TokyoMike Visits K-Skit Japan
Introducing my TSG Column.
First of all, let me start by stating the reason I chose to take pictures of this shop for my first official TSG column…..
About 3 months ago I was online looking at Jeff Staples blog, and he mentioned “a shop in Kichijoji with a ton of heat.” He then remarked something to the effect of “I’m not gonna tell anyone where this spot is…..it’s got too much good stuff in it.” Now, I understand not everyone’s gonna come over here to shop for kicks, but damn, why would a person in his position HIDE information like that?! Your the man that CREATED the Pigeon Dunk SB’s for God’s sake…..it’s not like he’s some run of the mill hater who’s just being a jackass for no reason……he’s (most likely) got access to whatever kicks he wants, so why not spread the love? Anyhow, I thought, just for laughs, and on the odd chance that someone DID come over here trying to find the shop, I’d shed some light on it……so here it is for everyone to look at and think “Holy CRAP those Japanese cats are NOT PLAYING with the whole sneaker thing!!!
The shop Mr. Hater-ass-Staple was talking about (“blogging” if you wanna get all technical about it) is called Kichijoji-Skit. It’s located in Kichijoji (Duh!,) which is more or less a suburb of Tokyo. K-Skit is located about 5 minutes from Kichijoji station and is one of the most popular destinations for shoppers in that area. I’m not certain how long it’s been there, but it’s a constant as far as shops profiled in the popular sneaker/streetwear magazines such as Samurai Mag, Street Jack, and Ollie. If anyone actually wants directions just hit me up and I’ll try to explain exactly how to get there……it’s kinda like trying to find your zipper when you REEEEEEEAAALLLLY have to use the bathroom……..frustrating, difficult, a bit scary at times, but totally worth it!
Skit Japan
I’ve been in Japan for 16 years and this was actually my first time at Skit, although I’ve heard about it for a LOOOONG time……I’m quite the lazy monkey turd, so it takes me a while to get around to anything….even stuff I somewhat enjoy, such as actually using soap when I bathe, paying Federal taxes, and finding the kick a$$ sneaker spots over here in Japan. Anyhow, after about 30 minutes of stalking the streets like a sweaty homeless man looking for a garbage can full of food, I found Skit. As you can see, it almost has TOO much stuff ,if you can imagine that.
This place is JAM PACKED with kicks. I literally puked from sneaker overload when I walked in. It felt like I got Donkey Punched by Superman when I stepped inside. I wanted (NEEDED!) a pretty young lady to walk in, so I had someone to embrace and share this wonderfully passionate moment with, but that never happened, so I took a deep breath, wiped the tears off of my filthy cheeks, and started digging thru the massive sneaker selection. They have everything from DS to beater status kicks, and as far as brands, they have Nike on lockdown, plus a healthy amount of Adidas, Puma, NB, Converse, and a few Reebok, Visvim, Madfoot, and NBHD (Neighborhood made a few pairs of kicks under their own “label” ……news to me too…..I’d never known that.)
The selection of SB Dunks is honestly, completely and utterly staggering. I’ve been to other shops all over Japan, but this place pretty much trumps all of em. DS Melvin’s Bloods for $120.00, VNDS Black/Red Supreme SB’s for $550.00, Tiffs, What The Dunks, just name off every damn nice SB you can think of and it was most likely there, and probably at least 2-3 pairs available…….ALL LEGIT, so before someone asks “are they real??” YES!!!!!!….Everything there is real!!! I personally have about 100 or so pairs of Dunks, so I opted to NOT buy any more Dunks, although getting SBTG’s for under $200 was tempting……but I passed em up, and slipped over to the Air Force section next……… All you Air Force fans, you’d have a horrific, violent seizure and end up smashing your skull into a mess on the corner of a table if you walked into this place…….I don’t even like Forces, but damned if it didn’t take me about 30 minutes to look at em all, and they had an absolutely mind blowing selection. I’s, II’s, III’s, stuff from back in the 80′s….you name it, they got it. Quick question; what store do you live near that you can walk in and get a pair of Espo’s like it’s no big deal?….like you’re buying toothpaste, or a copy of Cat Fancy magazine? K-Skit Fool !!! Skit has that PIFF!!!! Re-diddely-diculous (Word to Ned Flanders!) section of Forces. Nuff said ’bout that.
