Service
Shop visit in Japan
Some shops cannot be judged from abroad. I go in your place, photograph what is there, ask your questions in Japanese and report back. You do not have to buy anything.
When a shop visit is the right tool
- The shop will not ship abroad, so nobody outside Japan has seen the shelf.
- The shop does not reply to email, or replies only in Japanese.
- You want to check that something is really in stock before you pay for it.
- A second-hand shop, where the stock changes every week and the website never does.
- A maker’s showroom or factory shop with no catalogue and no price list.
What you get
- At least twenty photographs: the shelf, the price tags, the item from more than one side, and the shopfront.
- Your questions answered: up to ten per shop, asked in Japanese and written back to you.
- What was there and what was not: stock, sizes, materials as labelled, and the tag price with and without consumption tax.
- The report by the next business day.
- Or a live video call: you see the shelf yourself and I ask the staff as you go.
What it costs
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| One shop, up to two hours on site | €28 (about ¥5,000) |
| Transport | Passed on at the amount paid, with receipts; once per trip, not per shop |
| Visit within 48 hours of your request | +50% |
| 2–3 shops on one request | −10% on the visit fee |
| 4–6 shops | −15% |
| 7 shops or more | −20% |
Read this before you book
- Photographs. Whether I may take photos inside is the shop’s decision. If I am refused, I describe what I saw in writing, and the fee stands because the visit happened.
- Buying. The fee covers the visit, not goods. If you want something bought while I am there, that is personal shopping, agreed before I pay anyone.
- If it is not there, the report says so and, where the staff can tell me, why.
Longer guide: shop visit in Japan, what I check.