Vintage Omegas in Japan

I'm fairly new to this watch obsession game and have recently bought my first Omega (165.002) and am hooked! I'm headed to Japan for about 10 days. Mostly will be outside of Tokyo. I've seen a lot of posts/videos etc. about shopping for used watches in Japan but most are centered around $2k+ range of watches. I'm really interested the "lower end" of the vintage world. (<$1k) In part because of budget but also I like the history/vibe of an Omega daily use kind of 50s and 60s watches. Does anyone have any tips or advice on looking for Omegas in that range in Japan? There is a lot of Omegas on Ebay from Japan, but I dont know if there are deals to be found there. I assume Tokyo is fairly shopped out but I will be outside of the more touristy areas for most of the trip (Shizuoka) and would love to find an amazing souvenir.

Thanks and just want to say this forum has been an amazing resource!

Japan is a watch lovers paradise!! I've been about 3-4 times a year for the past 5 years or so becuase Japan is such a fantastic place to go regardless, then you throw in the used watch scene and it's impossible not to love it (if you're on this forum!).

If you have time, head to Nakano Broadway just north-east of Shinjuku and you should find something you like within a couple of hours. For vintage, look on the lower level (right side) for a place named Fire Kids. All the other store are on the 3rd floor.

If you can;t make it to Tokyo from Shizuoka then you can always take the Shinkassen over to Nagoya as there's quite a few watch shops all in one shopping area there (you''ll need to take a taxi/uber from the train station).

I hope that helps!

M.

Frequent visitor to Japan over the last 30 years here, and yes, Japan is very much a watch lover's paradise. Nakano Broadway is a great starting point, although the prices can be on the high side in the stores there. The one I'd recommend in Nakano would be Jackroad:

https://www.jackroad.co.jp/shop/default.aspx

You'll need to translate the web pages, but if you go to their Omega section you'll see a lot of vintage Seamasters and Constellations, among others.

I'd also highly recommend L'oclock and L'oclock Delve (two separate sister shops) in Setagaya. They specialise in exactly the kind of thing you're looking for:

1960~70's "Casual Vintage Watch"
We are a Japanese shop specializing in 1960s and 1970s mechanical watches.
The concept of our shop is "Easy-to-use and affordable vintage watches".

https://shop.loclock.jp/
https://www.instagram.com/loclockwatchshop/

The first L'oclock store concentrates on vintage Seiko and Citizen watches. L'oclock Delve do Swiss watches, including Omega, IWC, Longines, etc. They are fairly close together and Setagaya is a great little area to walk around.

Their watches are really well serviced and they are excellent to deal with, even though their English is scratchy at best. Can't recommend them highly enough.

If you're looking for watches in Tokyo, Nakano Broadway is highly recommended.
This shopping center houses numerous watch stores in one building, allowing you to efficiently browse a wide variety of timepieces.
https://nakano-broadway.com/

Other recommended areas in Tokyo include Ginza, Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Ueno.

In regional cities like Shizuoka, pawnshops and second-hand stores are good places to find affordable watches.
Try searching for long-established pawnshops in Shizuoka or nationwide second-hand store chains.
Here is a link to a store in Shizuoka that deals in antique watches.
https://matsunotokeiten.myshopify.com/

In Shizuoka, you can also enjoy stunning views of Mount Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan.
Hope you have a great time during your stay in Japan!