Now (deep, relaxing breath…..) let’s discuss their Jordan selection (Sweet Baby Jesus, steady my sweaty, trembling typing hands as I discuss this holy subject matter……..amen…….)
I’ve never EVER been to a shop that had this many Jordans. Point BLANK. As a crusty old sneaker fiend who shopped as a kid for OG I’s back in ’85, and as a HUGE fan of the earlier numbered series, I FIEND for OG/Retro 1-6′s…..and I gotta say, I looked like Pookie from New Jack City in this place…..my lips got all white and crusty, I started talking all crazy, somehow I instantly smelled like musty wet clothes and burned crack pipes….it was horrible and wonderful at the same time……they have CASES of OG Jordans. CASES!!!!! Not 1994 Retros (Bow Wow are you listening?!?!)……OG as in 0-FREAKIN’-G 1985 Jordan I’s……WITH THE BOXES!!! Same goes for 2-6′s, and alot of great stuff after that (they’ve got all the J’s, 1-23, and all the hybrids too, although I personally don’t roll like that……)
Skit Japan Sneaker Shop
There is a WALL of nothing but 3′s and 4′s, and I’d have to say, the prices aren’t that bad in most cases. The retro “Cookies and Cream” 4′s were definitely wearable……they had that beloved “Nike Air” on the back that had me sweating hard and stankin’ up the joint real bad…….and they cost………$160.00. Not bad at all in my opinion. The average cost of a pair of retro J’s (1-6′s and beyond,) was about $180.00 depending on how rare it was, and the condition. Again, not bad at all considering the prices you’ll pay on some online sites. You name it, it was there for the taking…….walls of 11′s, walls of 13′s, again, it’s pretty much sensory overload at K-Skit……..and I enjoyed every damn minute of it.
They’re open 5-6 day’s a week from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m………and the staff members seemed pretty cool. The only thing about this place that sucked eggs was…….they only take cash. What’s up with that?….how’s a Baller supposed to go in there and cop 54,643 pairs of kicks?……..you’d need a Brinks truck full of cash to pull it off……..and my ignorant a$$ goes up there with just enough cash to get there and back, and to eat lunch…….so shame on me, lesson learned.
So what DID I have enough to buy you may wonder?….
When I first got in there, the guy at the desk was messing with a pair of Retro Jordan 4′s. Yeah, the Bred joints in the silver box, with that sexy “Air Jordan” on the backside. As I was leaving, I asked him if I could look at em…….barely any wear on the bottom, the uppers are damn near perfect, but the midsole was starting to crack due to them being 10 years old……..I just had to ask how much, even though I only had about $50.00 on me………..
Homeboy said $28.00……………
That’s right you jealous mothersuckers, $28.00 for some VERY DECENT Retro Jordan 4′s, with the damn box…….totally wearable too……..I almost made a little yellow love puddle on the floor when he told me the price!!!!!……. I asked why so cheap, and he pretty much stated that he was just being cool about it and was hooking me up (The conversation was in Japanese and this is my rough, ghetto translation of it)…….I didn’t even have to kiss the guy on the mouth or anything, I just asked how much and homeboy hooked it UP!!!……not a bad ending to my trip at all…….
So there you have it. Now you know what Jeff Stankles was trying to hide from you. Shame on him.
I hope a pigeon poops in his Starbucks, and I hope you enjoyed the info…………and stand the hell by for more stupidity from the land of Sushi, Samurai, and SNEAKERS!!!!!!!!
TokyoMike
Enjoy the rest of the pics.
