Melbourne: A Piss Weak Anime Shopping Guide

About a year ago I went down to Sydney for a trip, mostly to get away from work and see the city which I really hadn’t been to for about half decade. I also wanted to compile a list of anime shops as there really wasn’t a guide anywhere for the city. I ended up being rather disappointed at what I found. There was only two dedicated anime shops in the city (though another has set up shop quite recently in the CBD), a substantial change from the 1990’s and early 2000’s where there were several anime related shops in the CBD. I had decided to make a similar list for Melbourne which I had planned to visit again within the year.

I almost didn’t get around to doing it but decided to go to Madfest in early November. I really wasn’t expecting much in terms of shops. I thought a couple had closed and knew the shop selling Japanese magazines had shut down (now online only) and so did a maid café which only operated on Fridays and Sundays. Unfortunately I was a bit sick during my stay, so I didn’t get to as many shops as I liked. Also due to the convention, a lot of shops were closed as they prepared to sell their merchandise in the dealer’s room. However I was really surprised at how many shops there were in Melbourne. There was also a ton of Gundam plastic models (or Gunpla as they’re colloquially called) in every single anime shop in the city. I love the fact that building plastic models is still something fans do in this city. It’s a hobby that has unfortunately fallen out of fashion with most anime fans all around the world. There are a large number of comic book shops in the city, but I have only included those with a large manga and/or anime section. Also because I didn’t get around to all of the shops I wanted to see, the list isn’t as comprehensive as I would have liked it to be. However I think I have complied all of the important shops in the city.

One Stop Anime  
Address: Level 3, 180 Bourke Street, Melbourne
Phone: (03) 9663 9098
Opening Times: Everyday 11am to 6pm, except Thursday and Friday, closes at 7pm, Sunday, closes at 5pm

Right in the middle of Chinatown, this shop is hidden away on the third floor of a building next door to Hungry Jacks. It’s pretty easy to miss the entrance, but does have a couple of A4 sized laser printed signs outside the entrance. Like a lot of the shops I tried to visit on my trip, this one was closed when I visited.  Originally opening in 2002, looks like the shop has moved a couple of times before settling in Bourke Street. The shop has a quite large range of merchandise including Ichiban Kuji prizes, Figma, Gundam plastic model kits, Nendoroids, crane game prizes, cards, DVDs, plush toys, key chains and even wind chimes and other assorted miscellaneous anime merchandise. However like most anime shops the core of their business is selling figures. Prices seem comparable to other anime shops.

Nekocards

Address: Level 1, 311 Elizabeth Street (entrance on Little Lonsdale Street), Melbourne
Phone: (03) 9650 6356
Opening Times: Everyday 1pm to 8pm, except Thursday and Friday, closes at 9pm, Saturday 11am to 9pm, Sunday 11 am to 6pm

A year or two ago, one of the editors from Anime News Network (which I am no fan of) publicly berated a Japanese tour operator because they took his group to a card shop in Akihabara. Because we all know westerners don’t play these games, right? Oh wait they do, you massive knob. Admittedly though this part of fandom the west is rather niche. However there have been at least two attempts to set up card shops in Australia; one in Sydney which by all accounts didn’t last too long, and this shop in Melbourne’s CBD. The shop is in the same building as the local branch of the Pepper Lunch restaurant chain, but the entrance is located on Little Lonsdale Street, with a graffiti style logo above the entrance, so you can’t miss it. Apart from selling card games by Bushiroad, Weiβ Schwarz as well as Cardfight!! Vanguard, Future Card Buddyfight and Force of Will games, the staff can also show you how to play the games. You can also play the games there and they often hold special events.

Minotaur  
Address: 121 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne
Phone: (03) 9670 5414
Opening Times: Everyday 9am to 6pm, except Friday, closes at 8pm, Sunday, 11am to 5pm

In my opinion, this easily the best comic book shop in Australia. Though I think more correctly they’re called a “pop culture superstore”, as a lot of comic book shops, Minotaur included, have branched out over the last two or three decades to include other segments of pop culture including manga and anime. As you walk down the stairs, you’ll pretty much find the manga and anime sections of the shop to your right. They have a very extensive collection of manga including some books, pretty much every Australian anime DVD in print (or pretty close to it anyway), a ton of anime merchandise including figures from manufacturers such as Good Smile and Kotobukiya, Figma, Nendoroids, S.H.Figuarts, other miscellaneous merchandise like keychains, t-shirts and other clothing items as well as Funko Pop! Vinyl figures.

Critical Hit  

Address: 377 Little Collins Street, Melbourne
Phone: 0448 773 030
Opening Times: Everyday 10am to 6pm, except Thursday, until 7pm, Friday until 7pm, Sunday 11am to 5pm

This shop first began trading in 2010, and although the website makes it look like they’re mostly a games shop, the physical store itself is filled with a ton of anime products. The shop is also located inside the ground floor of the heritage listed Collins Gate art deco building which I thought was a bit unusual. I can only assume the rent might be on the pricy side, however when I went there ion a Friday afternoon there was plenty of customers in the store. Aside from the card games and other western pop culture merchandise they have on offer, they stock second hand games, a large range of Gundam plastic model kits, a wide range of merchandise including some Cospa  merchandise, figures, some CD soundtracks, t-shirts and other clothing items, crane game figures, Studio Ghibli merchandise, DVDs and blu-rays, manga, Funko Pop! Vinyl figures, key rings and other miscellaneous merchandise.

Animasia  

Address: QV Melbourne, 26 Jane Bell Lane, Melbourne
Phone: 0425 423 709
Opening Times: Everyday 11am to 7pm, except Thursday and Friday until 8pm, Saturday and Sunday 11:30am to 7:30pm

The QV shopping precent is a bit of a labyrinth to be honest. I had some slight trouble trying to find this store. And of course when I got there, it was closed for the day in preparation for Madfest. You can quite clearly see tons of figures from outside, but upon closer inspection through the window you can see a large table in the centre of the shop with half built Gundam kits and bits and pieces of model making equipment sprawled all over. It’s patently obvious what the owners of the shop like doing. In fact their Facebook indicates you can come in and get hints from the staff on how to make Gunpla. If you google the shop’s name, you’ll see something really nasty within the first few results; a 2015 Sun Herald article saying that convicted paedophile Stephen Maxwell Murray was running the shop at least since a year after its inception in 2010. Not sure what the current situation of the shop is or who runs it, but doubt Murray is involved in the shop anymore. You’d think they would have at least changed the name of the store. At any rate the store sells Gundam plastic model kits (of course), a wide range of figures, wallscrolls and  hobby supplies such as paint.

Hearns Hobbies

Address: 295 Flinders Street, Melbourne
Phone: (03) 9629 1425
Opening Times: Everyday 9:30am to 5:30pm, except Saturday, 10am to 3pm, closed Sunday

This family run hobby shop has been around for more than 70 years. That’s a pretty long time for such a business. Not sure how long they’ve been in their current location in a basement location in Flinders street, but they were in the same location about five years ago when I last went to the store. Currently they are working on the façade of the building and there is scaffolding everywhere, but the shop is easily accessible. I think they had two or more locations, but now their store in the CBD is it. As you can image they mostly sell remote control planes, cars and ships, as well as slot cars, plastic models and diecast cars. However they also sell a lot of sci-fi related plastic models and of course anime related ones. They stock around 150 anime related plastic model kits, almost exclusively Bandai kits, mostly Gundam, but also including a decent range of Yamato 2199, Dragonball series, Girls und Panzer and even a couple of old Evangelion kits. They also stock a number of Gundam accessory kits and of course hobby supplies. The shop also has a club which costs $25 and gives you a 10% discount on kits.

