Aug 3, 2013 - 2 min read

Make Man's Garden and Lumber Center

An expanded selection of plants and building materials

By Michael Flemming

Community writer

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Make Man can easily be identified by the hammer-wielding monkey on its sign

If you'd like to bring home shisa dogs that can withstand typhoons while on top of Okinawan homes, Make Man has that too

Starter indoor plants are attractively priced and incude a colorful pot

Flowers and ground cover for next to nothing neatly arranged in Make Man's garden center

Got lumber?

If one of your tire sidewalls fail while driving to Make Man - as mine did - the low tire prices include mounting, valves and balancing

Just as contractors flock to Home Depot and Lowes back in the United States, Make Man's building materials center is packed with workers gathering the items needed for their next project

I once spent an hour and a half in a restaurant supply store in Bangkok looking at the interesting sinks, tables, grills and ovens although I had no intention of making a purchase. As a long term visitor to Japan I don't necessarily need to buy 25 meters of flexible corrugated pvc drain pipes either, but I still wander the aisles of Make Man's garden and lumber center imagining how I could use these items if my stay ever officially become permanent. Make Man is a Japanese big box style home improvement center. Inside the air conditioned interior of its main store shoppers can find anything from pet supplies to auto supplies to sports equipment, appliances, tatami, bedding, housewares and lighting accessories. I spend a great deal of time wandering outside of the main part of the store to loiter in the the aisle of plant seeds and by the sheds and cement mixes. I miss owning a home in the United States to be able to create my own never ending string of projects and oft wonder what I'd do first with my home here if I do select Okinawa as my eventual retirement location. Make Man in Uruma City is located at the eastern-most intersection of Gushikawa Loop Route 224 and Route 85. The store is open daily from 09:30 ~ 20:00.