Unfortunately, the owner of Sansui-en, Mr. Manabu Kasahara died unexpectedly in October, 2017 and this fine stone shop is closed for business.

Several stone dealers have temporary sale areas in the Green Club during the Koufu-ten held in Tokyo in early February of each year. The extensive sales area at the Green Club is held in conjunction with the finest national exhibition of bonsai in Japan and the finest public exhibition of suiseki held in this country. The exhibitions are held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in Ueno Park, and the Green Club is a short distance from there. A free shuttle bus runs every fifteen to twenty minutes between the museum and the Green Club. This is an excellent opportunity to see and compare stones and to purchase display tables or accessory items relating to the display of quality stones. Go to the second and third floor to find the stone dealers. Smaller exhibitions of stones are held in the Green Club throughout the year, and these often have a few stone vendors present.

Shunkaen is the leading bonsai nursery in Tokyo and well worth visiting because of its beautiful setting, excellent trees, and multiple tokonoma displays that incorporate both trees and stones. [not sure that’s quite right] Thee nursery also has an impressive number of quality viewing stones, display tables, dobans and suibans for sale. Foreign visitors are often met by the English-speaking manager, Jin Yasufumi, who eagerly facilitates visits to this outstanding nursery. If you are fortunate, you may encounter the affable owner Kunio Kobayashi during your visit.

This is an excellent stone shop in the southern part of Kyoto that is owned and operated by Toshio Kawai. Mr. Kawai and his family also have many fine dobans, suibans, and accessories for sale in this shop. They are one of the few stone shops that have shifted to online sales on the Internet. They ship items overseas. They are closed on Sundays and it is best to contact them in advance of a visit.

Shizuoka Kottoukan is owned and operated by the Amono family. Amano Masaru has been collecting Japanese antiques for many decades and has been a major supplier to the bonsai and viewing stone dealers and other customers. The Kottoukan has some Chinese and Korean antiques. Their three-story warehouse is filled with every possible type of antique imaginable ranging from furniture, display tables, subian, doban, suiseki and accessories, scrolls, kimona, dolls, and other toys. This business may have the largest number of items for use in displaying stones in Japan. If you visit here, allow several hours for browsing.

We have purchased many display tables, books, and accessories from Shizuoka Kottoukan, and we highly recommend this supplier. Their packing of items for shipping or carrying on flights is excellent. They do ship items to many countries and accept many credit cards.