Leaving Japan (again) - Where to sell your stuff? - Sayonara Sale

The Sayonara Sale tag on Mercari is still your best bet for smaller items, but I've had better luck pricing things at 300 yen rather than 500 yen. At that price point people don't even haggle, they just buy it instantly and pick it up the same day.

For furniture and bigger stuff, try Tokyo Recycler in Shinjuku. They come to your place, take photos, and list everything on their own site. You get 50% of whatever sells and they handle the pickup logistics, which is a lot less hassle than coordinating with five different people from Facebook groups. They took my washing machine and a bookshelf that Book Off wouldn't touch.

One thing I noticed missing from your list is the Tokyo Sayonara Flea Market that happens monthly at Yoyogi Park. The next one is usually the first Sunday after Golden Week. You rent a tarp spot for about 1000 yen and sell directly to people walking by. Cash in hand, no shipping, no waiting for people to show up. Just bring change because nobody carries coins anymore.

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honestly the best hidden gem is still your local hard off / off house network. book off super bazaar is fine but the off house chain (there's one in kichijoji and another in yokohama) will take things book off won't like kitchen appliances and random electronics. they pay cash on the spot too which is nice

also if you're in tokyo try sayonara sale on facebook groups specific to your neighborhood. the nakameguro one is pretty active and people actually show up to pick things up. just avoid the big "sayonara sale tokyo" groups they're full of people who never follow through

one thing nobody mentions is that you can donate to dori dori recycle in setagaya for bigger furniture. they'll pick it up for free and you get a tax deduction form if you care about that. way easier than trying to sell a sofa for 2000 yen on jmty

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mottainai japan facebook groups are still pretty active, especially for furniture and bigger stuff. the shimokitazawa branch of 2nd street is decent for clothes but they're picky with electronics. for smaller items, try the sayonara sale tag on mercari instead of the general feed, it moves faster if you price at 500 yen or less. you can also post on your local ward's english bulletin board if you're near setagaya or meguro, some have physical boards at the ward office.

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if u have a costco membership the kirkland thick cut is the move, 4 packs of 500g for around 2500 yen and it crisps up proper in a cold pan. for smaller runs, precce in azabudai hills & the basement at isetan shinjuku both carry imported US & danish brands in the chilled case, just read the label for "thick cut" or "smoked" and not "loin". also worth knowing japanese bacon is often wet-cured so pat it dry before frying or it steams instead of crisping

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kaldi coffee farm is hit or miss but their smoked bacon from denmark shows up pretty regular, the 200g pack runs about 600 yen. what actually works better for me is asking the butcher counter at peacock or life to slice the block bacon thick, like 5mm, they do it for free and it crisps way better than the pre-packed stuff. also fwiw cheap bacon crisps faster, the fatty supermarket kind at 300 yen a pack works fine if u cook it from cold in a dry pan and pour off the fat as it renders.

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tbh the gyomu super store brand bacon is surprisingly decent for crisping up, its not thick cut but if you cook it low and slow it gets pretty crunchy. the key is the dry cure vs wet cure thing, wet cure steams. also check hanamasa if you have one nearby, they sell big packs of american style bacon thats actually smoked and firm.

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