Alternate Worlds Comics and Collectables
Address: Unit 11/13 Malvern Street, Bayswater
Phone: (03) 9738 2662
Opening Times: Everyday 12pm to 7pm, except Monday, 11am to 6pm, Saturday, 11am to 4pm, Sunday 12pm to 5pm

Another shop I was too sick to visit. However I did go to their massive booth at Madfest. They had a ton of English language manga, ranging from stuff published in the late 1990’s until present, a good selection of local and region 1 (USA) DVDs, some of which were from the early to mid 2000’s, and a ton of figures, however most US superhero stuff, not much in the way of anime figures. They are currently located in an industrial area which is a little bit hard to get to. I think if you’re on the hunt for old out of print manga, it might be worthwhile making a trip out to Bayswater.

Anime Town

Address: 728 Sydney Rd, Brunswick
Phone: (03) 9913 4754
Opening Times: Everyday 10am to 4:30pm, closed Monday

Yet another store that I went to on the Friday I was down there and discovered it was closed for the day. I’m not sure how safe Brunswick is, but god the area looked relatively run down. Anyway I could see from the outside that pretty much half of the shop is dedicated to selling Gundam plastic model kits. Down the back of the store is a table which I’m sure is used to build Gundam kits. Their face book page states that they provide “free painting facilities”. Not 100% sure what that means exactly; is it just a place to paint or do they have airbrushes you can use? The other half of the store is mostly figures; a lot of Nendoroids, Frame Arm Girls, a lot of plush toys, some crane game prizes, and the usual range of figures from manufacturers such as Good Smile and Alter. The prices seem comparable to other shops in Melbourne.

Gundam Universe
Address: 246 Huntingdale Road, Huntingdale
Phone: (03) 8555 4563
Opening Times: Everyday 12pm to 5pm, closed Monday and Tuesday

Due to the hours this shop keeps and the fact it takes over 45 minutes to get there via train from the city, I never even bothered attempting to see this shop. As the name implies, Gundam plastic model kits as well as accessories and hobby supplies are the main things sold here. It was a bit of  shame as the store really sounds interesting. They also sell an extensive range of Japanese card games and have a space for customers to play the games in the shop. The store also holds “build meets” and late social events for Gundam builders. From what I could see this shop is a labour of love for the owner. However it seems to be sporadically closed for lengthy periods due illness or other difficulties the owner seems to be having. The opening times on the days the shop also seems to vary, so it’s probably best to check their Facebook page before heading out to Huntingdale.

And that’s it for Melbourne. Certainly a lot more places for anime fans to shop and socialise than Sydney, that’s for sure. And despite the fact all of the small hobby shops selling bootleg resin garage kits (and bootleg fansubs and commercial tapes) back in the 1990’s have disappeared, I’m really pleased to see such a strong fanbase that still makes models still exists. Luckily most of the shops in this guide are located within the CBD; however the few which are out in the suburbs are generally worth visiting.

This will probably be my final anime shopping guide, unless I make a few more trips to other countries or decide to revisit the places I’ve been in a few years times. Despite the fact it is generally easier to buy merchandise online, nothing beats the thrill you get hunting for items you want from actual physical shops. I suspect that in the future a lot of retail spaces for anime will vanish as they just won’t be able to compete with large online shops overseas. Just make sure you visit and buy from these shops before they disappear so you don’t regret it later.

Sydney: A Piss Weak Anime Shopping Guide

Back in the 1990’s there used to be fan created guides of lists of anime shops in local areas on places like newsgroups like arts.rec.anime. Unfortunately lists like that have disappeared. If you want to find “bricks and mortar” stores locally, you have to do a bit of searching. Surprisingly this can be a slightly difficult. It amazes me that no one keeps list of stores any more. Then again if you can get it easier, cheaper and quicker from online store, why in heck would you bother with physical stores?

But after compiling lists for stores in Japanese cites, I thought it would be fun to do guides for local shops. After getting my Opal card on Thursday (which I got for a future trip so I could get from Central Station to the airport easily), on a whim I decided to go up to Sydney and attempt to compile a list of shops for my blog. Admittedly I haven’t actually been to Sydney for at least five years. These days I only go to Central Station and then on to the airport and never visit the actual city. I admit that for this particular trip to Sydney I had visions of the cool record stores and anime shops that were there in the 1990’s. My hopes would soon be dashed though. Since the Olympics, Sydney CBD looks horribly rundown. Leaving Central Station and walking along Eddy Avenue, the first thing I noticed was all the shops along the street are all closed and bordered up except one café and a 7-Eleven. There are homeless people everywhere, young foreign backpackers roaming the streets ready to exploited by local recruiters, and the city seems to be in a state of disrepair, covered in a fine layer of grime and graffiti. There’s also the ongoing construction for the tramline up George Street. And as always, it gets hot and humid, even in spring. The city looks and feels ugly and uninviting.

Unfortunately most of the stores are in the CBD. Below I’ve listed the stores of interest in alphabetical order;

Anime At Abbotsford
Main Store
Address: 318 Great North Road, Abbotsford
Phone: (02) 9712 1418
Opening Times: Everyday 9am to 6:30pm, except Sunday, closes at 5pm

CBD Store
Address: Shop 125, First Floor, Prince Centre, 8 Quay Street, Haymarket
Phone:  (02) 9281 9355
Opening Times: Everyday 10am to 6:30pm

Easily the biggest and best anime shops in Sydney. I think this shop opened in 2007 in Abbotsford (hence the name of the store). Admittedly I have never been out to the store in Abbotsford, but the city store near Chinatown is just jam packed with figures including figma, Nendoroids, S.H.Figuarts and various arcade crane game prizes. Of course there are also a ton of regular figures from manufacturers such as Good Smile and Kotobukiya. The Abbotsford shop also stocks some general pop culture items such as POP Vinyl figures. The online version of the shop stocks artbooks, however neither shop has them on display from what I’ve seen. The prices are relatively decent when compared to online shops. While it’s pretty easy to find the shop in Abbotsford, the one in the Prince Centre is a little more difficult to locate. If you go into the proper Prince Centre entrance on Quay Street, go up the escalators to the first floor, walk through the glass door on the balcony area and the shop is out in that area. The Abbotsford store also holds regular events.

AnimeWorks
Address: 259 Broadway, Glebe
Phone:  (02) 8041 3913
Opening Times: Everyday 10am to 7pm, except Saturday, closes at 5pm, Sunday, closes at 4pm

Just my luck, this shop was shut for the day when I visited. Apparently the owner went to a convention in another state for the weekend as a vendor. This part of town looks really rundown and shifty. Right next door to AnimeWorks is the most infamous “rub and tug” massage parlour in Sydney. Really not a good look or perhaps the best place to have an anime shop, but whatever… From what I could see through the windows and in their online shop, while the do have a heavy anime bent in the stock, there’s also a fairly large percentage of general pop culture items. It seems one wall is filled with POP Vinyl figures. They also stock Gundam model kits, various kinds of merchandise such as towels and key rings, plush toys, some manga, t-shirts, some cosplay items and of course figures galore. Prices seem rather reasonable and competitive.

