How to buy unofficial goods

There are several places to buy unofficial goods. But since most fangirls go to Tokyo, I will discuss those.

The most commonly known unofficial stores are in Harajuku. From the JR Yamanote Harajuku station take the Takeshita-dori exit. You will walk right across the street from the station onto Takeshita-dori. As you walk down the street there are tons and tons of stores. Some are down a few of the side alleys. Most are easy to spot – just look for stores that have a placard of idols outside.

Also in Tokyo, take the Chuo Line to Nakano. There are many idol stores on the third floor of the Sun Plaza building near the station.


 What they sell:

Every store is different, but you can expect to find some similar items. Most stores will have unofficial pictures. These can be paprazzi pictures of the guys out around town (or going to and from rehearsals), or it can be shots of them in concerts, or it can be reprints of magazine pictures. You can also find stickers, keychains, playing cards, pencils, pencil cases, photo albums, stationary, jewelry, etc., Basically if they can put a picture or logo on it, they will sell it.
 
Some stores carry replicas of the jewelry that the boys wear. Some stores will have old concert goods (pamphlets, towels, posters), others have limited editions of CDs/DVDs/Singles, and some even have signed goods (signed balls and boards) and tickets.


How to buy the goods:

Usually to buy unofficial pictures you will want to take one of the pieces of paper in the store. Some are lined, some are unlined. You will want to write the number of the picture (sometimes it starts with a letter), and if needed, how many of that picture you want.

In some stores you can grab the goods you want. If the goods are on the wall or locked down you will need to write them down on the slip of paper and hand it to the person at the register when you pay. You may be able to call a clerk over if it isn’t crowded.

In some stores you can pull the old official shop pics out of the album and hand them to the clerk. Those will be things that have a price on them already,



 last updated March 1, 2011