I am gonna be in Tokyo for about a week towards the end of August- and I can wait! Except for the streets being pathed with Older/Rarer RxH I am particularly looking forward to the food and just about everything else.

I would be interested where people think I sould visit while Im there, I have the address of the Secret Base shop and Intend on visiting the RxH shop also (but do not have the address, and forgive my ignorance but is it even in Tokyo? I was just assuming). Also is Mandarake nearby too?

Again, a daft question Im sure, but I have wondered, giving the rate at which new releases sell out at both RxH and SB what do they sell in there the rest of the time? after the 15 mins of madness? Obviously I gather SB sells T-Shirts and stuff, but what about RxH? I cant wait to go, and see all this stuff in real life, not just in the photos!

Also please recommend and mention anywhere else you think I should go to also!

P.S- It is my first trip to Japan and neither me or my Girl speak a word of japanese, is this likly to be a problem?

you're not going to Koenji to go to Trashout???? that would probably be the first store i would go to.
as far as the non-japanese speaking...i found it very easy to get around without knowing any Japanese. around Tokyo, you can just take the JR Yamanote line and most, if not all the stops have English signs.

Have fun!!

I'm not just saying this because I work here but this book is really helpful in all the aspects youre looking for..
http://super7store.com/store/detail.php?item_id=10964

honestly... i am so glad i had a copy of this! it was the best tour guide i had. brian, can you please make the second edition speak japanese? thanks again for the copy!

Whoa- thats great to hear, and yeah I forgot about thrashout! From the people I know who have been they all say Shibuya is the place to go, is there much stuff located round here- thinking about it now though, Im not sure if I trust my buddies judgment!

Shibuya? hit or miss?

hit. plus everything else is relatively close by train.
pick up the book and memorize it before the trip.

i would check about thrashout whether it is open when you are there or not.

Arrrh shit- I would have bought that if I had known, im leaving on friday though so there is no way it can get to me in time.

Edit: just found it on amazon.co.uk and bought it! paid through the ass for it to get here before friday. ( its ok to mention I got it from amazon isnt it? it still promotes S7 and the money goes to you guys right?)

Amazon are flippers though! same price in pounds as it was in dollers on S7!

I really have to plan better!

Ha ha ha- My GF was giving me an ear bashing that she had to buy all the guide books and I had dont nothing! She will be well impressed when I whip out this badboy! Or not as the case may be!

Didnt it close? not yet?

it is closed now, yeah

yeah i was going to post asking about this, does anyone know if thrashout is still closing / closed?

i was there in may for two weeks and thrash out was closed then, i still managed to go though.

as already said, definately pick up tokyo underground. all the maps with the exception of harajuku are great. also, if you can find it get lonely planet: tokyo uncovered (i think that's the name, i'll double check) and check the tokyo underground e-guide (non-toy/S7 related) and the superfuture guide.

There are multiple Mandarakes. I had really good luck at the Shibuya location, and the Nakano Broadway Mall is massive (numerous other stores there, too). There is a huge Mandarake in Akihabara now, but I haven't been there yet. Heard great things about it. Don't forget to hit Yodobashi Camera (they have way more than just cameras) and all the other toy shops in Akihabara.

i had such bad luck with mandarake. went to the nakano one and copped some awesome stuff, but every time i went to the shibuya one it was closed and the akihabara one had construction workers tearing shit up all over the place.

Yeah, I was bummed about the Akiba Mandarake. I walked all around the block and asked people about it before figuring out that it was in the demolished portion of the area.

Be sure to check out the other stuff in the area, too. Toy's Golden Age and Liberty Hobby were super cool.

you are really not too lucky then. mandarakes are generally open 363 out of 365 days a year. there were some cool stuff at utsonomiya. then again, its all about luck and timing.

toy's golden age was great, so much henshin/microman stuff. i couldn't find much in libery hobby but they had shitloads of pretty much everything else.

