Find a Rare Item in Japan: An Item Finder Who Searches Japanese Shops for You

By Yuki Iemura, Tokyo · 20 October 2026

A discontinued ink colour. A planner from two years ago. A pen in a finish that sold out before it reached your country. Searching for these from abroad usually ends at a Japanese website that won’t ship to you, a shop that doesn’t answer email, or a search in English that finds nothing because the item is only described in Japanese. That is where an item finder in Japan helps.

Short answer: For ¥3,500 per item, I search for a hard-to-find item in Japanese: which shops or makers still have it, whether it is actually in stock, and what it costs. If you then order it through me, the ¥3,500 is deducted from my purchase fee. I cannot promise to find it. The fee pays for my time, and if the item is nowhere to be had, I tell you so.

What the service is

You tell me what you are looking for, and I spend the time looking for it in Japan, in Japanese:

Finding which shops or makers still have it. New old stock at a stationery shop, the maker’s own shop, a department store, a shop that sells only to Japanese addresses.
Second-hand shops. Used and pre-owned goods from shops, both their online stores that deliver only in Japan and shops in Tokyo.
Checking stock. A listing on a website is not always a thing on a shelf. Where it matters, I ask the shop.
Asking in Japanese. Phone or email to the shop or the maker, with your questions about colour, size, edition or condition.

What it does not include: auction sites and marketplace apps such as Mercari or Yahoo! Auctions. I buy there only for Private buyer clients, on a monthly retainer of ¥165,000 (three months minimum, five clients at a time). For a single listing, Mercari’s own routes are the better fit; I explain them in Buying from Mercari Japan from Abroad.

Exactly what you get

A written answer per item: where I found it, the price in Japan including consumption tax, and whether it is in stock or only listed.
For second-hand items: the condition as the shop describes it.
A quote, if you want to buy, with every line priced before you pay.
Or a plain “not found”, with where I looked. That is still an answer: it can save you weeks of searching.

What it costs

Item	Amount
Searching for a hard-to-find item	¥3,500 per item, deducted from the purchase fee if you order
The goods	The shop’s price in Japan, including consumption tax, with a photo of the receipt
Purchase fee	25% of the first ¥30,000 of goods, 20% of the part from ¥30,000 to ¥100,000, 15% of the part above ¥100,000
Each additional shop in the same parcel	¥2,200
Shipping and handling	Fixed, quoted before you pay
Payment processing	4% of the total

Import tax and duty in your country are not in my quote; your customs charges them on arrival. For the United States, the duty has to be paid before the parcel leaves Japan, so I collect it in advance with the prepayment provider’s fee and show both in the quote.

Worked examples

Shipping is left out because it depends on the parcel and the country; it is quoted as a fixed amount, and the 4% processing applies to it too.

1. I find a discontinued item in a second-hand shop for ¥18,000, and you order it.

	¥
Goods	18,000
Purchase fee (25% of 18,000); the ¥3,500 search fee counts towards it	4,500
Subtotal	22,500
Payment processing 4%	900
Total before shipping	23,400

Because the search fee is deducted from the purchase fee, the search costs you nothing extra when you order.

2. I search and can’t find it. You pay ¥3,500, plus 4% payment processing (¥140): ¥3,640.

3. Two items searched; one found at ¥40,000 and ordered, one not found.

	¥
Goods	40,000
Purchase fee (25% of 30,000 + 20% of 10,000); that item’s search fee counts towards it	9,500
Search fee for the item not found	3,500
Subtotal	53,000
Payment processing 4%	2,120
Total before shipping	55,120

What I will not do

Promise success. Some things are simply gone. The fee pays for the time spent looking, not for a result.
Search or buy on auction sites or marketplace apps under this service. That is Private buyer only.
Buy fakes, or anything that can’t legally leave Japan or enter your country.
Buy for resale. For shop and business orders, there is a separate B2B service.

How to request a search, step by step

Describe the item on the request form: the name, maker, colour or edition, a photo or an old link if you have one, and the country it would go to. The more precise, the better the search.
I reply within one business day to confirm the search and its fee.
I search shops, makers and second-hand shops in Japanese, and ask where needed.
You get the answer: found, with a price and a quote; or not found, with where I looked.
If you order, you pay the quote, I buy, and the ¥3,500 comes off the purchase fee. I photograph, pack and ship with tracking, usually within 3 business days of the last item arriving.

FAQ

Do I pay if you don’t find it?

Yes, ¥3,500 per item. The fee pays for time already spent. If you order the item, it is deducted from the purchase fee instead.

Can you search Mercari or Yahoo! Auctions for me?

Not under this service. Auction sites and marketplace apps are for Private buyer clients only, at ¥165,000 a month.

Do you search second-hand shops?

Yes. Second-hand goods from shops are included, both their Japan-only online stores and shops in Tokyo.

Can you go to a shop to check in person?

If you want me to go and look, a shop visit is €28 (about ¥5,000) per shop, with photos and your questions asked at the counter.

What if I find it myself, but the shop won’t ship abroad?

Then you don’t need a search. Send the link and it is ordinary personal shopping at my purchase fee.

How many items can I ask you to find?

As many as you like. The fee is ¥3,500 per item, so tell me which ones matter most.

If you have a link, a photo or just a name, send it on the request form, or write to me first if you are not sure the item still exists.