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.
Coming back from Tokyo today. I was only looking for Toho Sofubi, so I can’t testify to much else. Didn’t make it to all the shops but I can say most Mandarake shops are skippable, except for of course, CoCoo. Mandy Shibuya had a few fun things too. Still worth going to Nakano Broadway after noon to check all the different toy shops. Godzilla-Ya is still a cool spot, but as the owner said, “Sofubi Boom. Wiped Out.” A lot of the shops have a much smaller selection these days. I’m sure the over-tourism hadn’t helped. The Bandai-Namco shop at Sunshine City had a few items, and the big surprise was that a store I hadn’t heard of,“Hands” in Shibuya, had a good selection of Marusan toys. I also saw just a couple things at Beams. I wish I had visited more Hands & Beams shops, but…time moves fast in the big city!
That's Tokyu Hands, they have a few stores but I believe the Shibuya one is the only one with Marusan, Bullmark, and M1GO merch. Glad you had a fun trip!
@Roger It's just Hands now! I stumbled upon a fun 360° view of CKA the other day that I thought I'd share.
That 360 degree view is fun. I zoomed in on a few things: Someone made the Buta plush from the bags: Nice pachi action by the door: Dr. Gori owns your finger
I believe the business was acquired by another company recently. 'Tokyu' was a reference to the prior owner, so I presume they removed it for that reason. I feel like they could have probably come up with something ...different? Just Hands! Also sad that they closed the Ikebukuro location, which had the Nekobukuro and was always a stop on my visits for the pet goods shop.
Thanks for the bump @Smotemotem! I'm heading out there next Feb with the wife and kid. Looks like Hands and Beams will have some shopping for the rest of the fam to occupy themselves with while I pick up some dollies. Were both Hands/Beams locations you went to in Shibuya? Sounds like not every store will have sofubi.
I had to check my photo tags. Hands was in Shibuya, and Roger’s most likely correct about that one being the only location with vinyl toys. The Beams was in Shinjuku. It’s probably worth checking several while you’re out-and-about. If nothing else, they should have a nice display of older Beams-exclusive monsters to drool over. Oh, I forgot to mention that Loft has a small Sofubi section, at least in Shibuya. I saw Uamou, Konatsuya…handful of other things.
I feel like Mandarake Coco is saving lots of stock for its anniversary events, it probably also saves stock for the auction listings. Which might be why it has a diminished supply in store.
I also got the impression that all the Mandy stores have lots of goods they've purchased, but haven't had time to price and put out yet, just boxed up in the back. I'd like to echo the advice somebody else gave on one of these threads, which is to make a photo collage of everything you're looking for, and show it to the attendants at the stores you visit. They can very quickly tell you whether you're wasting your time, and whether you've overlooked something. I almost missed the Matango that I purchased, but the shop owner helped me find it. Some stores are still "no-photo" stores, so you may have to explain that you have your photos open to show *them*, and not to get your camera open. P.S. The Google maps some of the members here have shared are a big help in planning your trip, or in making a quick pit-stop while you're out and about.
Here’s a weird one, though. Last month there was a Kougai sample that went up on Mercari. I’d never seen it before and asked the seller where they got it from; the paint application seemed a bit off. It was promptly pulled from the site (not sold). The exact same one was just revealed yesterday as a part of CoCoo’s anniversary. Any guesses as to what happened there?
I saw your ig story about this. It was such a goop of colors. wonder what its deal was? If not a boot, maybe someone got their hands on reject parts from factory? Or just an in-house junker meant for test paints that got out into the wild?
I’m not sure. I’m curious if it’s indicative of Mandarake possibly coaxing auctions and listings to end early so they can manage the sale instead. Or maybe it’s just easier to sell through Mandarake to keep sellers more anonymous.
If they want something, Manda will do a consignments sale and take 20 percent. Maybe they reached out or maybe the seller felt he would get more visibility and a higher price with them and took it there on their own.
