If you are reading this, then you probably already know that buying Japanese fishing tackle from Japan is significantly cheaper than buying it in America, Oceania or Europe. Perhaps, you have been buying fishing rods and reels from Japan for a long time, or maybe you are new to the world of importing Japanese fishing tackle. Where, what, and how to buy is a decision that you must make. Everyone has their own preferences regarding the way and place they like to shop for fishing tackle from Japan. Some customers like to buy new items on sites like ZenMarketPlace or Rakuten, and others are looking for bargains on Yahoo! Auctions.

This is our guide to Japanese fishing tackle sites that we recommend. We hope that this information will help new customers to understand what options there are and what to expect, and for those "experienced users" to learn even more about other opportunities they may be missing.

First, let's look at the four largest and most popular stores: Rakuten, Yahoo Shopping, Amazon and Yahoo! Auctions.

Rakuten Japan and Yahoo! Shopping

These two platforms are very similar. Usually, these platforms have the same products at almost the same price. The reason being that most Japanese fishing merchants sell their goods on both Rakuten Japan and Yahoo! Shopping. If you can't find the item you're looking for here, then it is most likely not available on other stores too. We recommend that you try not to split one order between the two platforms, but rather buy one order from just one of the platforms to save on domestic shipping within Japan. If you are planning to purchase two goods, let's say, from Naturum, but you have added one product from Rakuten to your cart, and one from Yahoo! Shopping, the store will send your goods separately, therefore costing you more on domestic shipping. Add goods from one store on one platform - and everything will be fine.

HINT! You can view other products from the same store by clicking on the store's name in the upper right corner on the product page. (see the image below)

Also, some stores offer free shipping on orders above a certain price. Usually, this amount varies from 5,000 to 10,000 yen, but there may be exceptions. If you plan to purchase several items from one store, check if they have free shipping available.

Amazon Japan

As for fishing tackle, Amazon Japan has a slightly smaller selection. However, in most cases, Amazon offers more information about the product itself (photos, specifications and reviews) and a more specific delivery date. In regards to Rakuten or Yahoo! Shopping, there are stores that only report on the availability of goods only after placing the order, which, of course, is not very convenient for the buyer. However, Amazon has a drawback - it’s not possible to ask questions to sellers (usually this is compensated by decent descriptions of the products, but it’s still unpleasant).

Yahoo! Auctions

If you are looking for options for budget purchases, check Yahoo! Auctions. There are opportunities to purchase used fishing tackle in excellent condition - models that are no longer produced, or which are not available from other online sites. In most cases, you can find a fishing bargain. Many Japanese are selling spinning rods, which were only used a couple of times. But we must not forget that they are used items and sometimes the description of the state of the goods may be subjective. If you decide to buy from Yahoo! auctions, please be careful when reading the description of the goods and check the seller's feedback.

And don't forget about domestic shipping. It may be different depending on the seller, so make sure you double check before bidding. This can help you save an extra dollar.

Learn more about using Yahoo! Auctions on our site here.

ZenMarketPlace

ZenMarketPlace has thousands of fishing tackle from the very best Japanese fishing merchants and the selection continues to grow. Here's a list of the fishing stores currently available on ZenMarketPlace, take a look:

- AZ Japan

- Ueshima

- Legame

ZenMarketPlace is regularly updated so keep your eyes out for a good bargain. ZenMarketPlace has major advantages that beat all the other mentioned platforms:

There's no service fee:

Even though ZenMarket's service fee is objectively low, you will save more money on ZenMarketPlace buying your fishing tackle, especially if you plan on buying lots of different goods.

3% cash back on every order:

Although 3% may not seem like a big deal, it adds up when you purchase an expensive item or order various items. The cash back will be added to your account within 2 weeks after your items have been sent from our warehouse. 

No waiting:

ZenMarketPlace's items are already priced checked, meaning the order will go directly go to the store. Therefore, you do not need to wait for confirmation of the price and there's no worry that your goods won't be bought in time.

Other stores

In Japan, there are loads of different fishing tackle online stores. These stores are not represented on our site, but we can still accept orders from them. To place an order, copy the URL link of the product and paste it into our search bar.

Here are 3 of the most significant:

Yellowfish

This shop sales used tackle. We recommend this site to those who are looking for used fishing rods and reels at low prices but are not ready to take risks associated with orders from auctions.
The range they have is pretty extensive and they offer detailed descriptions of their goods. You can learn how to order from Yellowfish through ZenMarket here.

General information:

The shipping cost in Japan is 1080 yen (they do not combine spinners with reels, so in this case, the delivery will be charged twice). Shipping normally takes up to 3 days after ordering. 

Naturum

Perhaps, you have already bought from this store on Rakuten, but if you are interested in the goods from this seller, then we advise you to make an order from their website. On Rakuten Japan, shipping will cost 680 yen a time, but the original online store offers free for many products. Also, shipping is free for orders over 6.500 yen.

The site has a simple interface. All categories are available in the drop-down menu on the left:

*Please note - we can not send stoves or burners.

CasterHouse

CasterHouse is a Japanese fishing store. And in our opinion, one of the best in Japan. It seems that our customers share this opinion and often order products from there.
CasterHouse does not have an English version and it doesn't accept credit cards, but what is so attractive about it?
First of all - the prices. They often offer the lowest prices and also have massive sales throughout the year.
You can see their sales through Google translator here.

Another advantage of CasterHouse is free domestic shipping for purchases over 5,000 yen.
Large fishing stores often trade on several Internet platforms and do not accurately reflect the availability of goods in stock. CasterHouse has no such problem. It sells only through their official website, so everything that is shown on their site is in stock.

We hope this blog post helped you with the advantages and disadvantages of online fishing stores in Japan.
If you noticed that we forgot to include some of your favorite Japanese fishing sites, be sure to let us know. We will be happy to add it to our list so our future readers and customers will be able to learn even more.

About ZenMarket Japan

“Most Japanese online retailers don’t ship internationally, but we solve this problem. We buy, consolidate and ship Japanese goods to your address. Our goal is to make buying Japanese goods online as smooth as possible. We have integrated the biggest Japanese online shopping websites: Rakuten, Amazon and Yahoo! Auctions. You can also make purchases from any other Japanese online shop or auction with us. Just add an item URL from the desired product page to the cart and place the order.” — From the website about section.

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