• A woman browses through kimonos for sale at the Boroichi flea market in Tokyo. Vintage kimonos in vermillion red and prints of cranes go for as little as ¥1,000. Thomas Peter / Reuters
    A woman browses through kimonos for sale at the Boroichi flea market in Tokyo. Vintage kimonos in vermillion red and prints of cranes go for as little as ¥1,000. Thomas Peter / Reuters
  • Traditional Kokeshi dolls from Japan’s northern Tohoku area are piled up in a box at Boroichi flea market in Tokyo. Thomas Peter / Reuters
    Traditional Kokeshi dolls from Japan’s northern Tohoku area are piled up in a box at Boroichi flea market in Tokyo. Thomas Peter / Reuters
  • Trader Kazumoto Miyaoka poses in the pile of secondhand clothes and rags that he sells at Boroichi flea market in Tokyo. In the 16th century, Boroichi was a place for farmers to buy and sell rags, known as boro, for mending clothes and weaving sandals. Thomas Peter / Reuters
    Trader Kazumoto Miyaoka poses in the pile of secondhand clothes and rags that he sells at Boroichi flea market in Tokyo. In the 16th century, Boroichi was a place for farmers to buy and sell rags, known as boro, for mending clothes and weaving sandals. Thomas Peter / Reuters
  • Yoshiyuki Matsuura, a regular customer, visits a friend’s indoor secondhand clothes store at Boroichi flea market in Tokyo. Thomas Peter / Reuters
    Yoshiyuki Matsuura, a regular customer, visits a friend’s indoor secondhand clothes store at Boroichi flea market in Tokyo. Thomas Peter / Reuters
  • About 200,000 people flock to the Boroichi flea market in Tokyo, which is only open for four mid-winter days a year - two in December and two in January. Thomas Peter / Reuters
    About 200,000 people flock to the Boroichi flea market in Tokyo, which is only open for four mid-winter days a year - two in December and two in January. Thomas Peter / Reuters
  • A trader sells secondhand goods at Boroichi flea market in Tokyo. Thomas Peter / Reuters
    A trader sells secondhand goods at Boroichi flea market in Tokyo. Thomas Peter / Reuters

Boroichi bargains provide cheer amid economic gloom in Japan — in pictures


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About 200,000 people flock to the Boroichi flea market in Tokyo, which is only open for four mid-winter days a year, to buy, browse, or just soak up the atmosphere and get a temporary respite from the economic gloom engulfing Japan.