Books Kinokuniya
Address: Shop RP2.2, Level 2, The Galeries, 500 George Street, Sydney
Phone: (02) 9262 7996
Opening Times: Everyday 10am to 7pm, except Thursday, closes at 9pm, Sunday, 11am to 6pm

The local branch of the biggest book chain in Japan. Certainly this branch isn’t as good as some of the branches in Japan, however it surprisingly does stock a lot of Japanese magazines, manga and books. When I went a few years back, I was really disappointed at the lack of artbooks. This time I was really surprised at the stock they had. They must stock at least a couple hundred different titles including four different “Love Live!” artbooks. There’s also quite a number of different weekly manga anthologies, loads and loads of manga and even a small selection of monthly anime magazines such as Animedia, Newtype, Megami and Animage. Of course the real problem is the price. It’s as if they’ve doubled the original cover price in yen and then converted it. In short, while the range is pretty damn good, it’s far easier and cheaper to order this stuff from Amazon.co.jp or elsewhere. Kinokuniya also stock manga in English (not too far from the entrance). It’s far more reasonably priced than their Japanese stock. Also the “manga cows” of times gone by don’t visit the store anymore, so it’s easier to get around.

Comic Kingdom
Address: 71 Liverpool Street, Sydney
Phone: (02) 9267 3629
Opening Times: Everyday 10am to 5:15pm, except Thursday, closes at 6:15pm, Saturday, 10am to 4:15pm, closed on Sunday

The oldest comic book store in Sydney which began back in the 1960’s I believe. I didn’t realise this shop had an infamous reputation for bad service and a “comic book guy” from “The Simpsons” type of owner. Apparently the shop was going to shut down in November last year, but here we are a year on and they’re still open. Admittedly there is little of interest for manga and anime fans; a small range of “Robotech” and “Battle of the Planets” back issue comics and various English language “hentai” manga from the late 1990’s. I think there is very little in the shop which was published in the 21st century. In terms of non-anime stuff, there are some interesting old annuals from the 1970’s and load of old sci-fi magazines from the same era and a little bit more modern down the back. I managed to snag a copy of “Fanfare” magazine from 1980 which has Captain Harlock on the cover and an 11 page article on anime by Fred Patten.

HobbyCo
Main Store
Address: Shop 50/53, Level 2, Queen Victoria Building, 429 - 481 George Street, Sydney
Phone: (02) 9264 4877
Opening Times: Everyday 10am to 6pm, except Thursday, closes at 9pm, Sunday, closes at 5pm

Rhodes Store
Address: Shop 60, Level 1, Rhodes Waterside Shopping Centre, Rhodes
Phone: (02) 8765 1165
Opening Times: Everyday 9am to 6pm, except Sunday, opens at 10am

MacArthur Square
Address: Shop C027, Level 1, 1 Gilchrist Drive, MacArthur Square Shopping Centre, Campbelltown
Phone: (02) 4627 5311
Opening Times: Everyday 9am to 5:30pm, except Sunday, opens at 10am

The only hobby store left in Sydney’s CBD by the looks of it. Naturally I only went to the shop in the CBD. Their main products they deal with are scale trains and model kits (a much undervalued hobby I think). I really think it’s unfortunate that practically no one outside hobby shops sell plastic model kits anymore... Anyway, the CBD HobbyCo sells just about every Bandai model kit on the market by the looks of it, including Gundam kits and a small section of Evangelion kits. In fact they had an episode of “Gundam Build Fighters” on an overhead TV playing in store. They also stock a wide range of Hasegawa’s Macross kits, a small range of Ultraman and crane game prize figures and fairly good range of figures including some “Gundam”, “Love Live!” and “Yamato 2199” figures. I’m always impressed at the amount of and type of anime related merchandise in this shop. There’s also a sizable range of Shonen Jump related figures and merchandise not far from the counter. The entrance to the CBD store has a bust of a Gundam one side and a huge Beargguy on the other. Looking at the pictures of the Rhodes store online, it seems that there isn’t much in the way of anime merchandise there.

Hondarake
Address: Suite 204, Level 2, 39 Liverpool Street, Sydney
Phone: (02) 9261 5225
Opening Times: Everyday 11am to 7pm, except Sunday, 12pm to 6pm, closed Tuesdays

To get to this second hand Japanese bookstore is an utter pain in the arse. Over the last decade or so, it’s been in several locations, however this one is the most hidden and out of the way. The only way you’d know it actually existed is its name in hiragana on its outside window, two stories up. To get there; go to the entrance of the building on Liverpool street (clearly marked “39”). Do not walk up the stairs. Walk straight through to the courtyard where on the other side where you’ll see a Japanese restaurant with taiko drums either side of its entrance. Turn around at in front of that restaurant entrance and you should see a glass elevator. Annoyingly the button is nowhere near the actual elevator (actually on the column to your right). Take the elevator to the second floor and Hondarake will be to your right. The shop’s name means “full of books”. It’s part of an obscure Japanese chain of second hand book shops, 14 in total, mostly in Kyushu but it also has branches in Aomori, Chiba and Tottori. Never heard of it? Not surprised. Why do they have a branch in Sydney? God only knows. The shop has second hand Japanese novels, magazines, a ton of manga, CDs, DVD and a few anime artbooks. There are some English subtitled and/or dubbed anime and Japanese films as well. Though I did manage to snag two “To Heart” artbooks, be warned, the range is really, really limited. The original store they had was a gold mine of anime magazines and manga (back in the early 2000’s). It does seem really piss poor now. The Japanese lady running it spoke in a mix of English and simple Japanese, which was a bit weird.

Kings Comics
Address: 310 Pitt Street, Sydney
Phone: (02) 9267 5615
Opening Times: Everyday 9am to 6pm, except Thursday, closes 8pm, weekends, 10am to 5pm

The other comic book shop in Sydney. This is very much like any comic book shop in the country; lots of Marvel and DC titles and merchandise, Walking Dead comics and merchandise Doctor Who merchandise etc., practically nothing to differentiate it from any other popular comic book store. As expected there is a fair wack of English language manga, but certainly not as well stocked as Kinokuniya. There are a couple of books on anime as well and a very limited range of figures, mostly S.H.Figuarts of popular stuff like “Sailor Moon”.

And that’s that for anime shops in Sydney. I walked through the Chinatown/Haymarket area as well as through the little arcades and was utterly surprised that all of the bootleg DVD shops had disappeared completely. I think I only saw one shop sell Chinese DVDs and Blu-rays in Market City, but you could tell it wasn’t their main business. All of the little hobby shops selling model kits had disappeared as well. I was also a little annoyed that general second hand book, CD and DVD stores had been wiped out from the CBD. I knew that the two Chinese newsagents, who stocked anime magazines and bootleg merchandise, had shut down in the mid 2000’s. Even Game Infinity had disappeared without a trace. In its place was just a blank white façade as if its existence had been wiped from everyone’s collective memory. But of course the internet has killed video stores and fandom has collectively shifted away from plastic model and garage kits to completed figures that sell for hundreds of dollars each. Though I don’t mind the stores that still exist, it was all a bit depressing really. Sure I don’t miss the horribly overpriced DVDs and shitty service of the Cartoon Gallery, but nostalgia for the 1990’s bit a little hard. Regardless I quite enjoyed my trip up to Sydney. However I don't think I'll be heading back any time soon.

I’m hoping to do post on whatever anime related shops still exist in Melbourne sometime in the future. I’m hoping to head down there sometime in mid or late 2017. I’m hoping things might be a bit better there.

Japan, A Shopping Overview: AruAru City and Fukuoka

Surprisingly there aren’t many large otaku shopping districts south of the Kansai region. In fact the largest of these types of areas outside of the Kanto and Kansai regions is way down in Kyushu, in Kokura in Fukuoka Prefecture. Not far from the Japan Rail (JR) Kokura station is AruAru City, a seven floor complex of mostly otaku type shops. The Tenjin area of Fukuoka also has a number of anime and hobby related stores, though spread out over a wide area. First up, let’s go to AruAru City.

