What to buy where
One rule covers most of this: buy in the brand's home country, or in the material's home region. Everything else is detail.
The rule works because two of the six mechanisms do most of the heavy lifting across borders. Regional brand pricing means a label is cheapest where it is ordinary and dearest where it is exotic. Proximity to production means every intermediary you remove is a margin you keep. A destination that satisfies neither condition will not reward a shopping detour, whatever the exchange rate is doing.
United States
US prices are high, but American apparel, outdoor gear and supplements still run 1.6–3× cheaper than in Japan. What to buy, and how sales tax works.
South Korea
Korea is cheapest on anything involving skilled hands: eyewear with the exam included, cosmetics, dermatology. What is worth the flight, and the risks.
Italy
Tuscan tanneries and Belluno frames mean leather and eyewear run 1.6–2.5× cheaper at source, before VAT refund. Where to buy, and how to spot fakes.
United Kingdom
Northampton shoes and British knitwear run 1.5–3× cheaper at source. But the UK scrapped traveller VAT refunds after Brexit — budget accordingly.
France
French luxury at home-boutique prices with a VAT refund lands 1.3–1.6× below Japanese retail. Cookware and pharmacy skincare go further.
Germany
Not glamorous, hard to get wrong: Solingen blades, German hand tools, original-language board games and dm basics run 1.5–3× cheaper than in Japan.
Thailand & Vietnam
Where labour is most of the price, the price collapses: dental work at 1/3 to 1/5, bespoke suits at 1/3 to 1/6. Target what is made for you.
Taiwan
The closest price gap to Japan. High-mountain oolong, dried goods and PC components run 1.2–4× cheaper, and low costs make the airfare easy to recoup.