CAMP ZAMA, Japan -- This weekend will be a shopper’s paradise as local vendors plan to sell numerous items during a spring bazaar here, while a community yard sale will be held at the Sagamihara Family Housing Area.
About 25 vendors have been setting up booths at the Camp Zama Community Club, which typically hosts two bazaars each year in the spring and winter.
The upcoming bazaar will take place Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It will offer customers a variety of items from antiques, furniture, jewelry, toys, carpets, paintings to trinkets and other Japanese souvenirs that can add flair to a home or be mailed back to family and friends.
“This is offering stuff that maybe some of the community members don’t have convenient access to or are not aware they can purchase off post,” said Azra Pepic, business manager for the club and bowling center.
The one-stop shopping experience may also help the community learn a little more about Japanese culture.
In addition to the other items, customers can buy Japanese snacks and different types of soy sauce. Kimonos will also be available for purchase and there will be a Japanese calligrapher who writes Kanji characters for customers.
“It’s a good cultural experience,” Pepic said.
The winter bazaar is slated for mid-November before the holiday season and Pepic said the club is always looking to expand its vendor list. Only local vendors who are not Status of Forces Agreement members can currently participate.
“If anybody knows someone who has a local business and is interested, they can come by the club and we can give them the information that explains the process of what they need to do,” she said. “We are looking to have more people that will offer their products to our community. The more, the merrier.”
Down the road, the Sagamihara housing area will hold a community yard sale on Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Its next community yard sale is scheduled for Sept. 10.
Housing residents will be able to sell items at their homes, and off-post SOFA residents can set up in the SFHA Club parking lot.
Food sales will be prohibited and private organizations are not allowed to sell items. Also, only SOFA members are authorized to purchase items.
For more information about the community yard sale policy, contact the Housing Office at 263-4818 or 046-407-4818. To rent tables or chairs for use at a yard sale, contact Outdoor Recreation at 263-4671 or 046-407-4671.
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