If you’re coming from Hakata station and have a Japan Rail Pass, you can take the Shinkansen to Kokura station in around 17 minutes. If not it’ll take anywhere from 40 to 80 minutes on the JR Kagoshima Line depending on if you get the rapid, semi rapid or regular trains. If you take the Shinkansen exit, you’ll find yourself out on a walkway overlooking the rear of the station. Here you will find a full sized statue of Captain Harlock.

Leiji Matsumoto was born in Fukuoka, hence the statue outside the station. Next to Harlock there are statues of Maetel sitting on a bench (so you can sit next to her) and Tetsuro standing next to the bench. Both are from Matsumoto’s “Galaxy Express 999”.

Following the path to the right you’ll eventually come to a walkway which leads across to AruAru City (most shops open from 11am), a otaku shop complex which the promotional material claims has a focus anime, games, manga, idols and local comedy. It opened in 2012 and seems to be linked with the Tokyo Anime Centre in Akihabara. The walkway leads you to the second floor, however I’ll go through the shops from the top of the building the bottom. On the seventh floor is the Aruaru City Theatre which has comedy acts, idol group performances and karaoke nights in the evenings from Tuesdays to Fridays. The sixth and fifth floors have the Kitakyushu Manga Museum (open from 11am, closed Tuesdays). Costing ¥400, the small museum mostly features the work of Leiji Matsumoto (including another Harlock statue) and a Manga Time Tunnel which begins in 1945 and goes right through to modern times. The tunnel leads to a manga library. Unfortunately I came on a Tuesday and never got to go inside the museum…

From the fourth floor downwards, it’s all anime related shops (for the most part). The fourth floor has Smile Station (figures and other anime merchandise as well as purikura photo sticker machines). Also on this floor are branches of Super Position Recycle Shop (second hand figures and merchandise) and Mandarake (open from 12pm). The Mandarake branch at AruAru City is a little light on in terms of books and manga. They do stock loads and loads of figures and have a surprisingly good DVD and Blu-ray section. The third floor has a number of big chain anime related stores; Animate, C-Labo (cards), Gamers, Melonbooks (doujin) and Lashinbang (second hand figures and other goods). The second floor has a mix of stores including Machi Asobi Cafe (anime themed café in one shop, the other has various anime goods) a Jungle branch (second hand figures), Jiku Chushinha (local doujin circle goods), G-Stage (UFO Catcher and other games), a branch of Robot Robot (figures), AMPnet.jp (video and PC games, BDs and DVDs, figures and some anime goods) and Gatcha Gatcha Section (gatchapon of course). On the last two floors (the first and the basement), there’s a real mix of tenants including a real estate agent, a golf store, and internet café, a karaoke bar, a family restaurant, a slot car race circuit and a practice space/studio for bands. What really impressed me about AruAru City was the amount of really great figures for sale in the shops. The day I went there, most of the shops had a lot of really rare and unusual stuff there for reasonable prices.

That’s about it for Kokura. Now on to the Tenjin area in Fukuoka. To get there take the JR Kagoshima Line back to Hakata station, then transfer to the subway and get on the Kuko Line (the station number for Hakata on this line is K11). This will take around 60 to 90 minutes or a bit over 30 minutes if you take the Shinkansen from Kokura to Hakata station. Once you’re at Tenjin station (K08), take exit one. Walk west along Meiji Avenue and in the third block on the left will be the Mandarake Fukuoka store (open from 12pm). Like the one in AruAru City this is overflowing with figures and merchandise. There are more books here, but it’s not as comprehensive as other Mandarake stores. I was hoping for a selection of movie programmes like most other Mandarake stores have, but was surprised that like the AruAru City store they had none. Follow the road back to the main intersection which crosses the main road in Tenjin. Turn left up the main road, two blocks on the right will be North Tenjin Building and on the sixth floor is Book Off Super Bazaar Tenjin. In the building next door, the Daiei building, is Volks on the sixth floor. Like the other store in this chain they have a ton figure, model kits, accessories and supplies as well as a large range of Dollfie stuff.

Across the road from the Daiei building are branches of Gee! Store (on the second floor) and Melonbooks (on the third floor). Head south down the main road to the end of the block and turn right. In the next block on the left will be a local branch of Toranoana. Another set of otaku-like shops can be found back on the main street three blocks south. After the block with Tsutaya and Tenjin Core, turn left down the side street past the side of Tenjin Core. At the end of the block is the Vivre shopping centre. On the sixth floor is a branch of Animate as well as the Animate Café, another branch of Smile Station and Mint Trading Cards and Card Games Shop. There was a branch of Kotobukiya around here as well, but that shut down in 2014. Walking back to the main street, turn left and keep walking south for about four blocks. On the other side of the street is the Loft shopping complex. The basement floor of the building is a hobby shop called Tom Sawyer. They have model kits and supplies, figures, some merchandise and some garage kits.

That’s it for Fukuoka. Unlike other regions in Japan, there is a fairly up to date website called Fukuoka Otaku News which highlights all the otakuish type events and shops in the region. Unfortunately it’s only in Japanese, but it’s easy to navigate. There’s a lot of interesting things on the site including directions on how to get to the Gundam Bar Solomon and the Bar NERV Fukuoka Branch. Yes, unofficial Gundam and Evangelion themed bars. This concludes my series about anime shopping in Japan. Next up I’ll be looking at Jinbocho in Chiyoda, Tokyo which is well known for its used book shops.

Japan, A Shopping Overview: Osaka

Contrary to popular belief, there are other anime/otaku shopping hotspots outside of metropolitan Tokyo. Most large cities do have their own “Akihabrara”, even if it only consists of a couple of chain stores such as Animate or Toranoana located in the same street or a complex shared by a number of stores. Outside of the Kanto area the biggest of these is Nipponbashi (or Den Den Town), an electronics area which partly evolved into a Akihabara-like otaku shopping paradise, albeit much smaller. There are a couple of Mandarake stores in the city as well, but not within walking distance of Nipponbashi (well, it’s a 20 minute walk to the nearest Mandarake). In addition there are a couple of smaller shops outside Nipponbashi I thought would be worth mentioning. And as per with other areas in this series of posts, there really isn’t anything useful in English about Nipponbashi/Osaka anime shopping and the Japanese guides/lists are a little spotty in terms of accurateness. I have deliberately ignored some of the additional stores that Toranoana and Animate have in Umeda and have concentrated on the main areas and stores.

First up, let’s go to Nipponbashi. The best way to tackle the area is to start at the end of Sakai-suji avenue. To get there from Osaka, go to Umeda station (station number M16) and take the Midosuji line towards Tennoji station. Get off at Dobutsuen-mae station (M22) and transfer to the Sakaisuji line (K16) towards Ebisucho. Get off at Ebisucho station (K18) and use exit 1A. You’re on Sakai-suji avenue at the southern end of Nipponbashi (Den Den Town). Go north (opposite direction, away from Tsutenkaku, Osaka’s infamous tower landmark) and stay on the right hand side of the street. In the next block you’ll find the Nipponbashi Information shop. Open from 11am, they have general information about the area including the Pombashi Map which comes out every so often. Though it’s entirely in Japanese, it does list every hobby and electronics store in Nipponbashi as well as the dozens of Maid Cafes dotted around the area (at times it feels there are more Maid Cafes here than in Akihabara). They also have a dual language map in Korean and English (or more accurately “Engrish”), but it’s not up to date as the Pombashi Map. The store also includes promotional material for upcoming festivals in the area, flyers for the local Maid Cafes and original merchandise for the area’s mascot character, Neon and her offsider Hikari, created by Noizi Ito of “Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya” fame.