Category: News
IMPERIAL_D or anyone else who needs to contact me can hit me up anytime at tokyO.mic@gmail.com (some turd licker took TokyoMike as a friggin screen name so I had to improvise….damn it……)
^^–Most shops here don’t carry alot of stuff past size 11….but when you do find em in that size, the prices are really low for some reason…..glad I’m a reg size lol…..4DRUMZ you can just get a few toes cut off and you’ll be good to go……
youve been in tokyo for 16 years and hae never been to skit? i lived in tokyo for 2 and a half years and found skit like my 2nd month there. did you go to napsize? its like 5 minutes from there walking…
trying to hit up the website, but too many ppl must be hittin it up, I cant get to it! I am tempted to buy a plane ticket.. No joke, with the price of J’s over the internet, if I get 4 pairs, I would make up the difference of a plane ticket.
Yo tM i was suppose to come out there this year but things aint work out…i thought their ebay auctions were crazy but now that i’ve actually seen the store i will make it my business 2 shoot 2 JP….oo yea TM another spot in kichijoji u need to check out is napsize.JP just like k-skit!!! i copped some OG navy/black 13 lows for 250(not bad in my opinion)…Show us the places that hit our sneaker G-spot
so i recently went to a Brand Jordan meeting yesterday in Raleigh, NC for Holiday 09. I wasnt quite thrilled when I seen the shoes on the table. Spi’Zike boots are being released(those are a good look) 3 colorways, an all black, all brown, and a blue/magenta(crazy color). They look good. 16.5’s are definately gonna b a great shoe(bred color). now some better news… 60+ doesnt look to good in person. detroit color way is the best. AJF13=WACK… im not a fusion type of guy maybe, but bred ajf13 dont look bad. More news… aj 12 is the 2009 Retro releasing 1 pair a month(oct – dec) all white in oct, bred(flu game) in nov, white n red(never retroed) for christmas. Also a new color way for females blk/purple/green(sample wasnt available)…good news for the Charlotte(surrounding areas),NC it is not confirmed but we(Flava Factory) may end up being the ONLY quikstrike Jordan account in Charlotte.
Yo, TokyoMike is 1 fcukin funny a$$ dude! A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR TM!
shit, looks like I know where I’m going this weekend!! I can’t believe I never heard of this place before, I thought I’d been to all the hot shops here…
GOOD ISH TM. I THINK I’M GOING TO SLEEP IN HERE FOR A WHILE.
OMG!! I have to go there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hmmm…maybe I can trick my wife into going to Japan for her birthday this year instead of El Salvador…I doodooed on myself yesterday looking at the pics, this morning I actually read the article. TokyoMike is a damn fool…in a good way!
This is by far my favorite article on TSG. i’m still tripping off the price for the Retro IV’s more than I am off the pictures. For the longest, I’ve been talking about going to Japan and hopefully living there for the rest of my life. As soon as i get into the Air Force, I’m praying to Jesus that I get stationed somewhere near (if not in) Japan. TokyoMike, you’re the man!
The store is ridiculous but that af1 secction dissapointed me. It’s not that it wasnt nice, but I just kinda expected more. I didnt even see any jewels or embroidered swooshes. The selection is still crazy.
Big ups to TokyoMike for that story. funny and well written. hope its just a sign of many things to come from you tokyomike. Good job!
I’m crying! I’m crying for 2 reasons!
1. Thank you Tokyo Mike and I’m about to change my son’s name to Toyko Mike now! I’m so happy
2. Now I’m crying…please dont say they dont have sz. 12…please Mike, I’m begging you. I can and will go to this place if they have sz. 12…I need to know!
Great read and thanks for the info, but please have sz.12
WOW! i need to go to Japan… ASAP!!! The shoes wrapped in saran, that’s official!
so the only probleme with this palce is prolly finding your size huh….but DAMN! thats like heaven tho loving the pics…nothin butshoes in that store
I juz copped a pair of OLYMPIC VI’s from there for bout close to $700 but DS and Fresh!!!!
