i will be traveling to Japan in March 2023 and visiting Tokyo and Kyoto. i am looking to for toy store suggestions. i mainly collect sofubi but any and all suggestions would be much appreciated!
I made a trip to Tokyo in 2018. Things can change very fast there, and I imagine the pandemic hasn't been kind towards many retailers. That being said, even focusing on vinyls, it can still depend on your preferences. Like vintage? Modern? Kaiju? Designer? It was kinda tricky for me to find the sorts of things I wanted amongst the endless sea of anime figurines in most collectible shops. But, if my experience back then is still relevant now at all, the multiple Mandarake stores were the best spots to find good vinyls. Keep in mind, you likely won't exactly find outrageous bargains at their stores, but you might find some good stuff. There are several different locations in Akihabara, Nakano Broadway, Shibuya, and Ikebukuro. I visited all accept Ikebukuro, and now I'm seeing more compounds listed both there and in Akihabara popping up on the map. But check first, some might only specialize in Manga or something else like that. Nakano Broadway by far had the best variety. Nakano Station is sorta like a full shopping center, so instead of 1 big Mandarake, it's separated out into several different mini Mandarake shops scattered throughout, and each specializes in different collectables. But in addition to those Manderake shops, there are a bunch of other vendors, some of which sell a few vinyls here and there. I still regret not buying a Marmit 'Matango Man' I saw off in the corner of the mall. I hope those places survived! Some really neat shops. Another couple places were in (or near) Akihabara. Golden Age seemed to have a ton of vintage, but very unpredictable hours. Jungle had some vinyls I think, but seemed to be moving more towards other sorts of collectables. Looks like One-up recently moved shop from Akihabara over near Nakano! I would DEFINITELY put there shop on my list if you like their toys. OOOOF, and I just saw Monster Labo closed their Akihabara store permanently . I went in there and mostly only saw Godzilla/Ultraman/Gamera stuff. But, I'd have recommended that place if it had stayed open. Lastly, don't forget to check this older thread with lots of contributions from other Skullbrain members. Anyway, good luck! Bring me back something nice
wow thank you for all the info. i can’t wait to get there - my taste varies. i don’t collect anything anime, mostly vintage, modern and designer toys. the store one-up looks amazing. it seems very overwhelming the amount of stores that are there so i have to look through that previous thread map of stores. one thing i want to make sure i find while i am there are toys from Shelterbank considering it seems very difficult to get them here.
I have not been on skullbrain for years and this is the first thread I clicked on. Wow very nice sentiment in your response SpectralNight ⚡⚡ Too bad Home Rice closed. Godzilla-Ya in Koenji Tokyo is still open that's a very good spot for vintage.
Definitely want to check in at any of the Mandarake locations for Shelterbank. For vintage I'd highly recommend Cosmo Knight Alpha (never been myself but they seem to have a really great selection of toys).
Yoda has a ridiculous amount of vintage. Like, *everywhere* in his shop. And it’s a very, very small space so it’s packed wildly tight. It’s so much fun to look in every nook and crevice. His pachi offerings impressed me most.