In the next block on the same side of the street as Nipponbashi Information shop is Disc Pier, which is part of the Joshin chain of electronics discount shops. I’m not 100% sure but I think Joshin is a Kansai based chain. Open from 10am, you’ll find anime and idol related CDs, DVDs, blu-rays and some anime merchandise on the sixth floor. In the same block (around the back, not 100% sure because I’ve not been to the shop since it moved) is the first Disc J.J. Open from 11am, this is a record store that has used CDs, DVDs, blu-rays and laserdiscs. There are some used and new (well, unopened since the 1990’s) anime laserdiscs, but most are near their original retail price or dearer. All along the opposite side of the street are various porn and manga stores (not separate, together). Enter at your own risk. Your eyeballs may not be the same afterwards. A couple of smaller second hand record and DVD stores can be found on that side of the street as well.

In the next block on the left hand side of the road is the main store of Super Kids Land. Part of the Joshin chain it has five floors of hobby goods  Open from 10am, it mostly has plastic model kits and hobby supplies, remote control cars and model trains. The next block on the right hand side of the road is another Disc J.J. store. This one is larger three floors of vinyl records, DVDs, blu-rays and laserdiscs. Like their other shop it is open from 11am. On the other side of the street a little way up the block is a-Too. Open from 11am, this thin building has five floors of used DVDs, blu-rays, games, figures and other merchandise. The first floor has games and cards. The second floor has manga, photo books, CDs, DVDs and blu-rays. The third floor has anime and tokusatsu DVDs, blu-rays and CDs, plus seiyu CDs and light novels. The fourth has figures, anime porn, adult PC games and magazine. The fifth floor has live action porn DVDs and idol DVDs.

On the corner of the next block across the road you’ll a massive sign with picture of Go Nagai robots and characters. This is the entrance to Mazingo Jungle, an offshoot of second hand anime and pop culture store Jungle. This shop is fairly new and contains nothing but Go Nagai related merchandise and figures. The shop is a partnership between Jungle and Go Nagai’s Dynamic Planning production house. It is in fact Dynamic Planning’s official store. The shop is open from 12pm. Down the side street, two doors down from Mazingo Jungle is Gakiranger. Open from 11am, they sell second hand and new Gundam model kits, Maschinen Krieger model kits, anime figures and other merchandise.

Continuing back on to Sakai-suji avenue, on the right hand side of the road you’ll find Volks right at the end of the block. Open from 11am, there’s character goods and figures on the first and second floors, sci-fi and robot plastic model kits on the third floor, military model kits and accessories on the fourth, naval, car and aircraft kits on the fifth, train models on the sixth floor and Dollfie stuff on the seventh floor. Around the corner from Volks is Hero Gangu who stock second hand figures, soft vinyl toys and other anime and tokusatsu merchandise. They open 12pm and are closed on Wednesday. Directly opposite Volks on the other side of the road is K-Books with three floors of doujin related merchandise.

On the same side of the street right at the end of the block is Super Kids Land character store. You might have seen pictures of this store’s giant billboard which used to read “Osaka Gundams” with a picture of a Gundam on one side, and a picture of a Zaku on the other. It’s possibly the most famous landmark in Nipponbashi. The store has model kits and hobby supplies and anime figures on the first floor and Gundam model kits (of course) on the second floor. It opens from 10am. In the very next block on the same side of the road is Toranoana (doujin and related merchandise) with Super Position Recycle Shop (second hand figures, toys and gatchapon etc.) right next door. On the opposite of the road from those shops is Jungle’s main store. Probably the biggest second hand otaku-type shop in the Kansai region, they have tons of figures, soft vinyl toys and figures, DVDs, blu-rays, gatchapon and just about everything else you can imagine. Last time I went they had a display of “Mad Max” memorabilia, none of which was for sale unfortunately.

That’s about it for Sakai-suji avenue. In the next block on the right hand side you’ll see a rather grand building which is the Takashimaya Archives. Follow the building down to the end of the block, cross the road and turn left. About 20 metres up the road will be Sofmap and a few other discount electronics stores. In the next block, half way up on the right hand side of the road will be the main Gee! Store in the area. This shop mostly has cosplay stuff, but has some anime t-shirts and merchandise. If you’re standing outside Gee! Store, walk across to the other side of the street and turn left and take the next street to your right. This is street is colloquially called “Ota Road” and is home to dozens of otaku-like shops and Maid Cafes (hence the name). Keep walking to the next side street and to your right you will see the Yellow Submarine card shop. On the left is another Sofmap store is Naniwa Dengyosha which sells a lot gatchapon as well as figures. Across the road is Sound Pak records. They mostly have a lot western prog rock, but you never know your luck. At the very next intersection there are a couple of more card shops, another Yellow Submarine and Card Pal.

Half way up the next block on the left is the second a-Too shop. This branch has games and used anime DVDs, blu-rays, figures and CDs on the second and third floors of the building. Right next door is a branch of retro games chain Super Potato and another Toranoana shop as well as the local Gamers shop. Another store down is a second Super Position Recycle Shop.  In the next block along we have the Gee! Store Annex, Super Position G-1 (figures and gatchapon), a second Gakiranger shop and Kotobukiya. A car park is on the right and after that a monolithic building which houses Animate on the first and second floors, Lashinbang on the third floor, Mellonbooks on the fourth 4th, and a branch of cards chain C-Labo on the fifth floor. Opposite this building is a second branch of K-Books. Keep going up Ota Road a few tens of metres on left a couple of stores up is White Canvas. They sell doujin merchandise.

Really, that’s it for Ota Road. There’s nothing else of real interest except for a few maid cafes, if you’re into that stuff. Next we’ll head to Mandarake Grand Chaos which is about a 20 minute walk from Nipponbashi. The other option is to take the train. Walk back to Namba station (M20) to take Midosuji subway line to Shinsaibashi station (M19), a two minute trip in total. Use exit 7, walk towards OPA retail outlet at end of block and turn left then right at next intersection walking past the Big Step complex. Three blocks later, turn left at end of block. You’re roughly in the Americamura area of Osaka which is their trendy youth fashion district, kind of like a combination of Harajuku and Shibuya. Keep walking south, past the cement park in the middle of Americamura and the police box on the right. There will be a small post office on the left and finally King Kong CD & Record a little further past that also on the left. Right next door should be Mandarake Grand Chaos. This branch has four floors; the buyback counter, shonen manga and figures are on the first floor, games, CDs, blu-rays, DVDs, older manga and art books are on the second floor, male idols merchandise, doujin for women and cosplay merchandise are on the third floor and fourth floor has manga and doujin for men.

There are a couple of other weird little anime shops full of slightly obscure out of print things not far from Nagahoribashi subway station. To get there, go back to Shinsaibashi station (N15), get on the Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi line and take the one minute trip to Nagahoribashi station (N16). Take exit 7, head east, which should be straight ahead out of the stairs. Three blocks down on the right, next door to language school is a shop called TSK. There is no name on the shop, and I really have no idea what hours it is meant to be open (see picture to the right for what it looks from on the street). While the store mostly seems to be storage area for online sales at Rakuten, the people who run the shop seem to have no trouble with people coming into the shop. They sell tons of anime and general laserdiscs and box sets, VHS tapes, DVDs, CDs and records. The shop is a dog’s breakfast with stuff everywhere and no prices on anything. Best bet is look through the listings at Rakuten, print off the listings of the items what you want and go into the store.

