A Bathing Ape, shortened to Bape, is a Japanese fashion brand that can be hard to come across in the West.
Buying Bape from Japan is often the best way to get the latest and exclusive designs that are constantly being released.
Unfortunately, you will often find that many of the exclusive Japanese Bape releases do not offer international shipping, often making it incredibly difficult to obtain overseas.
This is even more true for those wanting to buy previously released designs on Japan's second-hand marketplaces, where there is next to no English support or options to have you Bape pieces delivered to you.
This guide will help walk you through the process step by step of not only how to get the Bape clothing you want, but we will also show you how to get your clothing shipped to you internationally anywhere in the world.
Why Buy Bape from Japan?
Bape in Japan is a unique fashion line that can't be found elsewhere.
There are many reasons to buy Bape from Japan including choice, price, exclusivity, and those all-important bragging rights.
More Choices
Bape is famous for its exclusive brand collaborations that simply don't exist in other countries.
In Japan, brands often work together to come up with a unique item that appeals to specific audiences, and few companies do it as well as Bape.
They've worked with some of the biggest and most popular brands including:
- Marvel comics
- Pepsi
- Coca-Cola
- Adidas
- Beastie Boys
- Biggie Smalls
- Linkin Park
- SpongeBob SquarePants
...And so many others!
If there's a particularly popular brand you'd love to showcase on your clothing, then the is a good chance that Bape may have already collaborated with them.
You're bound to find a limited-edition product that fits your unique fashion sense.
Cheaper Prices
Japan has one of the most thriving and competitive fashion industries, which is good news for customers!
Fierce competition drives down prices.
If you browse many different online retailers or are willing to bid on a few auctions, then you're likely to find something at a lower price than you'd get in the US or Europe.
Because of this high level of competition, exclusive brand collaborations are available for a lower price than you'd expect.
Exclusive Items
In the Japanese fashion market, clothing ranges are often released to Japanese buyers only. You won't find Bape products in your local high street retailer!
If you want to get your hands on exclusive Japan-only clothing, then you need to buy Bape from Japanese online stores.
Each season, new Bape clothing is released that won't be sold internationally.
Bragging Rights
Let's face it, how many of your friends are wearing Bape?
Whether they've heard of Bape or not, the unique style of your outfit will catch their eye.
After you've put in all the effort to source an item from Japan, you'll have every right to show it off!
However, many online retailers won't ship overseas, so we are here to help!
Here's a step by step guide to achieving your Bape fashion goals from Japan.
Step 1: Translation
Unfortunately, eCommerce stores in Japan are rarely in English for you.
That's typical because most Japanese retailers choose to solely focus on the domestic market only.
Therefore, knowing the name of your desired product is in Japanese can make things a lot easier when it comes to finding what you want.
Whether that's a specific Bape item or a more general term, such as "hoodie", you'll struggle to find what you're looking for if you don't know the local search terms.
Knowing these terms will help to guarantee you find items at the best price unlike if you were to buy your clothing through an English-speaking re-seller.
English isn't widely spoken in Japan, so you shouldn't expect to be able to do business in your native language.
In order to find the Japanese wording, use services like Google Translate for general clothing items, like "T-shirt" or "sneakers".
Bape is often known to name pieces of their clothing range in English even when they are selling to only the Japanese domestic market. This is both a blessing and a curse.
Also Read: HANDY TOOLS FOR FINDING JAPANESE ITEMS
This makes it easy to get the official product name directly from Bape's Japanese website, but that doesn't mean other retail stores or second-hand sellers won't try to translate the product name to Japanese when they create their listings.
We recommend, especially for those of you shopping on Yahoo Auctions! for second-hand Bape clothing, that you try searching both the official English name of the item and a translated version in order to find all the listings available and give you the best chance of finding a great deal.
For specific products, it can be easier to go directly to Bape's Japanese website and copy the name from their item listing.
From there, you can paste the item name into the ZenMarket search bar to find the best results.
