endless rambles » Tokyo Toy Shops

Tokyo Toy Shops – Jan 2010 Updates

chaz — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:56:16 +0000

After much procrastinating, I've finally updated my Tokyo Toy Shops posts. The shops are still basically the same. I did check out one or two new shops, but nothing to post about. The main shops are still going strong.

The Jan 2010 updates are in blue. There are pics of shop fronts and the interior of the shops themselves to give you an idea of what to expect and find. I'm planning my 2011 trip, will update more then! :P Have fun toy shopping in Tokyo!

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Tokyo Toy Shops – 4 of 4 : Akihabara

chaz — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 01:00:42 +0000

There are a few places to visit in Akihabara. The main one would be the Big Yellow Sign Building. At the JR Akihabara station, look for the Electric Town Exit and exit through the left side. Once out, on the right the distance should be the building.

Jan 2010 UPDATE: Updates in Blue. Check the pics out below!

There are about 4 floors to explore in the building with a variety of toys. You should be able to find all brands here. The best thing is that both Kotobukiya and Kaiyodo has stores in the building! Kotobukiya has a few stores on the different levels, each with some pretty fancy shop front windows.

12 inch fans should also be able to find some nice lose items on sale too. They have some pretty cool zombie headsculpts as well.

I really love how the stores here display all the toys in their full glory. It makes one drool on seeing them and that’s half the battle won in terms of getting someone keen to buy the item.

You can also find some weapon shops which have pretty damm cool weapons on display.

One should also check out the main streets of Akiharaba. Instead of turning left on the Electric Town Exit turn right and then left and walk to the main road where you should see some electrical shops on the left and the buildings in front of you as shown in the pic below.

From here, turn right and walk down the road all the way. The google map at the bottom tells you where to turn back as there’s nothing further up. Along the road you will be able to find some Anime/Game/DVD shops, some of which have toy floors up above. You will also come across some toy stores that sell some 2nd hand toys. Below is a pic of one such store.

I managed to find some vintage Transformers figures as well as other cheaper 2nd hand stuff that were pretty good value. These 2nd hand toys are usually not too bad as they are checked before being put on sale. And some have not even been opened before. So a mix of old and new.

Along is the same street is this place call GoldenAge. It’s a pretty cramp store, but there’s heaps of stuff there. Vintage & new Transformers, GI Joe, Star Wars, and heaps more American stuff.

Near to GoldenAge is another store which sells 2nd had stuff on the ground floor, as well as new stuff on the floors above. I found a Fortress Maximus there! Though the box was in bad condition and it costs nearly SG$2,000. heh. There was also this figure called Prisman?!?? Shesh, you’ll find all kinds of toys in these shops.

On the top floor, lies a floor nearly fully dedicated to Star Wars stuff. You can find really old vintage stuff still in good condition in box as well as brand new stuff. Really cool!

Another place to check out is Yodobashi Akiba which you can see the huge building from the subway platform. You can see the google map below for directions

Akihabara is a definite must visit for any toy enthusiast. There are always toy stores opening and closing so every visit is a new experience. It’s a fun place to check out the 2nd hand shops and find some real gems hiding from sight.

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Tokyo Toy Shops – 3 of 4 : Ueno

chaz — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 01:00:48 +0000

One of the more impressive toy stores is 7 floors high Yamashiroya. The store is home to carries all sorts of toys and is one of few places that has a good collection of 12 inch figures. Even though they are a bit more expensive than what you can find in Singapore (as seen in the Indy pic below), there is a wide selection of lose clothing, weapons, etc. that is hard to find in SG.

Jan 2010 UPDATE: Updates in Blue. Check the pics out below!

The store also has a wide collection of Star Wars as well. Especially the one of a kinda Disney Star Wars figures!

Not forgetting the large collection of Gundam and Macross.

The store is a good place to check out and they have a huge variety of toys.

Things haven’t changed much since I was last here. The variety of toys available continues to excite me. Below are some of the latest pics I took.

So how do you get there from Ueno JR Station? Well exit from the Central Gate exit. This is also where the Ueno Hard Rock Cafe can be found. Once you exit walk out and in front across the road should be the building in front of you to the right side!

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Tokyo Toy Shops – 2 of 4 : Harajuku & Shibuya

chaz — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 01:00:48 +0000

Along Omotesando-dori lies Kiddy Land. A building full of various toys for all ages. With the top floor holding mainly action figures, 12 inch figures and other stuff.

Jan 2010 UPDATE: Updates in Blue. Check the pics out below!

The shelfs in Kiddy Land are kept pretty up to date. You’ll find current stuff here.

Along Cat Street is a small shop called AstroMike. Selling some vintage 80s & 90s toys as well as current toys. Pretty good to find some rare and old stuff.

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Nearby Harajuku is Shibuya and Mandarake can be found there. Refer to the map below. From the pic of the entrance above, the stairs lead down to B2 where you will find the shop. It’s a pretty huge underground space with lots of anime dvds, manga and toys. Though the toy selection may not be as big as other places, I have found some hard-to-find stuff there in my past two trips. Good for Transformers, Macross, Gundam, small range of 12 inch figures and Otaku stuff.

I’ve added some pics of how it looks down there. Pretty cool underground toy shop.

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Tokyo Toy Shops – 1 of 4 : Nakano & Shinjuku

chaz — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 01:00:10 +0000

Nakano is not as well known a place to find toys, but down at Nakano is Nakano Broadway with 4 floors of toy shops. Mandarake’s main shop is situated there amongst a variety of shops where you will find anything from Star Wars, Macross, Otaku, transformers, 12 inch figures, etc. I found this place has some rare finds as well as some good vintage toy shops. So how do you get there? Well Nakano lies 3 stops away from Shinjuku station on the JR Chuo line (Rapid). You can also take the line from Tokyo or Kanda station. The line is the orange coloured line. One you reach Nakano station, there are only two exits, North or South.

Jan 2010 UPDATE: Updates in Blue. Check the pics out below!

Take the North exit and you will see the crossing and building as in the first picture above. Walk towards the glass covered walkway and walk all the way till you see Nakano Broadway as in the visual below.

Once you enter there is an escalator on the left. That will lead you to the 3rd floor right to Mandarake.

Mandarake has smaller shops on the other floors as well. Altogether, check out the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors. You can use the staircase to navigate thru the floors.

I took more pics of Mandarake to give you an idea of the kinda stuff you can find there. Boxes and boxes of 2nd hand stuff. Some brand new too!

Just opposite the main store, Mandarake also sells comics! Though mainly Japanese comics with some english ones spread about.

Mandarake’s smaller stores on the other levels are themed and specialises in different toys and genres. Below is the vintage toys store.

Below is their store which has more mainstream stuff, especially new and old Transformers!

Below is one that specialises on SciFi stuff, including 12 & 31/4 inch toys. This has pretty cool stuff! New and 2nd hand.

And of course there are the random stores that sells all kinda stuff, heaps of Star Wars toys, Gundam, 12 inches, DC, Marvel, Marcross, Transformers, etc. I could keep on going.

Below is where it lies on Google maps. Nakano and Akihabara are the places I recommend to visit if you are short of time.

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I couldn’t find many toy shops in Shinjuku except for two. Yodobashi is basically an electronics store which has a pretty neat toy section. The store has a few shops in the buildings around the area, you can check the store’s map when you get there to find your way around. The toy section lies in the basement of the section that sells the PS3, Wii and Xbox. It has a large variety of Star Wars, Gundam, Macross, Otaku and many others. Worth a look.

Pics of the Macross shelf.

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