Another anime shop exists not too far from TSK. To get there keep going east one block away until just before the Hanshin Expressway Route 1 overpass. Do not go underneath or cross the canal. Instead turn left, walk about 7 blocks down following the Hanshin Expressway Route 1 overpass. On the right should be Tokage no Shippo (or X-Saab as they’re known online) On ground floor is a restaurant (used to be an Italian one, not sure if they’re moved out). Tokage no Shippo is on the second floor. Use stairs down the right hand side of building to get to the shop, not the elevator. Again I have no idea what hours the store keeps. They have a wide range of used anime merchandise from CDs, DVDs, blu-rays, some laserdiscs, figures and posters. The shop is small but they have a pretty good range of vintage 1980’s and 1990’s stuff. Again see the picture above for what the outside of the store looks like (nicked from one of their flyers, because I forgot to take a photo of the shop…). To be honest both stores are pretty hard to find, so I have created a map here to help you.

Finally on to the main Mandarake store in Umeda. To get there back track beside the Hanshin Expressway Route 1 overpass and cross the canal to get to Matsuyamachi station (N17). Take the Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi subway line to Tanimachi Rokuchome station (N18), transfer to the Tanimachi line (T24) to get to Higashi-Umeda station (T20). The trip should take no more than 15 minutes. Try and exit out of the Whity Mall and use exit M6 or M2. On that side of the road you should see a giant Big Echo karaoke advertisement sign. Head down the covered mall next to the karaoke advert. The Umeda branch of Mandarake will be 170 metres on left. A second entrance can be found a further 10 or so metres on. Last time I visited in late November 2015, I seem to recall that the shop had been renovated. Note that I was suffering a really bad head cold at the time and may be wrong... Anyway this branch is pretty much like the one in Americamura except it seems to have more of an emphasis on cosplay merchandise. The covered mall also houses some really interesting restaurants with eye-catching and sometimes bizarre store fronts.

That's it for Osaka. Next time I will be having a look at AruAru City near Kokura station in Kitakyushu plus a few other shops in the Fukuoka Prefecture.

Japan, A Shopping Overview: Nakano Broadway

Nakano Broadway feels like it’s the antithesis of Akihabara. While “Akiba” can feel downright sterile and plastic at times, Nakano Broadway feels organic and real. The shop owners and stores feel genuine. One of the reasons for this is that many of the tenants in the shopping arcade are actually the owners of the shops. Most of the shops have been there for many years. You won’t find any fly by nighters here. The complex has a really interesting background; it was originally a luxury apartment and shopping complex built in the mid 1960’s. Up until the 1970’s it housed numerous celebrities, politicians and the like. However in the 1980’s it lost its lustre as its high profile residents moved to trendier parts of Tokyo. Around the same time Mandarake opened up its first store. As the old tenants moved out with their high profile residents, niche hobby stores and the like moved into the empty shop spaces over the next twenty or so years. The resulting shopping complex while heavily weighted on the hobby side, still has a number of mainstream businesses nestled throughout.

The layout of the shopping complex also has an interesting history. Supposedly the creator of “Dragon Quest”, Yuji Horii once said he was inspired by the rather confusing layout of Nakano Broadway for the dungeons in the RPG. You may want to take that bit of info with a grain of salt. Anyway, to get to the complex take the Chuo-Sobu Line. Nakano station is three stops away from Shinjuku station. Take the north exit and head straight towards and through the Nakano Sun Mall (中野サンモール) which is a covered strip mall. 225 metres later you will come to the entrance of Nakano Broadway. Note that most of the shops open around midday (as the vast majority of them are Mandarake shops) however some of the smaller ones do open around 10am. The best way I find to tackle Nakano Broadway is to take the elevator to the fourth floor and work your way down to the first. The basement only has clothing and food stores (which may or may not be of any interest to you). To get to the elevator, take the first right after the entrance (don’t go up the escalator), then the next left. The elevator will be on the right hand side and is quite small. On the fourth floor standing outside the elevator to your left, you will be assaulted by the noise of Nakano TRF, a game centre which opens from midday.

Moving around the floor in a clockwise direction, the first shop you’ll come across is Mandarake Mania Kan. Here you’ll find old manga and magazines, anime mooks (magazine/books), Japanese movie programmes and vinyl records. Across the hallway is Kanransha which has a fantastic selection of movie paraphernalia for western cinema, Japanese cinema, anime and tokusatsu films including movie programmes, posters and flyers. The shop used to be an utter mess with crap everywhere, but on my last visit I noticed that it is much more ordered and you can actually find what you’re after quite easily. Next up and the Mandarake shops Mandarake Special 6 (robot toys and figures including die-cast metal Popy and Bandai Chogokin robots), Mandarake Plastic (dolls and accessories), Mandarake Anime Kan (anime cels, backgrounds and key animation drawings), Mandarake Ryusenkeiziken (model trains) and Mandarake Henya, which is the company’s showcase store of advertising paraphernalia, vintage toys and Showa era antiques and oddities. The Tori gate at the entrance and lighting on the floor make it the most unusual stores in the complex. Nestled in-between these stores is a rental showcase store called Final Piece.

Around the corner is Anime Shop Apple Symphony which contains a huge range of anime cels for rather cheap prices. I’ve bought a number of cels from this shop, mostly magical girl and shoujo stuff from the 1990’s. They also have some general anime merchandise and original drawings used in the animation. Up a bit further is Mandarake Kaiba which contains anime art books, reference and sub culture books. Along with Mania Kan, these are the two Mandarake shops I spend the most time in. Beyond that is Ai Ai Toys which is wall to wall gatchapon for the most part (open from 1pm, closed on Wednesdays) and Marumo Shoutengai which mostly sells figures, gatcahpon and cards.

Down one level on the third floor at the southern end, we start with Alphaville (open from 1pm) which sells nothing but bishoujo PC games. From here in a clockwise direction we come to the first Robot Robot store on the floor which has mostly figures and gatchapon. Next door is the first Trio store which specialises in male idols, specifically those managed by in the infamous Johnny & Associates production group such as SMAP, Kinki Kids, V6 and Arashi. Two games shops; Yu Vic which has nothing but cards and Tomato Land who deal in new and used video games. Next we come to a cluster of Mandarake stores; Mandarake Infinity (male idols), Mandarake Special 2 (Kamen Rider and sentai toys, Macross toys and anime plastic models), Mandarake Special 3 (Gundam, Evangelion and Disney toys and figures as well as video games), the main Mandarake store headquarters which contains used manga and the buyback store.

Further on we have Havikoro Toy which deals in figures, mostly shokugan toys and gatchapon, BLOX which has a lot of western pop culture merchandise but also focuses on Michael Jackson memorabilia, Gaocchi who deal in items from the Showa era including toys, baseball cards and other merchandise and the second Trio store which mostly deals in general idol merchandise, mostly AKB48 stuff. In between these is Recomints, a record store. They used to have a second store which dealt exclusively in used anime and tokusatsu CDs, DVDs and blu-rays, but this shut down a year or so ago. Right at the top of the northern end of the floor we have Fukuo Stamp Sha which deals in stamps and coins, with Tacoche next door which sells self-published books and fanzines as well as independently published CDs and other merchandise. Right at the very northern end of the floor is A-Moju (open from 1:30pm, closed Wednesdays) which carry Pez dispensers and merchandise as well Star Wars, Smurfs and Tom and Jerry figures and merchandise plus other western pop culture goods.

