Japanese Craigslist?

May 27, 2011 11:05 AM

What is the equivalent to Craigslist in Japan, perhaps the Osaka area specifically?

A friend is moving over there. She may need a refrigerator and other similar items. Is there a go-to place? An online marketplace thing somewhere?

posted by krilli to shopping (9 answers total)

For foreigners, Gaijinpot is the most popular site, but there's also local alternatives such as Kansai Flea Market. It's also a good idea to google for "Sayonara Sale" (+Osaka/Kansai), as it's common for foreigners to set up blogs and such with items they're selling as they're leaving the country.
posted by harujion at 11:33 AM on May 27, 2011 [3 favorites]

Since you didn't say in the question, there is actually a Osaka-area Cragslist. I don't know how good it is. I was looking at the Tokyo one the other day. It seemed useful, if not major-US-city full of stuff.

I hadn't heard of GaijinPot, so thanks, harujion.
posted by ctmf at 12:10 PM on May 27, 2011

♥

It didn't even occur to me to check if there was an actual Craigslist. I guess the name throws you off. It's like checking if there's a Hiroshi no meikan in the US.
posted by krilli at 12:44 PM on May 27, 2011

There is nothing close to craigslist here. There are no thrift shops either. For household items search on google maps for "recycle shops". They have a lot of things and they usually deliver.　Some リサイクルショプ
posted by Infernarl at 3:57 PM on May 27, 2011

Most people (Japanese or non-) don't use craigslist in Japan. In my experience most Japanese buy and sell their used goods through recycle shops, like the Book/Hard/etc.-Off chain.

In Kansai you can find classifieds in the back of Kansai Scene, a monthly (?) English magazine. Foreigners leaving the country often sell all their items at once in a "sayonara sale."
posted by armage at 9:27 PM on May 27, 2011

auction.yahoo.co.jp is quite lively for buying some things. Sayonara sales in metropolis and so on. Japanese themselves don't really do used-goods, which is why you can often pick up excellent things from daigomi days
posted by lundman at 9:28 PM on May 27, 2011

Look for an Off-House (オフハウス) or a Second Street (セカンドストリート) in the area she'll be in. Those are the best places for used appliances that I can think of off the top of my head, at least that are national chains. You can also search Google Maps for リサイクルショップ as Infernarl mentioned for just a general overview of secondhand stores, though not so many of them will deal in household appliances.

Craigslist is a joke in Japan. Most of the posts I've seen when I've checked them have been either spam, scams, or confused people. Luckily, there's a thriving and awesome secondhand store market here, which more than makes up for the lack of classified ads.
posted by DoctorFedora at 5:30 PM on May 30, 2011

Download Kansai Flea Market.
posted by planetkyoto at 5:47 PM on May 30, 2011 [1 favorite]

There are flea markets and recycle shops, too.
posted by planetkyoto at 5:48 PM on May 30, 2011