Going in August? Remember to pack a lot of light clothes cause it's gonna be hot

Kinda hard to make recommendations because I don't know you, but here's what I would do if I had to condense a trip.
After I made it through the hell that is immigration, I'd hop on a limousine bus to Shibuya, then
have a Tonkatsu in Mark City
go to Mandarake
go to Project 1/6
go to Tokyo Hands
go to Tower and HMV
hit a few of the shoes stores like ABC Mart and 0101 City if I can still stand up

Day 1
go to Nakano* then
go to thrashout(guess it's no longer open?)
go to Ichibonboshi
*if you want some fun souveniers, there's a cheap clothes shop on the bottom floor towards the back that sometimes has T-shirts with great examples of Engrish printed on them

Day 2
I'd go to Harajuku and visit Kiddyland then over to BxH, SB*, Erostika, A Store Robot, Neighborhood, Dept and a some of the resale Vivienne Westwood stores. Also, there's some resale clothing stores that sell toys. Don't know the names, but are easy to find
go to Aoyama and go to OF, Vivienne Westwood
*for regular days, you'll always find a better selection of SB on the skullbrain BST than in the store

Day 3
Go to Akihabara, check out Mandarake and the really big building that has Yellowsubmarine in it
Go to Ueno, look in the big toystore across from the train station
Go to Jyanrinco
Go to shimokitazawa

Tip- don't eat any of fast food at McDonald's(unless it's breakfast), Wendy's, Freshness Burger. There's others, but I can't remember their names right now. Seriously. Blech.

Also, check out Don Quixote. You can find amazing stuff in there if you take the time to look around.
And the Parco bookstore

sigh, there's so much more!

the smart thing when you get through customs/immigration would be to take a limo bus to your hotel (if you're staying at one), or get the NEX into shinjuku and then get on the yamanote to wherever you're staying. why the fuck would you go to shibuya?

and i really hope you're not just going for toys.

I recommend the S7 book - a few places have closed and a few have opened but for the most part its still pretty handy. (even went one place I had never been to thanks to the book!)

Also idrop me a PM when you get close, I am always up for dinner or a drink.

TOKYO HANDS

even though its just a department store. its got some cool shit.

Good info, but blech? why? Aside from the general "I hate fastfood"
The fast food in Jpn is seriously a cut above all other fast foods.
I can not recommend highly enough Mos Burger!!!
http://www.mos.co.jp/menu/
specially the plain ol' 320yen mos burger, *drool*

For restaurants/food, you have a serious huuuge amount of choices. Anything from normal restaurants to yatai (small portable outdoor food stands) to department stores(upper floors usually have restaurants) and the depa-chika(the basement of those same department stores) usually has a REALLY nice food section(to go)

But for a bit of a reality check..."sometimes" the best tasting food, is truly hidden in some side alley way or under an overpass of the highway and looks kinda dingy run down tiny place at times.

I also highly recommend you check out Roppongi Hills,(little pricey to go in) but it's a Fabulous view from the observation deck! Not to mention the little art gallery in it is quite decent as well. They recently had an exhibition of the Mouton Rothschild(wine) label artwork that was awesome!!
They also have an AMAZING huge spider near the entrance 25ft tall 30ft diameter called "Maman" made by Louise Bourgeois


It's actually Tokyu Hands
I completely agree tho!! Such a fun fun store
There is one in Shibuya, Ginza, Shinjuku

edit: As a side note, not speaking Jpnese won't matter too much(unless you actually want to communicate/talk with people heh)
But in a general sense...this tiny book helps you can get it at amazon.uk for £3.79

Thanks for all the help guys!

Ha ha ha, my mum actually gave me one of those 'Point-to' Guides, so I am prepared for anything!

Will definatly drop you a PM Data and anyone else who is about!

cant wait, it sounds amazing!

I agree with Gizzy, the fast food in japan is way better than the fast food in the US. When I went, I looked at it like this, I can either eat at nicer places and have less money for stuff, or I can eat fast food.

Also, Lotteria is great

Roppongi hills is very nice, but roppongi at night can be sort of annoying.

Have a great trip. I'm heading back to Japan in a couple of weeks but will probably be gone by the time you arrive heh.