Around the corner is the second Robot Robot store which has mostly western figures such as Star Wars and transformer toys and the like. There is also a formula one motor racing merchandise store called F-1 Collection Signass, the second Liberty shop which has figures, some garage kits, model trains and cars, some plastic models and some used blu-ray and DVD. Further along is Omotya no Pony which is small mainstream toy store. Rounding out the hobby stores on this floor are Toy Burn which deals mostly in Shonen Jump related merchandise and figures, Para Box which a doll collector’s paradise and Antique Nakano Broadway which sells Showa era toys and merchandise.

Now we venture on to the second floor of Nakano Broadway. This floor has a large number of rental case stores; Avanse (open from 12:30pm, closed Tuesdays), Clear, Collector Toybox Bowwow (also specialising in soft vinyl toys and bishoujo  figures), Toreka (closed Wednesdays), Cube Style and Vent Vert (mostly teddy bears, Disney merchandise and other similar items). And this floor is also heavily dominated by Mandarake speciality shops; Mandarake Card, Mandarake Cosplay, Mandarake Daisyarin (die cast cars), Mandarake Deep (doujin for men), Mandarake Galaxy (games and related merchandise), Mandarake Kaguya (model kits), Mandarake Katsudou Shashin (movie posters), Mandarake Live (doujin for woman), Mandarake Micro Kan (Kinkeshi type erasers, mostly Kinnikuman related), Mandarake Special (soft vinyl kaiju toys, garage kits and other related plastic toys. This shop has the huge Tetsujin 28 out the front), Mandarake Special 4 (old capsule toys, PVC and trading figures, bishoujo figures and garage kits), Mandarake Special 5 (American and other foreign hero toys) and finally Mandarake UFO (anime and tokusastu DVDs, blu-rays, voice actor and game related CDs).

But there’s also a heap of other shops on this floor; the third Robot Robot shop (specialises in magical girl merchandise and figures as well as Ultraman soft vinyl toys and US children’s toys), And Toy (anime merchandise), Bigyard (model trains), three Lashinbang stores (used DVDs, Blu-rays, dojinshi, anime, game related CDs, figures, merchandise etc.), Merry-Go-Round Toy Store (figures and shokugan toys), Bamboola (Shonen Jump and Studio Ghibli merchandise), Poppoya (model trains, closed Wednesday), Nozaki Coin, Aloha Toy (anime figures and merchandise for women), Disc Five (DVD, Blu-ray, games and consoles, closed Wednesdays), Game Station (new and used games and game consoles), Alf (die cast model cars) Books Rondo Sha (second hand books, closed Wednesdays), Antique Ajisai (western curios, antique dolls, teddy bears etc., closed Wednesdays), Havikoro Toy Cardshop Kaizokuou, the third Trio shop (male and female idol merchandise), Nakano Vintage (plastic models, train models, Showa era merchandise and collectibles) and Anime World Star Goods (anime cels and some anime merchandise, closed Wednesdays).

Finally to the first floor; two gaming arcades, Adores Nakano and Namco, Cardshop Treasure (telephone cards), Freedom Garage (Shonen Jump figures and gatchapon), the second Havikoro store (anime merchandise for women), Ikukan (rental case store, closed Wednesdays), Plabbit (completed Gundam models and hobby accessories, closed Wednesdays) and Mandarake Mon, a display store for some of their showcase items, which is right at the entrance of Nakano Broadway. The basement floors mostly have food and fashion stores. Shops in the complex don’t change as much as other areas, but you may still want to check the shops website (if they have one) to confirm if they’re still operating and their opening hours if you are heading to specific shop. Note that many of the stores don't open on Wednesdays, so it's probably not the best day to go to the complex. Sorry for the poor selection of photos in this post. Nakano Broadway doesn't really like patrons to take photos inside the complex and unlike other foreign visitors, I have chosen to adhere to their request.

Next time in my anime shopping series I’ll be looking at Osaka, in particular Nipponbashi (aka Den Den Town) in the Namba area as well as some other anime shops in Osaka that are a little bit off the beaten track.

Japan, A Shopping Overview: Akihabara Part Two

Continuing on from part one, my (relatively) comprehensive look at Akihabara.

Onwards from Aso Bit City, if you keep going to the end of the block and turn right, you’ll come across what is probably the nosiest store on the planet; Lammtarra (website NSFW). When you get past the wall of noise from the multiple CDs and anime Blu-ray they are blasting out at the same volume at the same time, you’ll discover a decent amount anime CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray and games around the ground floor. Most are discounted far more than other stores. Upper floors have porn, porn and nothing but porn, so if you’re not into that stuff, avoid at all costs. Another Lammtarra store (called Mulan) is located on the other side of the road about hundred metres up.

At the end of the block is Volks, which I have previously written about. Around the corner is Gamers and beyond that the newly build and opened Akihabara Radio Kaikan. The original was demolished after numerous cracks appeared in the structure after the devastating 2011 Tohoku earthquake. A temporary residence was set up during demolition and reconstruction in the building Volks now occupies. The new Radio Kaikan has nine floors of shops including a range figure, toy and rental box stores (Havikoro, Kaiyodo, Astop, RobotRobot, Uchusen, X aka Ekkusu, a couple of Volks shops and Jungle), a model kit shop (Yellow Submarine), tons of card shops, an omiyage (souvenir) shop, a doujin store (K-Books) a shop dedicated to idol merchandise (Trio) and a couple of electronic equipment stores. For more anime merchandise including omiyage, Gamers is right outside the building to your left about 20 metres down. For lunch you should probably go to GoGoCurry. The one near Book Off is far less crowded. The restaurant chain uses vending machine tickets, so figure out what meal you want in katakana/kanji before you go so you’re not bothering other patrons.

At midday I usually head over to Mandarake, mostly because it’s quieter than later in the day. I’ve written about Mandarake in a general sense before, but the Akihabara Complex is slightly larger than the average shop with eight floors. While there are stairs tom floors on the outside of the building, it pays to take the elevator inside the building the highest floor you want to go to and work your way down the stairs the lower floors. Backtracking a bit, you may want to head off to Trader which is located under the Sobu line overpass, opposite KFC. Trader is a second hand game and DVD/blu-ray shop. Sometimes you can get lucky here and find a few bargains. There a ton of shops hidden away in the backstreets around here; a figure shop called Toreka, the Cospa shop, Lashinbang, the second X (or “Ekkusu”) shop, Mellonbooks, Kotobukiya, and another well-hidden figure shop called Kashibako. North of all these shops is the Akiba Culture Zone complex. Like Radio Kaikan, this six floor building hosts a number of smaller shops such as Lashinbang, RobotRobot, Havikoro, Ganking, Astop and Trio. As you can see some chains have a number of smaller stores dotted throughout the area.

On the north side of Akiba Culture Zone, right across the street is Monkey Soft. This is another second had and new video shop. While it does contain mostly porn, there are some mainstream anime bargains to be found here, if you’re lucky. Next door on the left is Fetish World (website NSFW). Sure, it’s a porn store, but a really weird one. The best thing here is the specialised videos of women crushing miniature cities as if they were a giant monster. None of the models in these videos are nude and it’s not really arousing in any sense (to me anyway), but it is bloody funny. If you turn left out of the building and head towards the main road in Akihabara, you’ll see another Liberty figure shop on the right hand side of the road and doujin mini-chain Comic Zin on the corner of the main road.

