Today I have been running around like a chicken with its head cut off but I wanted to reply to a friend who asked, "Where is the best place in Tokyo to buy physical gold?"
Well, I don't usually do this sort of thing (because someone is sure to say, "I know someplace better!"), but let me tell you the best place I've found (I mean, price and service-wise).
The place is called, Tokyo Kikinzoku Jiganenten. It is 30 seconds walk from the South Exit of Okachimachi Station.
Tokyo Kikinzoku Jiganenten KK
5-21-7 Ueno, Taito-Ku,
Tokyo, Japan 110-0005
株式会社東京貴金属地金店
〒１１０－０００５
東京都台東区上野５丁目２１番７号
ＴＥＬ ０３－３８３６－００５０
ＦＡＸ ０３－３８３６－０２１４
テレフォンサービス03-3836-2200
URL: http://www.tohki.net/
Another good thing about this place is that if you buy over the "legal limit" that must be reported to the tax office, they will allow you to buy without giving your name and address.
Thanks to those businesses who still support the free market! I mean, we buy the gold so that we don't have to pay extra taxes, right?
Hey Mike,
ReplyDeleteI don't know the place, but basically if the dealer is "Kosher" any place will do. The difference in price will be 20 or 30 yen per gram. What I do suggest though is that you should buy the sealed ingots that are from one of the major Swiss Banks. Also if you buy the larger ingots then your price will be closer to the LME (London Mercantile Exchange) price. The only downside to this is that when you are ready to sell or need just a little extra cash to get you through till the end of the month, the smaller ingots such as 50 or 100 grams are just right vs. the kilo bars.
Now the big question is, who has the b@ll$ to go out and buy gold at the current price? My feeling is that Gold still has a ways to go, and is safer than cash. And even more profitable is Silver, but it is a pain to store any large quantities.
Thanks Mark,
ReplyDeleteYes. The price difference is only 20 - 30 per gram... But if you are buying for the long term and buying a few hundred grams at once, that 20 - 30 yen difference is huge over, say, a year or two of buying... Being a cheap bastard, I count my pennies (or, in this case, my yennies)...
Yes, gold still has a long way to go.
Did you see where 440 billion dollars of that 960 billion dollar bailout of Greece came from other EU nations that are bankrupt? PIIGS lending to Greece!?
Gold? See you at $1500 by December 2010!
Just buy it (gold or silver) as a certificate from the perth mint, Australian government backed and they store for you. Like buying shares BUT yuou can take delivery if you ever want to.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.perthmint.com.au/
cheers tim
Great advice, Tim!
ReplyDeleteAnother good thing about Perth Mint is that the Australian government does NOT have a history of confiscating people's gold like the USA does.
Yup you can buy the certificates from many places and the perthmint is a good one. But if you take things to the extreme, and if the isht hits the fan, you may not get to cash in your certificates. Plus I like to stay up late counting by bars of gold ;-)
ReplyDeleteAny idea where to buy silver in Tokyo?
ReplyDeleteJason
Jason,
ReplyDeleteIn Japan, silver carries a huge margin by sellers. To get the price close to spot, you must buy a 32 KILOGRAM bar. If you buy, say, ounces, the markup is sometimes 30% ~ 50%.
Most places sell these 32 kg. bars. If you are a small time buyer, like me, then - considering the markup - gold might be a better deal.
For Silver, look for a place named Tanaka in the the Ginza：http://gold.tanaka.co.jp/index.php
Hi Mike,
ReplyDeleteI see what you mean, crazy markup. Maybe buying in my home town of Australia would be safer anyway, considering a lot of it is produced there anyway!
Jason, Just to illustrate the huge margin in silver. Today is 10/30/10. The spot price of silver is ¥66 to sell and ¥61 to buy.
ReplyDeleteBut a kilogram sells for ¥85,575... No matter how you slice it, that's about a ¥20,000 mark up on a kilo.
Mike, I went to the shop you recommended today. Love it! Excellent service and the price was the best I found (and I compared 11 different shops!)
ReplyDeleteMike, I was looking for a good place to buy silver and thanks to you I did buy 5kg yesterday. It's my part in the Max Keiser campaign. I also noticed that you write for Lew Rockwell and you have a media company. Awesome. The core of my independent film crew here in Tokyo are all dedicated libertarians. Seems we have some things in common. Anyway, thanks again for the silver tip.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mark!
