- Good morning, ladies, gentlemen, and cheapos.

Today we're coming to you from Shimokitazawa,

which is a veritable cheapo's paradise.

We have second-hand, vintage, thrifting, hipster hangouts,

live bars, cheap restaurants, it's all here.

Isn't that right, Angela?

- Yes it is. Why don't we go check it out?

- Let's go!

- Let's go!

Shimokitazawa is a bohemian neighborhood just

a few stops from central Tokyo.

It makes a great close getaway from the

hustle and bustle of the big city,

so if you want to experience a different side of Tokyo

this is the place.

The narrow streets of Shimokitazawa are filled

with vintage clothing shops, hippie cafes,

live houses and much much more.

So let's go explore that today.

- Looking for our first cheapo shop,

and I found a, uh, furugiya,

"Furugi" meaning second-hand clothes,

so let's go check it out.

So, we found a stick out store, 700 yen store.

Everything in there, only 700 yen, which is, uh,

pretty cheap!

Let's go and have a look.

- [Angela] So this shop not only sells second-hand clothing

but it also has new clothing all for 700 yen.

So let's go inside and take a look, but first

here are the opening hours.

When you first enter the shop, you will notice

the shop is very clean and tidy.

Everything is sorted into categories

so it makes it easier to find what you are looking for.

The condition of the clothes are also in very good condition

and quite up to date with fashion trends.

They also have a good variety of women's wear and men's wear

so let's go see what Chris has found.

- [Chris] Lee, Wrangler, these are all decent jeans.

- [Angela] For 700 yen.

What size is that?

- You're putting me on the spot now actually.

(Angela laughing)

- [Angela] Tell everyone your size.

- Oh, this is size M, a medium.

Let's try these.

- [Angela] So after you've picked a few pieces

you want to try out,

it's time to head to the changing room.

Let's see what Chris has chosen.

Now, it's starting to get a bit cold in Japan,

so Chris has picked out the sweater and jeans

all for a total of 1,400 yen

and he's all ready for Autumn!

Not only does this shop sell clothes,

it sells a lot of accessories as well.

(door opening)

- Well, I bought a belt.

- [Angela] 700 yen for a belt? Great find, Chris!

- Marvelous!

- [Angela] And right there is a very happy Cheapo.

Let's head back to the streets

and see what else we can find.

Now don't be surprised if you find a lot of these

vintage second-hand clothing shops every corner you turn

because that is what Shimokitazawa is well-known for.

And it doesn't stop just at clothes.

You can also buy second-hand DVDs, comics, books,

and even used kimono.

- So this is a proper 100-yen store.

You might know that there was a tax increase recently

so all the 100 yen stores are really 108 yen stores.

Not this one, this one's a 90 yen, 96 yen store.

When you include tax, it's exactly 100 yen.

This is a cheapo-friendly, true 100 yen store.

- So next we have come to the Shimokita

Garage Department.

This shopping area is packed with around twenty

fashion, art, and general merchandise stores.

The condition when setting up a store here is that

your store must be a store that contains hand-made

original products, which makes this department store

filled with unique and one-and-only items.

And of course, there are many second-hand stores

and bargains to find in here.

So another thing about Japanese second-hand shops

are that the quality is fairly good,

so even if the price is just 600 yen,

so that's around 6 dollars US,

the quality is still pretty good and it's really clean.

You just have to dig around and find something

that you like.

So while I have a shop-around,

let's go see what Chris is up to.

- So um,

this is Danny.

- Yes. Hello.

- We dragged him off the street.

Let's talk about Shimokitazawa.

- Mm.

- In

five words, sum up your--

- Five words, huh?

- five adjectives.

- Well, it's quaint, that's an adjective.

Um, it's skinny.

It's very bohemian.

I probably read that in Lonely Planet.

Um, but it does have a hippie vibe,

and it sorta reminds me a bit of parts of Naremburn,

- Right right.

- With all the sort of little winding bits and

sort of, you lose your orientation.

I don't know how many times we've been up and down

the same street, and thinking that we haven't seen it.

And it just seems to constantly change.

Just fresh, fresh people and fresh looking shops.

- And have you bought anything yet?

- Oh we bought a lot of weird junky stuff.

What else is it? It's calm, it's really calm.

Coming out of Shibuya or Shinjitsu, it's um,

Shinjuku,

- Shinjuku, yeah.

- Uh, it's incredibly calm and laid back and um,

I think I've covered all my adjectives.

- [Angela] So if you get a little bit tired

from all the walking around and shopping,

there are a lot of cool cafes to check out.

And a lot of them have outdoor seating as well,

even Family Mart.

And if you wanna try out some good coffee in Shimokitazawa

then definitely check out this shop.

(espresso machine whirring)

- Oh, amazing!

- [Angela] Also check out the free art gallery

on top of this cafe.

- So um, what can we say about Shimokita?

I suppose, we've voted it the number one place to live,

the number one district in Tokyo to live on Tokyo Cheapo,

because it's a combination of being cheap, obviously,

the district itself, the neighborhood.

As you see in this video, there's lots of stuff going on.

Cafes, bars, you know, it's a pretty

self-contained, interesting place.

And it's walking distance from Shibuya, Nakameguro,

it's like right in the heart of Tokyo,

so it's a really good neighborhood.

- It's really central.

- But it's um, it's a good place to base yourself

if you're just living here long-term or

if you're just visiting for a week,

it's a really good place to have as a base.

It's not too busy,

- No, it's not.

- It's not like living, you know, if you stay in a hotel

in Shinjuku or something, you're right in the hornet's nest.

It's total, people everywhere.

This is, you know, it's a more quiet neighborhood.

There's no high-rise buildings.

- No there isn't.

- You don't really feel like you're in the heart of Tokyo,

but you're so close to the center of Tokyo.

- Yeah, and that's what I love about Shimokitazawa,

is that it's so close to the center, it's only, I think

5 minutes, 10 minutes away from Shibuya?

- I think it's 3 minutes.

- 3 minutes? Okay, - Something like that.

- By express?

- The Inokashira line, the express.

It's literally one stop.

- But when you get off, it feels, the environment's

completely different from Shibuya.

You've got the local feel as well

because of the locals around this area.

- Yeah, it's Bohemian central,

it's uh, very different from Shibuya, yet very close.

- [Angela] So we hope you enjoyed exploring this area

around with us and seeing some of the vintage,

second-hand clothing shops.

And let us know down below your thoughts on Shinokitazawa

or even better, how about giving us 5 adjectives?

- I think this poster very much captures the essence,

some sort of little handmade felt thing.

And it's happening real soon,

8th of October till 10th of October.

(funky techno music)