It’s now time to tackle the main street of Akihabara with its duty free stores full of rude clerks who barely acknowledge you, the main Animate shop in the area, Toranoana, various Liberty stores with figures to idol merchandise and Sofmap amongst others. Around those shops are few more in the back streets; figure shop Toy Altria and Jungle’s main store. Beyond, that to the east is the UDX building and the Tokyo Anime Centre. Depending on what is on display (sometimes key artwork from an anime currently being broadcast), it may or may not be worthwhile. The gift store probably isn’t worth your while, but the Akiba map probably is. The shop is open from 11am, so probably going there first on the day before you tackle Akihabara is the best bet.

Further north up the main street near Suehirocho station are some interesting finds. Soft vinyl toy store Golden Age Toys has a lot of interesting stuff for sale. I’m not really into this stuff so I can’t really say much about the range on offer. In the same area is gatchapon heaven in the form of Akibagatcha and right next door a branch of Gee! Store. Diagonally across from Golden Age Toys is Hobby Shop Tam Tam. This a chain store which has several branches across Japan. Situated on the fourth and fifth floors of the building, they have model kits, figures and hobby supplies galore. Also around this area are a group of hobby shops which bear the name Leonardo. The shops have rare model kits, mostly military, airplanes and cars, but also a few sci-fi and anime kits. Leonardo LG has three shops in the area, Leonardo ET has one. Apparently the original Leonardo store closed a while back, but I’m not sure why there are two separately owned shops now baring its name.

For otakuish type businesses, you’ve come to the end of the line. There really isn’t anything more to explore beyond this area. There are a couple of family restaurants in the area (Jonathans and Gusto) as well as a few other more traditional options if you need a break and are a bit hungry (which by this time, you probably will be). Walking back to Akihabara station, you can knock off any shops you may have missed on the way. As I said in the first part, do your research. Japanese websites like Akiba Scope and Akihabara Online do have substantial lists, but a fair wack of that information is out of date and inaccurate. The best bet is to look up the shop’s website (luckily most have one) to check the address and opening times.

Next time I’ll be continuing on with the anime shopping theme with a trip to Nakano Broadway.

Japan, A Shopping Overview: Akihabara Part One

So what can I say about Akihabara, or Akiba as the locals call it, that hasn’t been said hundreds of times before? Well despite the thousands of articles written about the place in the last 10+ years, there isn’t any comprehensive, up to date guides to the area in English or Japanese. Kind of a common theme in my posts, right? Of course you could just wing it, but why waste time randomly going to shops? Going in unprepared on a holiday is a pet peeve of mine, especially on overseas holidays. The other thing which craps me is the preconceived notions people have about the place. If you want to believe that that it’s all maid cafes and porn, then whatever, go right ahead. It’s your loss.

I get that people see Nakano Broadway as being more “real” and that Akiba can be seen as sterile and fake. However if you do a bit of exploring you can find a lot of interesting shops in nooks and crannies in the back streets. Also the large department store-like otaku shops aren’t necessarily sterile and full of the latest crap otaku shows you despise. Akiba is what you make it really.

Make no mistake; Akihabara is a large and exhausting place to explore. Originally this was going to be a single post. But as I kept writing, I realised that I needed to make it a two parter. Rather than go through individual stores like I have with the previous entries in this series, I’d thought I might explain what I have personally done in my attempts to conquer Akiba. First up, you’re going to need a game plan. Do you want to do it in one day or over two? Do not underestimate the place or the size of it. Though it’s fun just exploring, you may want to pre-plan which stores you want hit and have a list on hand of the merchandise you want get. You also have to realise that by half through the day (or earlier) you’re probably going to be weighed down by the loads of stuff you’ve purchased from the various shops you’ve been to. So here is where you either end the day prematurely or shove your purchases in a locker. Of course the problem is finding an empty locker. Even when you do you still have to hump all of your crap back to your hotel, wherever you’re staying.

If you’re really serious about conquering Akihabara in a day or so and have decided that most of your shopping will be done there, you probably want to stay here for your entire trip. To be honest there doesn’t seem too many great options on Airbnb, so the Washington Hotel might be your best bet. Once you’ve worked that out, you can figure out where the speciality stores are that you want to hit. For a general physical map head to the Tokyo Anime Center in the UDX building for an Akiba Map. The shop is open from 11am, so probably going there first on the day before you tackle Akihabara is the best bet. If you want to make your own map, you could do worse by going to Japanese sites like Akiba Scope. Now while the list of shops on that site and others may be relatively substantial, you can guarantee that some of that information is out of date. Shops are on those lists which no longer exist or have moved. To double check the information (for actual location and opening times), look at the actual shop’s website. Luckily most of these stores, even the tiny ones have websites. Of course the problem with Japanese addresses is that even putting them on Google Maps sometimes won’t give you an accurate mark on the map as to where the shop is. This is when Street View comes in handy. Even so for tiny shops it may be really hard to find where they actually are. Just a quick note before we start on the shops proper, I am not including things like card shops, doujin shops, game shops, maid cafes etc. I am mostly concentrating on shops which sell anime figures, CDs, Blu-rays, DVDs and books.

Once you’ve done your preplanning, it’s time to hit Akiba. First of all, like all shops in Japan, nothing really opens before 10am. I usually get to Akihabara station, departing from Okubo station (on the Chuo-Sobu Line, mainly because I love staying in Shinjuku) at 9:15 am or so. Never go on a Saturday or Sunday if you can’t stand crowds. I prefer the weekdays when it’s uncrowded and easy to move about. The only problem with getting to the station this early in the morning on a weekday is the peak hour crowds. Go after 9:15am if you’re not too keen about riding in overfull trains. I use the Central Gate to exit the station rather than Electric Town Gate. This is because the first port of call will be Yodobashi Camera.

Open at 9:30am, Yodobashi Camera deals mostly with electronic goods, however it is also full of anime DVDs, Blu-rays, games, figures, model kits and toys. As I said before the best thing about this shop is the discounts due to direct competition with rival electronics chain Bic Camera. You’ll save around 5% to 10% of retail prices here. On the seventh floor of the building are a small Tower Records branch and a small book store with lots of niche magazines. I usually spend about half an hour in the Yodobashi Camera building.

Once you’re done there, if you’re outside the main entrance of the store, turn to your left and follow the road under the bridge where you will see a massive tower. This is the Shosen Book Tower. Open from 10am, it is mostly full of otakuish books; the fourth floor has tokusatsu, music and mainstream movie books, the fifth mostly has military books, the sixth has seinen, josei and older manga, the seventh has shonen and shoujo manga as well as some anime artbooks and the eighth floor has sci-fi manga and Gundam books. Anime artbooks in particular seem to have a very limited shelf life in bookstores. However I have lucked out a number of times in this shop, most recently with a pair of “Love Live!"  books.

Once you’ve had your fill here, cross the street and walk west until you come to Book Off. While some may cite the Shibuya branch as the best Book Off store in the city, the Akihabara one is filled to the brim with otaku stuff like CDs, Blu-rays, games, manga and the like. A little further west along the same side of the street is the main store of X (or “Ekkusu” as it’s pronounced by the locals). This shop is filled with competitively priced figures and a few other character goods. If you’re after recently released figures, this is a pretty good place to find them. There is a second store deep in the back streets of Akiba. A few tens of metres up is one of the Liberty shops (designated as shop number 2). The small chain of stores that this company owns are mostly dotted up and down the main street of Akiba. This store mostly has gachapon toys and figures. Beyond Liberty is another hobby store called Aso Bit City. Run by electronics duty free store LAOX, it features hobby and anime character goods (figures, model kits etc.) on the fifth to seventh floors.

In the next part, I’ll be looking at some of the bigger stores on the main road in Akihabara, as well as the shops outside the Electric Town exit and of course the speciality shops in the back streets.