ReplyDeleteJust for information's sake, I bought the silver at Tokyo Kikinzoku, and I only paid less than a 5% markup. Yesterday silver was just above 76000¥/kg and I got it for 80000¥/kg. For someone like me hasn't the money (or strength!) to haul away 32kg bars, that's not bad. Moreover, I have bought gold at Ginza Tanaka before, and while it's a top-notch establishment, you have to pay a 5000¥ service charge on a less than 500g purchase, so actually the silver deal at Kikinzoku is comparable for smaller buys. Furthermore, silver at Tanaka was 82-84000¥/kg or something, although I've never bought silver there so I don't know about their sizes/surcharges.
ReplyDeleteMike, what's the "legal limit" in Japan on buying gold OTC (i.e. purchases over which limit the shop must inform "the authorities")?
ReplyDeletePurchases or sales that exceed ¥2 million yen are to be reported to authorities.
ReplyDeleteKeep this in mind. In the case of gold, a 500 gram bar sells at the same price per gram as a 1 kilo bar... So, it seems prudent to me to buy the 500 gram bars.
Also, use the same store and become friendly with the staff. I have had occasion where they passed along helpful information to help me avoid unnecessary taxes.
HELP PLEASE.
ReplyDeleteHi folks, im looking to buy ¥1 million of silver and 500,000 gold buy cant find a good rate on either compared to the market rate, im new to this so any help would be great.
Many thanks in advance,
Keith in Kobe
just buy an ETF like SLV or GLD. physical silver and gold are extremely difficult to sell if the price drops like it did recently in the first half of May 2011. good luck.
ReplyDeleteHi Mike,
ReplyDeleteDo you think that now is still a good time to buy gold or silver?
So if I wanted to buy without getting hit with a commission I have to buy 500 grams of gold or 28kg of silver as a minimum?
Which shops do you recommend for selling gold and diamond jewlery?
Best,
Chris
Chris,
ReplyDeleteMy favorite place to buy Gold: http://www.tohki.net/
Silver: http://www.tanaka.co.jp/index.html
I think setting a budget and buying a set amount every month, like a monthly savings account, is the way to go.
Thanks Mike,
ReplyDeleteThat's very good advice.
Do you happen to know a good place where I can sell jewlery and diamonds?
Best,
Chris
Chris,
ReplyDeleteMy wife had some jewelry she wanted to sell some time ago, so we visited a few shops and even put it on Yahoo Auction, but coudn't get a good price.
A friend directed me to this website: pmj.irrei.com
They gave me the best price and a very good service, I recommend them.
Good Luck,
Matt
Hi Mike,
ReplyDeleteIs it possible to import silver to Japan? My kids are here and we are wondering if they/we can buy silver from Canada and send it to Japan.
Yes. There are no import restrictions... You'll just pay a levy on taxes... Ships small amounts (under, say, 15 ounces) and you might not get taxed at all
ReplyDeleteIf you are living in Japan and staying here. The best ingots are domestically made and stamped "Tanaka" they are the easiest to trade off in this country as everyone knows Tanaka. Those are much better than swiss made (for Japan)
ReplyDeleteHey Guys,
ReplyDeleteI had a really whacky idea the other day when I realized that Japanese bullion shops will buy your gold for 3% over what you can buy the same gold for abroad. Basically you could pay for your air fare for a holiday buy buying bullion and bringing it back. They only caveat is that there's a 3% terrif for most countries 2.5% terrif for wto countries. It only appears to be terrif free if you work with the ASEAN countries or countries designated as under economic distress. And I believe the metals need to have originated from those countries but I'm not sure how strict.
If anyone knows any good bullion dealers in the ASEAN countries who sell at competitive rates for 1 kg bars post it up here. Maybe it can be come my new part time job ;).
http://finance.indiamart.com/markets/commodity/gold.html
http://www.tocom.or.jp/
https://online.kitco.com/bullion/completelist_USD.html
http://www.perthmintbullion.com/us/Buy-Gold-Bars/1kg-Cast.aspx?productId=23
55,501.14
55614.35
/ 32.1507466
1729.8021504975008320192095350957
http://www.ishifuku.co.jp/market/price/index.html
http://gold.tanaka.co.jp/commodity/souba/index.php
http://www.oanda.com/currency/real-time-rates
4,655
/ 81.538
* 31.1034768
1775.6958044592705241727783364811
1475.515239072943459989398819027 profit per 1 kg bar
0.026531363309111796669712641044108 profit as a % of investment (basically on par with 2.5% wto trade terrif, making the whole thing break even)
shipping
fedex 2200 with insurance for shipping (base 100)
air canada 1100 with insurance for shipping (base 100)
(so you'de have to go and pick it up yourself obviously, but that's the fun of it I guess ;))
terrifs
http://www.customs.go.jp/english/tariff/2012_3/data/i201203e_28.htm
http://www.customs.go.jp/english/summary/tariff.htm
hs code (statistical code) 2843.30 000
general 0.03
wto 0.025
gsp free
the following countries also free under epa
Singapore Mexico Malaysia Chile Thailand Indonesia Brunei ASEAN Philippines Switzerland Viet Nam India Peru
Hi
ReplyDeleteWhat about sellers in Osaka?
