Its streets lined with second-hand boutiques, the Amerikamura area should be any thrifty shopper’s first destination in Osaka. One of the most interesting stores in the neighbourhood is the dainty Juyonsai, which focuses exclusively on Japan-made clothing and other items from the late ’80s to mid-’90s – the beginning of Japan’s Heisei era – embodying the emerging genre of ‘Heisei retro’.
The vivid colours of the ’90s pop aesthetic dominate the selection, which encompasses everything from bootleg band T-shirts featuring the likes of B’z and SMAP to board games and plush toys fished out of claw machines at arcades around the country. It all feels almost more like a museum than a shop – one that captures the spirit of the era and is capable of conveying it even to visitors who didn’t live through the early Heisei years.
Note that the shop closes irregularly, so you’ll want to check their Instagram before visiting.