Meaning
|
Japanese
|
Pronunciation
|
Coat |
コート |
ko-to |
Overcoat |
オーバー |
o-ba- |
Suit |
スーツ |
su-tsu |
Raincoat |
レインコート |
reinko-to |
Coat / Jacket |
うわぎ |
uwagi |
Underwear |
したぎ |
shitagi |
Underpants / Underwear |
パンツ |
pantsu |
Brassiere / Bra |
ブラジャー |
buraja- |
Swimwear / Swimsuit |
みずぎ |
mizugi |
Jacket |
ジャケット |
jaketto |
pajamas |
パジャマ |
pajama |
Blazer |
ブレザー |
bureza- |
Blouse |
ブラウス |
burausu |
Trousers |
ズボン |
zubon |
Short Pants |
はんズボン |
hanzubon |
Shorts |
ショーツ |
sho-tsu |
Slacks |
スラックス |
surakkusu |
Jean |
ジーンズ |
ji-nzu |
Skirt |
スカート |
suka-to |
Shirt |
シャツ |
shatsu |
T-shirt |
T-シャツ |
T-shatsu |
White Shirt (Business Shirt) |
ワイシャツ |
waishatsu |
Sweater |
セーター |
se-ta- |
Cardigan |
カーディガン |
ka-digan |
Sweat Shirt (Trainer) |
トレーナー |
tore-na- |
Hat / Cap |
ぼうし |
boushi |
Earring |
イヤリング |
iyaringu |
Pierced Earring |
ピアス |
piasu |
Necklace |
ネックレス |
nekkuresu |
Scarf |
スカーフ |
suka-fu |
Ring |
ゆびわ |
yubiwa |
Belt |
ベルト |
beruto |
Shoes |
くつ |
kutsu |
Socks |
くつした |
kutsushita |
Sneakers |
スニーカー |
suni-ka- |
Slippers |
スリッパ |
surippa |
Sandals |
サンダル |
sandaru |
Boots |
ブーツ |
bu-tsu |
Step 2: Search For Bape
Once you have the Japanese name of the Bape item you want, it's time to start searching! If you are not finding any item in particular, you can paste アベイシングエイプ into the search bar for all products relating to A Bathing Ape.
Use the ZenMarket search bar, by copying and pasting your search term and see what offers are currently available.
Remember to also check the biggest retailers like Amazon, Rakuten, then Mercari or Yahoo Auctions! if you are looking for some great Second-hand deals.
Second-hand stores, in particular, may reveal a list of bargain Bape products.
If you worried about buying second-hand, don't be. Japanese is famous for its second-hand market having items that are like new.
Generally speaking, Japanese people tend to take great care of the items they own and so second-hand items can look brand new compared to second-hands you may be used to finding in your local markets.
If you can find what you are looking for on ZenMarket, then feel free to search for items directly on other Japanese websites.
If you find what you are looking for on another site, but they don't ship items internationally, don't worry!
You can just copy and paste the URL of the item you want into the ZenMarket search bar.
After confirming that it's the product you want, our team will make it available for purchase.
We'll process the Bape order within Japan and then ship it directly to you!
Also Read: HOW TO BUY FROM URBAN RESEARCH
Step 3: Filter Results
Once you've found a list of potential purchases from ZenMarket, you'll be greeted with several options.
For instance, is the item available for bidding or can you buy it straight away?
Does the item come in original packaging? If not, it might be a second-hand auction item.
Be sure to read the item description carefully, since items of ZenMarket come from sellers all across Japan, and not every seller will describe their items the same way.
If you sort through the results carefully, you could find an incredible bargain!
To help you sort through everything, use the filter options listed above the search results.
You should then buy and plan to ship all your items at once to help save even more money when it comes to shipping and import taxes you may face.
Also Read: WHERE TO SHOP IN JAPAN: TOP BRAND SELECT STORES
Step 4: Confirm Details
Before you part with your cash, remember to double-check the details carefully.
Go to the item page and read everything on the product description. You'll be able to work out whether you're getting exactly what you want.
Double-check the price and look through the photos to ensure you're happy with your purchase.
Remember that the shipping date refers to when it will arrive at the ZenMarket warehouse.
From there, we'll package it up and send it to you from Japan.
Due to the international shipping involved it important to check the details are correct the first time, as trying to return items once they have traveled overseas will likely not be an available option unless the item arrives damaged or not as described.
Also Read: THE TOP 10 JAPANESE STREETWEAR BRANDS YOU NEED TO KNOW OF
Step 5: Confirm Purchase
If you're certain that the Bape products you have found are for you, then click add to cart.
This will send the products to ZenMarket staff, who will be able to confirm their availability and price.
Once they have, you'll receive a notification informing you that you can now send your payment for the Bape clothing.
And that's it!
Sit back, relax, and wait for your exclusive Japanese Bape clothing to arrive.
Once you've got the hang of it, using ZenMarket is just like shopping at any other online retailer.
The difference is that we give you access to products that aren't usually available in your country.
It's worth the extra effort of looking up the Japanese term to get your hands on Bathing Ape products designed exclusively for the Japanese market, particularly when many of these items are sold for a limited time only and then disappear forever - unless you are lucky enough to find them on Yahoo Auctions! later down the line.
Also Read: ZENMARKET'S FULL GUIDE ON YAHOO AUCTIONS
If you need more information on how to shop with ZenMarket you can click the blog below to check out our full in-depth guide on how to shop using ZenMarket, which will teach you everything you need to know about how to buy ANYTHING you want, not just Bape appeal, directly from Japan and have it shipped to your front door anywhere in the world.
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