Community Guide to Shopping for Anime Goods in Japan
Hey so it seems that a community guide would really help those who have no idea where to go in Japan so hopefully this will help! Go to the bottom of the post for instructions on how to help. Any is greatly appreciated :)
I kinda busy right now so I don't have much time so this will be a WIP and I'll update it whenever i get the chance. Right now all credit goes to this guide I found on MFC which is an extremely helpful resource to get started with. The author of the post also made a map here which is really useful and what I aim to create with this guide. Anyway lets get onto it!
* = Places that are recommended and if you are short on time
##Tokyo
Akihabara
I don't know if that day was special or not but On Sunday they block off the main parts of Chuo-dori street so you can walk on the street as seen here, here and here.
| Shop | Address | Focus | Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| *Mandarake | 3-11-12 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Everything | If you have no time hit here and Radio Kaikan and you'll be all set |
| *Radio Kaikan | 1-15-16 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Everything | Covers pretty much everything you'll want to see in Akihabara. Souvenirs, books, CD's, figures, gunpla, models, mercy and everything else! |
| Volks Hobby Tengoku | 1-15-20 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Everything | 1F is all display cases with figures inside. If you want to buy something you go to the front counter (I think) and collect a form where you write down the case number. You then give it to one of the staff who take the figure out for you. 2F is merch of recent |
| Akiba Culture Zone | 1-7-6 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Everything | The first floor sells manga, second floor carries anime merchandise, dakimakuras, and figures. When I visited during the summer of 2014 they cleared the first floor and part of the 2nd for an event I think. Someone may need to confirm what the current status is |
| Don Quijote | 4-3-3 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Department Store | Not sure where I read this but "Tokyu Hands' dodgy brother" describes it perfectly. Bargains everywhere |
| Flea Market | 4-14-1 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Market | If I recall correctly, on certain Sundays there is a flea market which people sell figures and anime merchandise. They set up their booths right outside the building |
| *Jungle | 3-9-2 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Figures | Secondhand. If you're mainly looking for figures come here. Goldmine and staff are billingual which is helpful |
| Jungle | Radio Kaikan 7F | Figures | Secondhand. Smaller selection than the other store. Quite cramped so try not to bring all your shopping inside |
| *Mulan | 1-11-9 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Figures | Secondhand. The outside is mostly idol cds and random ufo catcher goods but when you go downstairs there are tonnes of rare figures at great prices! Beware that the shop is tiny and extremely cramped so maybe try going there first without any bags to make it easier to browse |
| Akiba☆Sofmap 1 | 3-13-12, Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Figures | Secondhand and new. Pretty big cheap secondhand section. There is also a second small shop next door for used products that is half figures and half game consoles |
| Akiba☆Sofmap 4 | 4-4-3, Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Figures | Secondhand and new |
| Liberty 1 | 3-4-6 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Figures | |
| Liberty 7 | 4-5-1 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Figures | Secondhand. Floors are like Liberty 8 in which 1F is figures, 2F more figures and robots, 3F trading figures. Forgot the other floors |
| Liberty 8 | 4-7-1 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Figures | Secondhand. Larger selection than Liberty 7 |
| Liberty 12 & 13 | 1-15-15 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Figures | Secondhand. Prices are kinda average/high compared to other shops from what I saw when I visited |
| X Akihabara Ichigouten | 1-10-2 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Figures | Secondhand and new. Had the best prices for new figures. 3F had two Ultimate Madokas for $150 and $180 if i remember correctly |
| AKIBA NO X | Radio Kaikan 5F | Figures | Secondhand and new. Pretty sure this is the smaller version of X Akihabara Ichigouten since they had the exact same prices for new figures (which was cheap!) |
| Robot-robot | Akiba Culture Zone 3F | Figures | Sells some anime merchandise, anime figures, and gacha prizes. Does not carry many scale figures, but has a few nendoroids and figmas in stock |
| One Up | Akiba Culture Zone 3F | Figures | Sells figures and models of Japanese monsters and the sorts. I think they're called Sofibi toys |
| Astop | Akiba Culture Zone 4F | Figures | A store where people rent out plastic boxes and may use the plastic boxes to either display or sell their wares. You write the box number and item number of what you want and bring it to the cashier. Things are sold as is, this means you get exactly what you see |
| Ganking | Akiba Culture Zone 4F | Figures | Small store, sells some figures, also sells gacha prizes. Does not carry anything really special |
| Figure R | 3-1-1 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Dolls | |
| Dolk | 2-17-4 Kanda Sudacho, Chiyoda-ku | Dolls | |
| Yellow Submarine | Radio Kaikan 6F | Hobby | |
| Hobby Shop TamTam | 6-14-2 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Hobby | |
| LAOX ASOBIT CITY | 1-15-18 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Gunpla | Cheaper than Yodobashi but smaller selection. Tax free if you show your passport. Also has some figures and merch on the first and second floor |
| Yodobashi Camera | 1-1 Kanda Hanaokacho, Chiyoda-ku | Gunpla | Larger selection than ASOBIT CITY but more expensive. Also tax free if you show your passport. Also have some new figures as well and they have a massive floor dedicated to toys including plenty of puzzles if you're interested |
| Hobby Off | 1 Kanda Aioicho, Chiyoda-ku | Gunpla | The hobby off is located next to McDonalds near Yodobashi Camera. It has a good selection of Gundam Models (Both Gunpla and figures) and Collectibles. They also carry a moderate collection of Figures. Pretty fair in terms of pricing |
