4 Ways To Buy Japanese Things in North America

There are lots of Japanese things ; food, character goods and others, and we want to buy in North America. Toys and character goods are so innovative and cute. You can't really find them from anywhere else in the world. First thing people try is to find Japanese stores locally and see if they have them. Some food items, traditional decorations and so on could be found in these stores, but other things, especially character goods aren't available in North America. Why?

Most of Japanese character goods have exclusive licensing within Japan. They don't want them to be spread around in other countries. The reason is that they see so many fake goods sold cheaply across North America, and they don't trust integrity of the market. I don't quite follow their reasoning but basically they don't want to have potential troubles in foreign countries and they are happy within their own. They are particularly cautious in North American market where people often sue companies and other people. They have a lot better relationships with their neighboring Asian countries. Asian countries are more into Japanese goods than people in North America, so they have better market and also they are physically much closer. Some of the character goods are licensed in Korea or Hong Kong. However once things go into these countries, there are ways that they will come to North America without proper license. Not sure how the licensing works but Japanese character goods sold in other Asian countries are much cheaper and they can be found in Chinese stores across North America. Many of them are actually different products from the ones sold in Japan, but you can see the same characters on them.

 So if you really want the goods, the same goods sold in Japan, what do you do? Here are the ways you can get them.


Local Japanese Store

First thing is to check out local Japanese stores. However character goods are hard to find. Sometimes they even carry fake imported goods from non Japanese countries.

Local Chinese Store

If you can't find them in Japanese stores, try Chinese stores. There are many things that are obvious imitation goods, but sometimes they do have them imported through Hong Kong. It is hard to find which one is real and which one is not, but look at them carefully by reading tags etc. Unfortunately, sometimes tags maybe written in foreign language that you can't read. You can also try local Korean stores, too.

eBay

If you can't find them in stores, you will need to resort to online. eBay has almost anything you want if you wait patiently, but it is also hard to see what is real and what is fake. Check the seller's reputation, and if the seller's location is in Japan, you are more likely getting real Japanese goods.

Japanese Online Stores

Or you can access online stores in Japan. However many online stores in Japan do not ship outside of the country. Some company offers virtual address within Japan so that your goods can be shipped there and redirected to where you live. This could be a bit more costly way to buy things, but you can be sure that you are getting genuine Japanese goods you are after.

Anything you are buying from a foreign country, you need to be aware that if it is a defect, it might not be that easy to get exchanged. If things are broken or it requires replacement parts, it could cost you a lot. Also if things are shipped from outside of your country, you might have to pay customs and broker fees. Food product has expiry dates so make sure to consume before that date. Any goods that require plugging into the electrical outlet, make sure the compatibilities of voltage, frequency and the shape of the plug.

Good luck in finding what you are after!

Image by Agathe B on flickr