Hunt for old tableware at an antique market
On set days each month, antique dealers lay out stalls across the grounds of shrines and temples, with old bowls, plates and household tools spread on tables and mats. Wander the rows, pick up whatever catches your eye and ask the price, and you may find a piece to take home. Each market keeps its own schedule and the stalls start early, so check the date, go in the morning and bring cash.
On the first Saturday of the month, the grounds of this shrine in Kiryu, an old silk-weaving town in Gunma, fill with stalls of old household tools, antiques and pottery, and keen buyers arrive from early morning. The market goes ahead in the rain, but it is skipped when the day falls on certain lucky days of the traditional calendar, so check the shrine's schedule first.
On the 28th of every month, the temple's festival day, about 100 stalls spread through the grounds of this temple in Kawagoe, next to Kitain temple, selling antiques, secondhand clothes and pottery. Dealers set out their goods early in the morning, so arrive early for the best choice. The temple is about a 15-minute walk from Hon-Kawagoe Station, so it is easy to reach by train.
In Fukagawa, an old downtown district on the east side of Tokyo, this shrine holds an antique market on most Sundays of the month, with stalls under the trees from early morning. It is easy to drop in for an hour, pick up an old plate or cup, then try fukagawa-meshi, a local dish of clams on rice, nearby. It is a few minutes' walk from Monzen-nakacho Station, and some Sundays are skipped, so check the shrine's calendar.