Any recommendations for silver/gold?
Cheers
Great blog ...!!! Q: I am in Matsumoto and about to buy G/S fr. the states but had an idea that buying here in Japan would get around shipping plus "registering" now due to the so-called Patriot Act" etc.
ReplyDeleteComments please ...
Michael
Hi Anonymous
DeleteI am living in Myoko area and just saw.your post.
Any idea where to buy Gold in Matsumoto area ? Up to Nagano is good as well .
Which coins would you recomend to buy in Japan .
Thanks for your advice
I'm in Nagano and about to buy g/s fr the states. However, had the idea that buying in Japan would save on the shipping and the required registering due to the "Patriot Act" stateside.
ReplyDeleteComments please....
mike
Hi Anonymous
DeleteI live in Myoko area .
Any idea on where to buy Gold in Nagano area and which coins you recomend to buy in Japan ?
Thanks
Great blog ...!!! Q: I am in Matsumoto and about to buy G/S fr. the states but had an idea that buying here in Japan would get around shipping plus "registering" now due to the so-called Patriot Act" etc.
ReplyDeleteComments please ...
Michael
My partner and I stumbled over here coming from a different
ReplyDeletewebsite and thought I might check things out. I like what I see so now i'm following you. Look forward to looking into your web page repeatedly.
Also visit my web site sell gold (www.yelp.com)
Hi Mike
ReplyDeleteMy friend has bought 5kg gold from Japan. Its in raw form. What is the procedure for clearing the custom duty and taxes to take it with him on the plane? Any idea what is the rate for custom duty. Thanks
5 grams needs no declaration. Tell him to put it in his wallet.
ReplyDeleteHello Mike, I dont know if this forum is still active. If yes, I would like to ask a question. Can i be exempted from consumption tax if i buy daily about 10 kgs gold bars and hand carry them to Hong-Kong?
ReplyDeleteThanks beforehand for your reply.
eric HK
hi mark
ReplyDeletewhat abt if we bring 1 kg gold bar from hongkong n sell in japan, do u think is there any tax problem.....
kindly advised
Well, I don't think you are allowed to internationally bring anything that amounts to more than $10,000 USD without claiming it at customs.
ReplyDeleteif i want to bring Gold bars semi refined for sale in Japan, of purity of 97% , 23 carat.
ReplyDeleteQuantity 10 kilos and above what are the taxes payable.
Any advice on getting jewelers, individuals or refines interested in buying such Gold?
Whenever we want to purchase any metals so that time we see current market rate after that we decide to purchase or not. it is necessary for all because people don't know about market. Everyone know that market is very volatile and there is lots risk. So in this case we have to get knowledge about market.
ReplyDeleteThank you
Mcx Crude Oil Calls
Does anyone know if there are restrictions/licensing on becoming a gold/silver coin dealer?
ReplyDeleteLast 3 month I bring 500g gold bar 999 to japan. we sell at the shop as mentioned above. after that I got rumours anyone bring Gold bar more than 200g will be caught at custom airport for tax impose. anyone knows clearly above this. because we plan want to bring 3kg gold bar to japan. please advice on custom procedure & how much tax will be charge. tqvm
ReplyDeleteI read not exceed 1kg
Delete"Purchases or sales that exceed ¥2 million yen are to be reported to authorities."
ReplyDeleteIs that sales or purchases per day?
So you could theoretically complete a transaction every few days and not have the transactions reported, correct?
Hello, how to sell gold in japan , gold 999 i have stock . I am in malaysia . Anyone are interested to buy gold can contact me . Anyone know the procedure to sell gold or how to sell or bring the gold to japan do let me know . I have gold shop in malaysia , and has gold mines supplier. No issue to supply. I can make jewerlery as well as bar for you .
ReplyDeleteI intend to start Gold dealing in Japan in large quantities of over 100kg; what advise can you give ?
ReplyDelete