In the basement of Itabashi Ward's Ecopolis Center, knives, pots, umbrellas and other knickknacks find a lease on life.

Thrifty and environmentally aware consumers come here to visit the Gendai Ikakeya, or modern repair shop, which is nestled beside a recycled goods boutique in the basement of this three-story building.

Here Akira Mori and Nobuaki Fujimoto, along with two others, take turns breathing new life into old things.