaper NOS Citizen with a gorgeous green dial almost beat it out. I will likely pick up one or two more Ladies watches this trip for my two sons (4+8 years old) as the more neutral styled ones are just the right size for their little wrists.

 

I didn't go there but there ia reputed to be one branch of a used-camera chain at Ginza who does supposedly get watches and pens.

I wasn't but if it is user-watches you are after, his shop would be the place to go. Plus I got the impression from the one branch I did visit that the (camera)salesmen there don't really understand watches or pens

 

Made my first trip to Nakano Broadway today. Most of the shops were lightly used, high end stuff and was priced as such. Some good deals on 2000s era grand seikos were mixed in, but nothing I was looking for. I did find "Fire kids" with a good selection of vintage watches, including the two Seiko Marvel's and Citizen Homer Pansy pictured above. I loved them, but all three seemed to be priced nearly double what similar ones go for on ebay, shipped from Japan to the states, so I passed for now. If I dont find something else in my time here, I may try to come back for one.

 

Love those vintage Seikos!

 

we stumbled onto a pretty cool second hand store near our new air bnb. Lots of luxury goods, but the few Swiss watches they had were higher than US prices. However they had a big case full of Casio G- Shocks, all of which were 30-50% cheaper than they could be had in the US. I picked up this Hender Scheme collab DW-6900 and a like new AWG-M100SBB. I passed on picking up a North Face collab, and a pretty worn Protrek Prg-130Y.
Not exactly vintage or high end, but nice to finally find some cool Japan market watches at reasonable prices.
We have more thift stores on our map, so hopefully my luck will continue.
I am really hoping to pick up a 1970s or 80s Grand Seiko, and a 1950s Citizen or Seiko Marvel before the end of the trip.


Not a watch, but I was excited to also pick up a pair of vintage Dunhill Cuff links.

 

I'm not a fan of G-Shocks but vintage Seiko's and the cuff links are cool. Best of luck!

 

I understand. My first watch I picked and bought myself was a Gshock. I wore it daily for years so I have a little bit of a soft spot for them.
That said, outside of work clothes or a uniform, these things look really out of place on my wrist. I doubt they will get much mileage.

 

Just watched this short little video on faked watches in China... Guangzhou Station

 

Picked up another two not vintage watches:
A Spinnaker SP-5062 and a Seiko 7S36-05A0.

I like the Spinnaker, despite it being a chunky boy, but the Seiko looks just like the G-shocks: too 2010 sporty for me.

I am keeping an eye out for a vintage Grand Seiko, I would really love to find a 6146 or a 5646 at a good price, but the best prices I have seen are ebay sellers trying to sell to the USA. Worst case, I may try to get them to ship to me in Tokyo.
However, we are most likely going to be road tripping to a few other cities in the next week or two, so I should have more opportunities to find shops off the beaten path.

 

I have often wondered what those slightly higher end Pateks (where they have bothered to copy the calibre itself and polish the bits that show) cost in China. Is it a couple of bucks?

I certainly agree with the sentiment "Not exactly vintage or high end"!

 

Last week I visited The Korono Tokyo Aoyama Boutique. I thought I took mor pictures, but only had these two when I got home. Beautiful watches, but only the orange Chronograph was for sale.

We started our road trip, and have had a great time hunting second hand stores. We have turned up a bunch of cool, vintage nintendo stuff, but not many watches until yesterday. In the Junk case I found these 3 Citizens. I am having trouble identifying the smaller one (that is missing its band) if anyone has any information on it.

 

The orange one is kind of interesting. As for the Citizen w/out the bracelet, I'd say early 1970's but that's all I've got.

 

As a note, I did Not buy the Korono Tokyo chrono.

I took the back off the mystery watch at school, but my photo sucks. It is a 7600 26 jewel movement, with marks indicating service in 2022. Model number 4-760051y