Obata Antiques: Tokyo's collectibles

Trash or treasure? You decide at Tokyo's Obata Antiques in Asakusa. At first glance, Kototen's Obata emporium feels like you just got tossed into a disorganized mess of your grandmother's collectibles. Spend some time filing through the junk, and you'll find a welcome throwback knickknack not often found in Tokyo.

Obata's trinkets and do-dads spill onto the street close to the tourist strip leading to Asakusa's Sensoji Temple. In front of the shop, objets d'art include earthenware sake bottles, waxed paper umbrellas, statues of bare-breasted goddesses, kimonos, stone lanterns and the top half of a kendo suit.

If old-style brass coins, black-and-white postcards, or military medals are totally your thing, sneak a peek into the glass-topped counter. Or jaunt over to the cupboards stuffed with ivory 'netsuke,' traditional dolls and miniature Rising Sun flags. A word of caution: Don't move too quickly around the shop as things like replicas of swords hang in precarious balance across set of mounted deer antlers overhead. Your safest option? Japanese abacuses and 'ukiyoe' wood-block prints.