One of my favorite parts of traveling is getting to visit the countless small shops run by local enthusiasts. It is always fascinating to see what a store has on display. You think you’ve seen it all, until a place surprises you with its JDM models or an obscure vintage piece. One store that I recently discovered offers exactly this blend of new Japanese brands and amazing vintage pieces from established brands like Seiko and Citizen. Tokei-ya Tokizaemon is a store in Nakano City, Tokyo. You may be familiar with Nakano City from the popular Nakano Broadway shopping area, often hailed as the Mecca of watches in Tokyo. Opened in February of 2025, Tokeiya Tokizaemon is actually about a ten minute walk from Nakano Broadway.
I was able to chat via email with the owner, Murata-san, about his store and his goals. Murata-san actually started Tokei-ya Tokizaemon as an online store a bit earlier in November of 2024 with the aim of helping more people in Japan and around the world get their hands on wonderful Japanese-made watches. Murata-san has made relationships with some small Japanese brands that are starting to make a name for themselves. You may recognize two of these brands if you read our site regularly.
Fukushima Watch Company and I.TARU watches are both featured at Tokei-ya Tokizaemon. They make up a growing number of homegrown Japanese watch brands that Murata-san is looking to showcase. By carrying these lesser known brands, prospective buyers have a chance to actually handle these watches in the metal. Murata-san states that you can expect to see more of these independent brands make an appearance at his store as he travels around Japan and makes connections with the real people behind each brand.
As mentioned previously, Tokei-ya Tokizaemon also features many vintage watches from the Japanese legacy brands, like Seiko and Citizen. Among these gems are classics like original King Seiko models and slightly more obscure watches from Ricoh and Takano. Murata-san sources all of these vintage watches himself and the store offers maintenance and after-sales services. The repair section of the store has recently been renovated and is ready to provide for Tokei-ya Tokizaemon customers.
When asked about foreign customers, Murata-san mentions he still does not see many foreign customers at Tokei-ya Tokizaemon, but would love to welcome watch enthusiasts from all over the world to come visit his small corner of Nakano City.
Tokei-ya Tokizaemon
Address: 1-30-8 Arai, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 165-0026
Business hours: 11:30-18:00
Closed: Tuesdays and Wednesdays
https://tokizaemon.jp/
https://tokizaemon.shop/
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