Open only twice a year for 10 days each time, walking into the warehouse of Kyoto Art and Antiques feels like stumbling into the past — namely, the storerooms of an early 20th century trader with Japan. Tansu, lacquerware, stone lanterns, shoji; not much is newer than 100 years old, but in beautiful condition, piled to the rafters and priced comparatively less than, say, vintage Danish pieces — we thought we had won the lottery when we visited last night.

A few of the many, many tansu (chests of drawers) were made so tightly and well that closing one drawer displaced air to gently push out another — most priced under $1,000. We picked up a couple of antique, hand-carved manju (baked bean cake) molds from an overflowing basket of them, for $5 each.

It's almost a shame to let the cat out of the bag on such a well-kept secret, but it's really too amazing not to share. The sale runs through October 12 — don't miss it!

(Edited from a post originally published 5.2.08)