biggfeast Posted November 3, 2015 Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 I had a business trip to Hong Kong last week, and on my way back to the States had the opportunity to visit some family in Japan. During my 2 day short stay in Japan I was able to visit 4 different tackle stores in Kanagwa Prefecture. Unfortunately most of the stores in Japan do not allow photos, so I had to be very sneaky taking the pics, and therefore couldn't get many, but I wanted to share what Japanese fishing stores are like. My first stop was a store named Joshuya in Fujisawa city. Joshuya was probably the 2nd best store I visited. They pretty much had all Japanese swimbait brands except for Deps. 2nd store I visited was SanSui in Yokohama. Sansui seemed to be a higher end tackle shop in Japan. I was unable to take any photos here since the staff was right over my shoulder. The most interesting thing about Sansui was that they carried American made swimbaits, which had about a 50% mark up compared to USA prices. the 3rd store I visited was Point in Yokohama. Point had the least selection of Swimbaits. Atleast this particular one I visited. The last store I visited was Casting in Yokohama. Casting had a grand opening special, and there was a Gan Craft event all week with the Gan Craft staff. This was awesome for me since I do fish their 230 Magnum quite a bit. Casting also had a good number of Deps swimbaits. Deps Slide Swimmer 250's and Silent Killer 250's retail for 8,000yen out the door in these tackle shops. All in all, it was awesome to visit these stores. Any fisherman would have a blast visiting the tackle shops in japan since the selection is so huge. Heres some of the Gan Craft products I purchased at the event: Also picked up a Deps 250 SlideSwimmer in Flash Carp and Silent Killer 250 in Flash Carp as well. Wish I could've taken a lot more photos... Just wanted to show you guys some quick pics of what Japanese tackle stores have and look like. Lucid_Dreams23, waynem, Rodrgsv and 9 others 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSlant Posted November 3, 2015 Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 Japan goes hard...every time I go to a local tackle shop which aren't even that close they don't have anything...that's why I joined SU...and bass pro still hasn't figured out to jump into swimbaits...thanx for the pics...I have a shopping list next time u go timcauliffe, massbass10 and biggfeast 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biggfeast Posted November 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 Just as an fyi, it seemed like most of the Japan made swimbaits were all 25%-50% cheaper if bought in Japan, so a lretty big difference. Bullshooters for example were in the 6000yen range, however they had a 1 per customer limit for the Mustard Gill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSlant Posted November 3, 2015 Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 Shopping list ain't no joke...hit me up next time u go back SwimbaitSam123 and biggfeast 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dheath2 Posted November 3, 2015 Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 I live here, well, okinawa. If you order from a japanese online retailer, many only ship to japanese addresses. I'm glad my wife has learned japanese. I've seen 250s for 6500 yen and the exchange rate is great right now. biggfeast 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahai808 Posted November 3, 2015 Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 I lived in the Kanagawa Prefecture (Atsugi) for 4.5 years! Wish I was into swimbaits back then! Well gonna have to find some time to visit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biggfeast Posted November 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 I lived in the Kanagawa Prefecture (Atsugi) for 4.5 years! Wish I was into swimbaits back then! Well gonna have to find some time to visit! The stores I went to are easily accessible by train from Atsugi. Small world, I went to elementary school on that base lol. There's also quite a few good shops in Atsugi. I have the addresses for them so if you ever go, give me a holler and I'll pm you the addys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahai808 Posted November 3, 2015 Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 The stores I went to are easily accessible by train from Atsugi. Small world, I went to elementary school on that base lol. There's also quite a few good shops in Atsugi. I have the addresses for them so if you ever go, give me a holler and I'll pm you the addys appreciate it man! im up for order in a year and gotta go back to sea. wouldn't be my first choice to go back but it wouldn't be all bad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northeast_trev Posted November 3, 2015 Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 Awesome post! Japan is high on my list of places to visit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahai808 Posted November 3, 2015 Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 Awesome post! Japan is high on my list of places to visit its an awesome place. you can get almost anywhere by train! I miss the food the most! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northeast_trev Posted November 3, 2015 Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 its an awesome place. you can get almost anywhere by train! I miss the food the most! Between the landscape, the car culture, and the baits, It seems awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thastickybandit Posted November 3, 2015 Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 Pretty cool what did the Gan craft guys have to offer up . Did they share any techniques or tips with you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilcatfish Posted November 3, 2015 Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 Curious why the shops weren't cool with pics? I can't imagine they are hiding any trade secrets and don't want pics getting out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biggfeast Posted November 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 Pretty cool what did the Gan craft guys have to offer up . Did they share any techniques or tips with you? Each day of the week they had something new going on for their event. The day I went happened to be a live radio broadcast from the tackle shop with the Gan Craft owner Mr. Hiraiwa and their pro staff. They touched on many topics from rigging/tuning techniques of their current products as well as roll out plans for their new products, mainly the 303 release in Japan along with their custom rod designed for the bait. Also got to see the new Ripple Claw that will be releasing. They also had their TV episode that they filmed here in San Diego playing on the tv in the background which was pretty cool to see. Other then that they had staff members walking the shop floor assisting anyone in choosing baits and answering any questions. They also had a prize giveaway, for every 3000yen you spent on Gan Craft products you get to do a drawing to win various Gan Craft items. I won a Gan Craft bag along with Gan Craft tissue boxes lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishaman20 Posted November 3, 2015 Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 Cool post! I'd probably go nuts in those stores!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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