I am on my second trip to Japan and so far having an amazing time stopping in at such places as Mandarake, Secret Base, Erostika, Shinto Gangu and a few others. I have been documenting most of the adventure here:

Kaiju // Sento

With pictures and video but I need help from people on the forum familiar with the area. As we all know a lot of things in Japan are almost secret in regards to their location, they actually need to be discovered out of the blue and are rarely written in tour books. I always hear legends that some of the best places to buy Kaiju are actually well off the beaten path and feature a lot of the most interesting pieces at pretty decent prices.

I have looked on the internet, read and used the "Tokyo Underground" book as a guide and still have not found what I think is the Japanese Kaiju jackpot. If anyone knows anywhere I should check out based on their experience please tell me, I am dying to hit a ton more stores before I head home on the 17th and hate just wandering blind when there is such a rich resource of information here on the forums.

I you all in advance for your stories and tips.

Cool blog. I miss Ikebukuro so much.
I always liked Family Mart because they had potato cakes.

I have no info to offer, but I'm planning a trip with a friend to Japan this year. It will be our first, so any info that you can pass along to us will be greatly appreciated!

Yes, I'm also hoping to get to Japan this year also. If you find any hidden gems please share.

Im there in August, really hoping i can get my hands on a copy of Tokyo underground 2 before then

Have a nice combini tour.

Wandering in Japan IS part of the fun.

Please share your secrets with us.

A broad recommendation: look outside Tokyo...

you guys that have been there already...how is it with a child in tow? I'm talking a 7 or maybe the time I go 8 year old girl...

jeff, i didn't have a child when I was there, but I totally acted like one when I went to all the awesome stores; mandarake and at superfestival! total geekout of course.
the only thing i can see that would be an issue is that it requries of lot of walking to get everywhere, and the crowds can get hectic so it can easy to loose sight of people quickly. but in my opinion it is a very safe country to travel around.

Traveling with a baby is not the same as traveling with a child, but I agree with the lots of walking + depending on when + where you go in Japan and where you're from, the heat + humidity can be brutal, so carry lots of water and wear hats!

thx guys, I know in London when she was 4 I ended up just carrying her most of the time due to the running crowds on the subways...that was fun.

If you can avoid the trains during the rush hour periods, it shouldn't be too bad. You little girl will love going to Mandarake, Ichiban Boshi, and Jyarinco to see all the kaiju.