Many shops in surrounding districts such as Asakusabashi specialise in samples of various other types of products. For instance one might sell beads and another

Many shops in surrounding districts such as Asakusabashi specialise in samples of various other types of products. For instance one might sell beads and another umbrellas. Like in a department store, the shops tend to be clustered functionally, so walking sticks might be near umbrellas. These stores around Asakusabashi are actually "show rooms" for national distribution networks.