Sweet Mary mother of Jesus that’s alot of awesomeness right there. GREAT JOB TMIKE! I especially liked the part about how you instantly turned into a crackhead when you got to the AJ section, LOL.
damn i no exactly were im going for senior beach week f*ck miami lol and the massive inventory is insane… still cant get over those prices
SO THATS WHAT HEAVEN LOOKS LIKE! BIG UPS TO TOKYOMIKE, THAT WAS ONE OF THE BEST COLUMNS I HAVE READ ON THE NET IN A LONG TIME. THAT PLACE IS CLASSIC AND ALSO THE SHOES COME UP WAS CRACK. I AM VERY BUT HURT OVER THE JORDAN 4′S. THANKS LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE LOL
i ran into a place that ran like this in harujuku when i was in tokyo over the summer. i copped some used iron sb hi’s for like $115. It was actually pretty expensive because most of the stuff was DS. I can’t believe that this stuff is so cheap. Other sneaker places in Tokyo are definitely not that cheap. But then again, up until like 5 years ago, the Japanese would prive older shoes lower than the newer ones because they had no concept of collecting or vintage. My friend walked into a store in tokyo like 6 years ago and bought 4 pairs of OG 12s and some OG penny 2′s all for like $300. Now they’re catching on and pricing that shit way higher. Maybe Japanese people really dislike used shoes. that could be why theyre so cheap
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0r_60GxIUM
tokyoMIKE — ur email is wrong, b/c i sent a few emails to u but they bounce back.
oh wow…i almost had a heart attack..omg..das od rite there..im putin this in my bucket list..its gonna be one of my first ones too..juss go up wit 300 gwap..nd im gud…i could juss copp like 3 pairs of ogs nd still have money to do sheeit..prolly buy sum more jays..but littlerally..wen i saw da pics..my jaw dropped..i couldnt like believe dat..nd if there was a place like this in north america..like in 1 week..everything would all be sold out..dead ass..lol
(leaves room goes to funeral home and picks a coffin) i was seriously having a damn siezure ….i ..i ..i …amazing…tmike…u diserve a place in heaven…imma go get ..imma go get ..wow ….i needa go to sleep and just …wow
I gotta pick my jaw up off the floor.
^Joe Crack…..I’ve known about Skit for a long time…..same with napsize and PX a stop over in Okikubo…..I’ve hit PX a million times, just never got around to hitting Skit….there’s so many great spots here, there’s almost no need to go unless you’re looking for something really specific that you can’t track down in the Harajuku/Shibuya area…..I made it a point to go and take the pics for this article because I’d heard it was crazy and I hadn’t been there…..Napsize, PX, and everything else is getting shown eventually…..
XkrispyELI hit me at hercules200091913@yahoo.com
I knew about skit for some months now because a guy on ebay has a store that directly takes you to skit if you click on the link. The only problem is majority of the writing is in japanese and i cant find hardly anything in 11 or 11.5 so i just look at the heat.
DAAAAAAAMN !!! SWEEEEET !!! SHIIIIIIIIT !!! THIS IS CRAZY !! ..
Wish there could be a place like that in Denmark og somethin like that :S!! ..
But hey guys, anyone know what the name to the shoes to the right are? (the last pricture). Its the shoes with an icey sole, a yellow swoosh, some blakc and some ice blue kinda..
I have them, but their just cracked (got the 2 years ago, when i didnt know anything about sneakers). I would like to hear what the model name is for them
. Thanks.
If I was a female this would make me moist..lol..(gross I know)
So I went, and the prices aren’t as spectacular as you’d expect. There were some good deals, but most of the stuff that’s “cheap” are the really beat to shit used stuff. This is especially true when it comes to OG/1st Retro Jordans; all the cheaper ones were very used. Skit def has some serious heat though.
Damn! Tokyomike, you’re the man. I will need some size 13 kicks. Do you take any orders?
Damn!!!
I’m in Tokyo, I need all the directions to that heavenly place!!!!
I am buying my plane ticket within the next 2 months. I will flood the streets of america with Originals jordans after i get out there.
And hittingroove and exfox on ebay are RIP OFFS.
All unwearable sneakers which im sure they are buying for under 50 and reselling at rape prices..No love for the game..
I can’t believe you blogged about this store… ‘This is like the shoe ‘Garden of Eden” I just went there this weekend, and I almost ‘Jizzed in my pants’ lmao… but yeah… You actually have a pic of the kicks I copped…. the ‘Olympic 6′s’ behind the display case Mine ol mine… good Blog tho’
dang, another spot to add to the list. lol