Pin trading has become the hottest activity in town -- from first-time Nagano locals to veteran traders from overseas, everyone is getting into the act.

After a slow start, crowds have been building up outside the Pin Trading Center in front of Central Square, the site of daily victory ceremonies for the Nagano Winter Games.

There, pin collectors gawk at commemorative pins in all shapes and colors, while pin traders -- some of whom are savvy veterans of past Olympic campaigns -- hawk their wares.

While most commemorative pins are traded among collectors, sometimes it takes a small fortune to get hold of a rare item.

Masaaki Shinozaki, a first-time pin collector, proudly showed off a newly acquired treasure -- a limited edition heart-shaped Valentine's Day pin which he said cost him 40,000 yen.

Shinozaki, who runs a mushroom growing business in Koshoku, a small town just outside Nagano, says he has been making trips to Nagano almost every day to buy pins. New pins are released by the pin center each day during the 16-day sport extravaganza.

Shinozaki, however, has one regret. He missed a prized pin that was released by the official beverages sponsor of the Winter Games last Saturday. The 1,000 pins, priced at 1,500 yen each, sold out within two hours, well before Shinozaki could make it to town.

''I will be coming every day from now on,'' Shinozaki said.

Treasured pins easily fetch thousands of yen apiece, and veteran traders say the money they make can pay for their travel and accommodation expenses.

One trader from Calgary, Canada, says he has made as much as 150,000 yen in one day.

Ase Kristiansen, a pin trader from Norway, said she was surprised by the thriving business she was doing in Nagano.

''Every morning, I come with a big collection of pins. By the time I leave here in the evening, it would be almost empty,'' she says. (Kyodo News)