Records and radios fill the front counter at Big Mama on Base Side Street in Fussa, Japan. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
Base Side Street, the section of National Route 16 that runs along the eastern flank of Yokota Air Base, is a slice of America in western Tokyo.
The 1950s Americana vibe on Base Side and the streets behind it lend the neighborhood a certain small-town charm. The area is filled with restaurants and shops of many types – clothing, antique and knickknack shops among them.
Some of the knickknack shops have neat vintage items for sale. We explored three to see what retro treasures we might find.
Big Mama on Base Side Street in Fussa, Japan. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
Big Mama
Big Mama is a wooden structure that sticks out among the other shops. It’s filled with a ton of vintage items and knickknacks from the 1950s to the 1990s.
We found tableware and promotional items, including cups from fast-food restaurants Jack in the Box, Wendy’s, Big Boy and Del Taco, Shell gas stations and Holiday Inn.
Big Mama also has quite a few large 1950s-style tin signs for Pepsi-Cola, 7UP and Coca-Cola for 3,000 yen or about $23.
The shop also sells posters of pop culture icons like Marilyn Monroe, James Dean and Elvis Presley and vintage Disneyland posters for 800 yen. Posters made from Life magazine covers sell for 1,000 yen.
Fire King mugs and other vintage tableware at Big Mama on Base Side Street in Fussa, Japan. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
Customers can also buy Southwest and United airline badges from the 1960s and 1950s and Continental Airways for 1,500 yen.
Cool finds at the front of the store included vintage sailor hats, or covers, called dixie cups and other hats made in Japan.
The shop also sells Coca-Cola in a bottle for 300 yen. The bottle opener is at the register, right on top of a map of the U.S.
While Big Mama has a fine selection of record cases and phonographs, sadly it has only a few records for sale. We saw some vinyl by The 5.6.7.8's, the all-female Japanese rockabilly band that is famous in the West for its performance in Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill, Vol. 1.”
April Flash on Base Side Street in Fussa, Japan. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
April Flash
Just a short walk from Big Mama is the insanely cluttered April Flash.
The words USA JAPAN are painted on the front of the building and an American flag with the phrase, “A touch of the United States of America in Timeless Fussa Tokyo.”
The store is overwhelming; there is so much stuff that it is tough to know where to start looking. Collectibles fill the store from floor to ceiling, with no apparent logic in either display or inventory. Nothing is categorized, and merchandise is randomly displayed around the store.
Clothing, signs and knickknacks fill April Flash on Base Side Street in Fussa, Japan. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
April Flash is the place to find Beatles keychains and pins with art from Beatles album covers and the animated movie, “Yellow Submarine,” for 500 yen.
Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Popeye and even “Beavis and Butt-Head” keychains range from 800 to 1,200 yen.
Among the odd finds at April Flash is a clock built around Gumby, the animated figure of green clay from American TV of the 1960s and ‘70s. Gumby’s arms are the clock hands. It sells for 7,900 yen.
Action figures from the original 1960s TV series “Batman” sell for 1,600 yen; “Star Trek” action figures go for 7,000 yen.
Narnia Collective on Base Side Street in Fussa, Japan. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
Narnia Collective
Narnia Collective, a bright yellow building, swings to the other side of the Boomer rock era with a display of Rolling Stones paraphernalia, including the lips-and-tongue logo in the store window. The claim is that the sign was somehow included in Rolling Stones performances.
Like Narnia from its namesake “Chronicles of Narnia” book series, this shop seems otherworldly, a treasure trove for collectors of rare, vintage items. Therefore, the merchandise here is pricier than things in April Flash or Big Mama.
Narnia customers must be 18 or older, which is understandable given all its breakable and expensive items, including amplifiers and guitars from the 1960s to 1980s.
The shop has a selection of Japanese items, including enamel signboards of Japanese advertisements from Showa-era Japan and pop-culture posters from 1950s and ‘60s kaiju, or giant monster films, “Godzilla” and “Mothra.”
Narnia stands out for its inventory of secondhand military items. It sells hydration backpacks for 7,800 yen, vintage gas masks for 8,000 yen, and a variety of uniform items, including blouses and trousers, covers and pins.
For collectors of vintage themed and authentic retro items, I recommend checking out these stores on Route 16.
On the QT
Big Mama
Location: 2485 Fussaninomiya, Fussa, Tokyo 197-0014
Directions: A short walk from Yokota Air Base’s Supply Gate.
Times: Open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and Friday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
April Flash
Location: 2364-, 899-1 Fussa, Tokyo 197-0011
Directions: A short walk from Yokota Air Base’s Main Gate.
Times: Open daily, 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Narnia Collective
Location: 2477-3 Fussaninomiya, Fussa, Tokyo 197-0014
Directions: A short walk from Yokota Air Base’s Supply Gate.
Times: Open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily; closed Monday.
