Where to go if you have both time and money to burn.

Posted on October 2, 2007 by Hanuman Welch

Since the transplanting has now reached it's seventh month, I have begun to truly miss some things. These things, would have gone unnoticed, and un-missed, for the most part. A decent slice of pizza and a normal jar of peanut butter, bottoming out this list. Being from the south, however, I had began missing something that I was sure I would be unable to find in the land of the corn, mayo, egg, potato pizza. It was a weekend tradition among my friends that persisted for many a year. I speak, of course, of the flea market. Most of my friends were devout thrifters and loved the flea market for its endless mountains of cheap vintage clothing. Not to mention the hours afforded observing the colorful cross section of drowning victims in the human gene pool. Luckily, I have found a more then acceptable substitute.

Ameyayoko market in Ueno(上野) - Area in Tokyo's Taito Ward famous for a number of cultural sites as well as Japan's most famous Zoo. is equal parts flea market, auction house, fresh market, thrift store, and labyrinthine game center. In other words, it's awesome. It is one of the places that I have been lucky to visit that feels wholly 'real'. It could do with the fact that Ueno has a bit of a reputation. The reputation is that Ueno is a little seedy, a little dirty, and a little sketchy after night fall. My kind of place.

Ameyayoko market is exactly the sort of outdoor bazaar that one would expect to find nested comfortably between the train tracks and a reputation like that. Vendors hocking everything from tube socks and bargain clearance clothing; to high end knock off Prada handbags and matsutake mushrooms (10,000 yen for a pack of four mushrooms).

The market possesses an atmosphere of anti-pretension. A welcome change from the vibe in most spots in Tokyo. The people are here to shop, not impress strangers with their Louis Vuitton clutches. I spent most of my time sifting through vintage denim jackets in the many stores specializing in now defunct American styles of the past. I also had the chance to try Ameyayoko's culinary submission in the realm of regional 'poor man's food'. Ameyayoko-yaki. Ueno's own interpretation of OkonomiyakiA delicious, pan-fried dish containing eggs, cabbage and various other ingredients.. Delicious, if I don't say so myself. The market is laid out in a Y, with no discernible organization whatsoever. Chaos suits Ameyayoko. The brave can venture off the beaten path in the hopes of finding better deals on fresh maguro, as well as anything else the mind can conjure. Pachinko and game centers are interwoven seamlessly above, below, and throughout the market.

A breathing, sweating, shouting lesson in sociology, Ameyayoko is a thrift junky's wet dream. If you've got the time, set aside five or six hours to be moved along by the tide of humanity to the tune of a thousand shouted irasshaimases. To get to the market, go to Ueno station and look for the Ameyayoko-cho exit and hang a right after exiting the station. Enjoy.