Field notes from Japan

Japan,
without the guesswork.

Independent guides to shopping Japan's marketplaces and traveling its quiet corners — researched from inside Japan, checked against current primary sources, and recalculated when fees change.

Latest guides
August 16, 2026

Tenso vs Buyee: Same Company, and the One That Does More Work Costs Less

tenso.com and Buyee are both operated by tenso, inc. — it says so on their own company page. We priced the same box through both: the forwarding service that only ships your parcel charges ¥400 more than the proxy that buys it for you.
August 16, 2026

Buyee vs One Map (formerly FROM JAPAN): One Charges Per Order, One Charges Per Item

Both charge ¥500. That's where the similarity ends — one bills the order, the other bills every item in it. Which is cheaper depends entirely on how many sellers you're buying from, and on one cart they cost exactly the same.
August 16, 2026

The Best Proxy for Mercari Japan (2026): We Priced Four, and the Cheapest Isn't the One We'd Use

Mercari Japan won't sell to you directly, so a proxy is the only route. We checked what four of them charge for Mercari specifically. Neokyo is cheapest on fees — and on Mercari, fees are the smallest thing you're choosing between.
August 14, 2026

AmiAmi Shipping to the US: Real Costs and Delivery Times

ECMS, DHL and Surface Mail Premium are all the US has left in 2026. What each costs, what the price already includes, and why surface takes 2-3 months.
August 14, 2026

AmiAmi Preorders: When You Pay, and When You Can Cancel

You are not charged when you preorder. The invoice comes once the whole order is in stock, and then you have seven days. Where the cancel window closes.
August 13, 2026

ZenMarket vs Buyee (2026): Which Is Actually Cheaper for Your Cart?

Both changed their fees in 2026 and most comparisons still quote the old numbers. Run the real ones and the answer flips on a single checkbox most buyers never touch.
August 13, 2026

Ryokan Rooms With a Private Onsen Bath: What to Check Before You Pay Extra

A room with its own hot spring bath is the dream upgrade — but the water isn't always onsen, the price is never published, and the booking filter that looks right means something else. Here's what to check.
August 7, 2026

Hakone Onsen Day Trip From Tokyo: What Each Bath Costs and Who Gets Turned Away (2026)

A day trip to Hakone's hot springs, costed honestly — four day-use baths from ¥900 to ¥15,400, whether the Free Pass actually pays for itself, and which places admit tattooed guests.
August 2, 2026

Onsen With Tattoos in Japan: Where You Can Actually Bathe (2026)

Eleven hot springs and bathhouses that admit tattooed guests — sorted by how well each policy is actually documented, plus how to verify any facility yourself before you go.
July 29, 2026

Private Onsen in Japan You Can Actually Book in English (2026 Guide)

How to reserve a kashikiri (private) onsen bath in English — six real places that take foreign bookings, what they cost, and the booking tricks nobody explains.
July 27, 2026

ZenMarket vs Buyee vs FROM JAPAN: Japan's Top 5 Proxy Shopping Services, Compared Honestly (2026)

An independent, hands-on comparison of Japan's five biggest proxy shopping services — real fees, the hidden costs nobody mentions, and which one fits how you actually shop.
July 27, 2026

AmiAmi Pre-Owned Grades: What A, B+, B and C Actually Mean

AmiAmi grades the box and the item separately, so one letter is only half of it. What each grade covers, what it never covers, and the one real trap.
Why trust us
01

Primary sources, visible math

We compare official fee tables, help pages, and calculator results, then show our assumptions and the date checked. When something cannot be verified, we say so.

02

Written from Japan

We read the Japanese listings, the domestic forums, and the fine print — the primary sources that vendor blogs skip.

03

Criticism stays in

Verdicts were never edited by what we earned — which was nothing. When a service we couldn't earn from was the right answer, that's the answer we printed.