Toy Hunting in Tokyo

[samurainoir]

Any members/lurkers here Tokyo based?

I'm aware of the mall in Nakano, the super stores in Akihabara, the Mandarake in Shibuya and Toy Sapiens/Hot Toys in Harajiku. Any other placed you recommend? How about cool nerd things to do in Tokyo? Miyizaki Museum is on the list.

[EMCE Hammer]

Is that dude holding a bag of peppers and an albino Pikachu?

[Starroid Raiders Dagon]

The picture doesnt do it justice! You should see it locked down before they open. Looks like they are trying to keep out zombies. It amazes me how popular Gashapon (do they still refer to them as that?) figures and characters are. There are just walls of them in little plastic bags which is kind of good because otherwise you have to buy in "blind box", or out of a machine and it is a crapshoot on which one you will get.

[cjefferys]

Is that dude holding a bag of peppers and an albino Pikachu?

Japan is such a weirdly random place at times, I wouldn't be totally surprised if he is.

Ed and I are trying to arrange a "Mego Meet Japan" of sorts next month , so if there are any Japan based lurkers here, it would be awesome to hear from you. It might be kind of futile though, I think a grand total of maybe eight Mego figures actually received any kind of Japanese release and probably weren't hugely popular. In other words, Mego probably doesn't have any kind of nostalgic pull to anyone who grew up in Japan.

Ed, it looks like you basically go to the same places that I do. It would be great if we could cast our net wider this time. Maybe some of the ToyboxDX guys could help?

[cjefferys]

It amazes me how popular Gashapon (do they still refer to them as that?) figures and characters are. There are just walls of them in little plastic bags which is kind of good because otherwise you have to buy in "blind box", or out of a machine and it is a crapshoot on which one you will get.

Yeah, some stores have walls and walls of them (and yes, still called gashapon). That's how I usually buy them now.

[PNGwynne]

You guys should grab some vintage & Neo Henshin when you visit.

[cjefferys]

I'm always looking for deals on Neo Henshin and Cyborg 99 stuff, I'll let you know what I find. The vintage stuff is trickier (and pricier) but possible.

[FETT1]

gaWd I only wish I could go shoppin in JAPAN....

[Starroid Raiders Dagon]

A couple of years ago you could find lots of Henshin Cyborgs (the Takara Neo Henshin Cyborg Series (1998-99)) and the vinyl creatures for about 10 bucks, and lots of Microman (some of the 1999-2003 series). Lots of the new Microman in ToysRuS there. I kick myself for not picking up more but I have picked up some good deals. I thought toys lasted quite a while on the secondary market but the last two times I have been, I have seen product come and go quite quickly. One really odd series was the S.I.C. Series http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Imaginative_Chogokin where the past series were $100 plus and then 5 or 6 years later I see them on clearance for 15 bucks.
One of the coolest MEGO like things I saw in one store was that you could buy a Lion Rock or Combat Man-like naked figure in a clear bag (I think they were headless. No real head for sure), and then different colored body suits and then buy a vinyl figure and cut the pieces and put them over the body and suit. Very cool idea! Although some of the vinyl figures that were $6-$8 are now worth $20 something. I used to have a link showing a guy cutting up a vinyl and showing this done but I cant find anything right now, but the vinyl figure would be like one of these:

http://home.cogeco.ca/~ephemera_japan/kamen1.JPG

Ahh, here is a 1/6th figure done that way but this gives a good idea of what I was trying to describe...

http://www.custom-workz-charoensap.com/2013/05/customization-of-banpresto-kamen-rider.html

[samurainoir]

It's been a little over a decade since I was last in Tokyo and boy is it going to be hard for me to stay on target with Superheroes and Gatchaman.

Godzilla, Shogun Warrior style robots and Microman alone are enough to break my resolve. Pile on Studio Ghibli characters, all manner of Kaiju, Osamu Tezuka stuff.

even cool oddball stuff like the Takashi Miike Ichi action figures Chris brought back last year was pretty wild!

[MegoSteve]

I'm jealous! Let me know if you spot any Superman stuff.

[cjefferys]

It's been a little over a decade since I was last in Tokyo and boy is it going to be hard for me to stay on target with Superheroes and Gatchaman.

Godzilla, Shogun Warrior style robots and Microman alone are enough to break my resolve. Pile on Studio Ghibli characters, all manner of Kaiju, Osamu Tezuka stuff.

even cool oddball stuff like the Takashi Miike Ichi action figures Chris brought back last year was pretty wild!

Wow, I didn't know that you hadn't been back there in that long. It will be fun watching you go nuts.

I did well with those Ichi figures, I made about four times my money back on those, I'll be looking for more!


I'll let you know if I see any interesting Superman stuff Steve. It looks like you already have a nice collection of Japanese Supes stuff.

[samurainoir]

I'm jealous! Let me know if you spot any Superman stuff.

I'll take pictures! (if I can, they tend to frown on that)

[samurainoir]

I found a spot for a Tokyo Mego Meet! who's in? 8)

Tokyo Toy Museum!!!

http://www.timeout.jp/en/tokyo/venue/2638/Tokyo-Toy-Museum

[cjefferys]

Imagine all the confused locals!