Kobe Toy Shopping (2013)

Welcome to Kaiju Korner's 2013 guide to toy shopping in Kobe, one of Japan's largest and most dynamic cities. Kobe has a lot to see in its own right, from distinct architecture to a famous harbor, gardens, and historic districts.

It has also has a couple of well known shopping arcades which stretch on for long distances. And both of those have clusters of toy shops.

Toy + Hobby Area 1: San Plaza/Center Plaza/Plaza West

This set of three shopping complexes, which are connected by walkways, is located in a nice covered mall. It's near Sannomiya station, and the easiest thing is to enter at the above spot.

After a few meters, you'll see this entrance to San Plaza. Most of the toy, game, and other shops of interest are on the 2nd and 3rd floors. To see all the shops in all three complexes, remember to take one of the corridors connecting San Plaza to Center Plaza, and then another from Center Plaza to Plaza West. It sounds confusing (and it can be from all the signage), but once you're inside one of the buildings, it will feel like one giant complex, so don't worry too much about the naming of things. Once you hit the end of Plaza West, you'll come to a big wall, so you'll know where to stop.

There are little arcades, video game shops, as well as stores selling manga, anime, model kits, books, records, and of course toys.

 More after the jump:

Indie toys at Paradise Toy Land (Taipei) Int'l orders OK

Paradise Toy Land in Taipei has some nice indie toys available. International shipping is OK, and ordering or writing to them in English should be no problem.

Here are some pics of what they have:

 More after the jump:

Tokyo toy shop map updated

I've added three more stores to my map of Tokyo toy shops: Yamashiroya, Psycho Monsterz, and Rubber Duck. You'll find the first one (a gigantic multi-floor toy store in Ueno) in pretty much every guide to Tokyo toy stores, but maybe not the second and third - so a bit of extra flavor there for some cool, but a bit more under the radar shops.

Along with all the shop info, I've also added links to KK store reports, so you can read up on the shops before heading over.

The updated post now contains nearly 30 shops and shopping centers. 

Have fun!

Tokyo Toy Shop Map Updated! (1.28.2011)

I've added Shikaruna to my Tokyo Toy Shop map, with the store hours, website, etc. I've also added all that info to yesterday's store visit post. Make sure to stop by the shop if you're in Koiwa. Third Uncle is also nearby.

Plus, you can take a very nice walk from Koiwa to Aoto (takes 45 minutes), to visit Shinto Gangu and Real Headz! (But remember to check Mori's Twitter feed to make sure one of the shops is open.)

Also, alas, I've removed Thrashout from the map. One store closes, one store opens.

Paul Kaiju x Real Head Biterman Side by Side

Biterman features a Paul Kaiju head design on an adult Real Head body.

The Biterman on the left was released at Shinto Gangu sold on 12.16.2011. The one on the right was sold at Shinto Gangu on 1.18.2012.

 More after the jump:

Tokyo Toy Shop Map Updated!

I've added two shop locations to the KK Tokyo Toy Shop map. The map now includes Kotobukiya and Akiba Zone (which houses One up Akiba, Robot Robot Akiba, etc.). Click here to check it out.

The resource now includes 26 locations, which includes individual shops as well as complexes like Broadway + Akiba Zone. Also, some locations cover multiple shops if they're in the same building (ex: Star Case + Ichibanboshi; Secret Base + Bounty Hunter + Erostika). Anyway, all that's indicated on the main blog post.

I've also started adding links to KK store reports, as the idea is to make the post a one-stop resource for Tokyo toy shopping. (I'd like to do one for Osaka and Nagoya, but that would be a ways down the line.)

I'll be adding more shops to the Tokyo map in the fullness of time. Please bear with me. It takes quite a while to nail down each shop location, as Google Maps is like a crocodile - extremely powerful but a PITA to wrestle down!

Sofubi buying tip for collectors outside of Japan

As I reported some months back, Kaiju Blue, the short-lived but venerable shop which hosted many fantastic shows, closed its doors. However, its webshop has stayed open. And they've got some nice sofubi for sale, from Real Head, Blobpus. Sunguts, Uamou, and more.

The good news for collectors outside of Japan is they'll ship internationally. Plus, you can write to them in English.

Click here to head straight to Kaiju Blue's sofubi section.

And click here for ordering instructions in English.

The instructions say they'll only take payment via bank wire transfer. Those fees can be costly, on both ends, and the shopper has to pay for everything. So before ordering, you might want to get some friends together to place a larger order, so you can share those costs.

Of course, Kaiju Blue also ships to Japanese addresses, a process which I imagine is much easier and cheaper.

As always, happy hunting!