| Kotobukiya | 1-8-8 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Merchandise | Figures are expensive here but they have some exclusive items (I think). When I was there they had some books of Yotsubato! drawings |
| Gamers | 1-14-7 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Merchandise | Targeted more towards boys |
| Animate | 4-3-2 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Merchandise | Targeted more towards girls |
| TRIO | Radio Kaikan 5F | Merchandise | Has lots of posters which are of recent release anime promos and J-Pop idols. Also sell a lot of pop idol merchandise |
| TRIO+ | Akiba Culture Zone 3F | Merchandise | Pop idol merchandise (AKB48,etc). Nico Nico Nii~ |
| Comic Tora no Ana | 4-3-1 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Doujinshi | |
| Melon Books | 3-14-6 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Doujinshi | |
| K-Books | 1-7-6 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Doujinshi | |
| SUPER POTATO | 1-11-2 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Games | Secondhand retro game shop |
| Akihabara Gachapon Kaikan | 3-15-5 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Trading Figures | |
| Kimidore/Comic Jikuchushinha | 3-15-8 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Merchandise | High quality moe posters and scrolls. Free postcard and flyers at the front counter! |
| Havikoro TOY | Radio Kaikan 2F | Trading Figures | |
| Card Shop Kaizoku | Akiba Culture Zone 4F | Cards | Sells trading cards |
| SpinGear | Akiba Culture Zone 3F | Tops | Sells tops, not bayblades. Like high grade hobby tops that goes for several hundred USD |
| Phantom | Akiba Culture Zone 4F | Military | Pseudo military gear, camo clothing, some airsoft guns, basically a survival game store |
| Gundam Café | 1-1 Kanda Hanaokacho, Chiyoda-ku | Café | Tiny merch store on the right side |
| AKB48 Café | 1-1 Kanda Hanaokacho, Chiyoda-ku | Café | |
| Good Smile Café | 1-7-6 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Café | Incredibly popular anime themed cafe. They rotate the anime theme every few months. You will most likely not get a seat if you drop in. They had a Hataraku Maou Sama theme going once and one of the items on the menu was a whole cucumber with honey drizzled over it. It was okay, wished they sliced it for me |
| Neko JaLaLa Cat Café | 3-5-5 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Café | Cat cafe |
| @ Home Maid Café | 1-11-4 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku | Café | English speaking |
Nakano
| Shop | Address | Focus | Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| *Nakano Broadway | 5-52-15 Nakano, Nakano | Everything | Besides the anime merchandise, you can get wrestling masks and play on retro arcade games. You can also find a wide selection of airsoft guns here as well. I'd recommend coming here if you can't find what you're looking for in Akihabara. There aren't many stores here that carry new releases. Generally the stuff here is retro and not mainstream. A lot of western and disney stuff as well. However some of the cheapest anime figures I've found were found here |
| Mandarake | Nakano Broadway | Everything | Main Mandarake store. Spans several floors, the first floor is misleading because it's literally a glass display wall with a cashier next to it. The other parts of the store are on different floors and scattered. There is a special section of Mandarake with Torii gates, looks cool and inside there are a lot of rare vintage stuff |
| Lashinban | Nakano Broadway 2F | Figures | Lots of figures, fairly priced |
| Merry Go Round Store | Nakano Broadway 2F | Figures | Fairly priced figures, has some second hand stuff. Once saw a Mami Figma with it's box completely trashed for 1,100 yen. Yes I bought it, no regrets. The figure itself was completely fine with no damages |
| Liberty | Nakano Broadway 3F | Figures | Really pricey but has a few things you cannot find in other stores. Sell figures, models, and some anime merchandise |
| Toy Barn | Nakano Broadway 3F | Figures | Naurto, One Piece, DBZ, etc you get the idea. They sell figures and some merchandise |
| Plabbit | Nakano Broadway 1F | Gunpla | "Sells" Gundam models. More like a showroom because the prices are ridiculous. Walk by and pretend to be some sort of a Gundam connoisseur. Very well done gunplas for sale |
| Anime World Star Goods αkan | Nakano Broadway 2F | Merchandise | If you collect cels and animation production notes. This store carries a lot of it |
| Anime Shop Commit | Nakano Broadway 4F | Merchandise | More cels, carries more recent titles than Anime World Star |
| Pure Core | Nakano Broadway 2F | ??? | I'm mentioning this place because it sells striped pantsu. I have no clue what else it sells |
Shinjuku
| Shop | Address | Focus | Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kinokuniya Shinjuku South Store | 5-24-2 Sendagaya, Shibuya-ku | Books | Located at Takashiyama Times Square but is in the smaller part of it which is connected by the bridge. Has english manga but the prices are pretty standard so you're better off getting it off somewhere like bookdepository where it is cheaper |
Shibuya
| Shop | Address | Focus | Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| *Mandarake | Udagawa-cho 31-2, Shibuya-ku | Everything | Located in Shibuya Beam B2F |
##Kyoto
Osaka/Umeda
| Shop | Address | Focus | Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pokémon Center Osaka | 3-1-1 Umeda, Kita-ku | Pokémon | Located on the 13F of Daimaru Umeda Store |
| Yodobashi Camera | 1-1 Ofukacho, Kita-ku | Gunpla | |
| *Mandarake | 9-28 Doyama-cho, Kita-ku | Everything | Large cosplay stage |
Nanba/Shinsaibashi
| Shop | Address | Focus | Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| *Mandarake | 2-9-22 Nishi Shinsaibashi, Chuo-ku | Everything |
###FORMAT TO PROVIDE INFORMATION (Note formatting is not required)
##Prefecture
City/District/Ward
Shop - Address
Focus - Info
###E.G.
##Tokyo
Akihabara
Mandarake - 3-11-12 Sotokanda
Everything - very good yes
###Also if you want to add info on something already on the list just write the area, shop and info
###e.g. Akiba - Mandarake - no is shit l0l
Posted Jan 23, 2015, 7:42 PM UTC · edited
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