It’s a frustrating and somewhat secretive reality that some of our favorite outdoor brands including The North Face, Montbell and Burton make awesome products that are only available in Japan. The reasons for doing so are myriad, and chief among them is the simple fact that different markets have different appetites for goods — that’s culture.
The thing is, the outdoor market in the US is changing and becoming more accepting of the lifestyle gear that characterizes many of the Japan-only releases. Case in point: Snow Peak’s just-announced collaboration with the Japanese retailer Journal Standard. The collection is small — it features various t-shirts, a small pouch and a tote — but its nostalgic nineties styling has us wishing we were in the Land of the Rising Sun right about now.
The thing is, there is a way to get items only available to Japanese consumers shipped straight to your door, and that’s through a site like ZenMarket. All you have to do is punch in the URL for the item you’re looking at and supply a brief description of exactly what you want (i.e., size, color) and a middle-man-like customer service rep on the other side will buy it for you and ship it across the ocean. (For a more detailed, step-by-step on how this works, check out our guide.)
With this method, you could become one of the only people in the country with one of Snow Peak’s limited-edition tees.
Shop the Collection: HereZenMarket: Here
