Osaka Toy Crawl

Ah, Osaka...So much to see and do. You've got your great restaurants and foodstalls...

Osaka okonomiyaki rules - even the cheap stuff!

 ...your plastic food window displays...

 ...interesting architecture...

 ...and famous covered shopping arcades.

 Plus you've get your discount ticket shops...

 ...your creative store displays...

I don't think we can call this one a POP...

 ....and your socially conscious clothing shops.

Then of course there are toys. (What, you're not here for my ward-famous okononmiyaki reviews?)

There are still a lot of good toy shops in Osaka, and most of them are conveniently located in two adjacent areas: Shinsaibashi and Namba. There's a fine selection of vintage sofubi, anime, manga, western toys, storming, transforming, and terraforming robots (new and vintage), and more. That's the good news.

The bad news is Osaka is in pretty bad shape when it comes to original sofubi from outfits like Secret Base, Real Head, Yamomark, etc. There was a time (as recently as last year), when shops were stocked with great finds at bargain prices. Maybe that was the writing on the wall, but still, over the last five years, prices were consistently better than Tokyo, and the selection was decent.

A couple of shops still have interesting, out of the blue assortments from one or two companies like Rainbow or Marusan. And if you hit every store you might find a few figures you need. But the sad truth is, in terms of new sofubi, you can probably find more in a single visit to Nakano Broadway than in a day roaming through Osaka.

It all boils down to what's hot. From my discussions with shop owners, new sofubi just isn't cutting it for collectors. Sure, you've got blue moon events like the recent Pushead show at Astrozombies, which drew a ton of people and was a huge success. But in terms of a sustained interest, it's just not there any longer to justify shops keeping multiple display cabinets stocked with new figures.

Anyway, like I said, there are some great shops, and if you're on the lookout for other toys, you might wind up with a nice haul. Here's a roundup.

Popsoda:

Popsoda is always a fun shop for cool stuff like vintage TMNT, Wacky Wobblers, Toy Story, and other US toys.

The shop also sells original figures, like this one from Mirock.

Plus, Popsoda has original sofubi from Real Head, Spooky Parade and more. These figures were sculpted by Aya, of Refreshment Toys

Aya (visiting from Nagoya) and Hossy (Popsoda owner)

Much more after the jump...

Pushead @ Astrozombies (after) event pics

I rolled up to the shop the day after the event. The figures were sold out, but I was able to snap some pics.

Tokyo <-> Osaka: The Nightbus of Horrors!

One of the best travel deals in Japan is the system of highway buses that criss-cross the country. They're a bargain compared to the trains. So, for instance, you can go from Tokyo to Osaka for around 5,000 yen on an overnight bus. The same shinkansen ticket would cost 12,000 yen.

Also, if you're short on time, overnight buses can work out nicely. The Tokyo <-> Osaka route takes about 8 hours. So you leave at night and get there in the morning. (You also save a night's hotel accommodation.) Sounds great, right? Beware...

There are a lot of companies running this route, and they usually have different classes of service. Some have pamphlets showing each bus's interior. And they all have elysian names like Dreamliner, Premium Dream, Dreamtime....you get the idea.

So, last night we took JR's nearly bottom of the barrel overnight from Tokyo to Osaka. Ticket price: 4,300 yen. Leaves at 11:30 PM. Arrives at 8:30 AM. Sounds perfect, right? BEWARE....

This bus, which was completely full, crammed dozens of people in a space they had no business fitting in. It made a Northwest (RIP) flight feel like a Carnival cruise...scratch that. It made a Carnival cruise feel a luxury suite at the Burj al Arab. This is the only highway bus I can remember that had zero overhead storage bins. Zero. So all your bags were either checked in, or on your lap, or taking up all your leg room, making you straddle your backpack like John Wayne barrelin down the prairie....

Without enough room in their sardine seats for their butts, appendages, and personal accoutrements, aisle sitters - along with their arms, legs, and socks - were splayed out all over the place. Mmm, a cocktail of smelly socks and sauced salarymen. Shaken, not stirred please.

It gets better! On the first leg of the trip, the heat was cranked up to sauna levels, with very little air circulation. So there you are, slowly basting in this late night brew, immobile and contorted in a Cirque du Soleil yoga posture. Maybe you manage to drift off 60 or 90 minutes into it....then BAM! The lights come on and the loudspeaker announces that we've arrived at the first rest stop. Boy howdy! A 1:30 AM pit stop to stock up on local pins from the gatchapon and maybe a tasty onigiri or two! Actually, I was relived to get out of the baster.

Only thing I said to the driver as I went down the stairs: Atsui! Atsui! (Hot!)

He mumbled something which I hoped would translate into a humane climate change. And, I have to say, 15 minutes later, the air was cool and fresh as we prepared to roll out. Then the temperature crept up....off came the jackets....then it went down again...

By now, with Sir Smells-a-lot and Sir Coughs-constantly running the in-bus entertainment, I was resigned to ride out my fate and take my licks. Eventually, after cycling through half the music on my MP3 player...I got a minute or two of shut eye.

The lights came on again once or twice, and someone in the next row pulled open the window drapes at 6:00 AM - thanks so much sunshine! - but sure enough we rolled up right on time at Osaka station.

Thirty minutes later we were at the hotel, checked in and on time for...onigiri and coffee.

Mind you, highway buses are never pleasant, their names notwithstanding. But if you go for a first floor seat (they're slightly more expensive), you'll have more space for yourself and your belongings. Also, for 6,000-8,000 yen, you can ride in a far nicer bus with large plushy seats. Anyway, 4,300 yen is a dirt cheap ticket. Next time, though, I'll pony up the extra dough....and pray Sir Smells-a-lot keeps to the chicken bus.

Max Toy x Medicom @ Mandarake

Spotted at Nakano Broadway. Must have been put out last night or this morning. Pretty good prices - around 7800 yen for the Dragigus and 7300 yen for the Argus.

OneUp sofubi cases restocked

No time was wasted refilling OneUp's big 4th floor display cabinets. There's a nice variety of sofubi up there. Here are a few looks:

Tokyo toy map expanded...

I added a bunch more shops and also rearranged them by neighborhood. So, all the Harajuku, Koenji, Akihabara, etc. shops are in the same subsection. The peas go with the peas, and the corn goes with the corn! :p

Design Festa 32 Part 2: (Almost) everything else!

Besides toys, the other 95% of Design Festa is made up of just about every type of visual art you can think of. Well, alright, there was nothing with slabs of meat or live poultry - I'll give you that! But you've got your painting, drawing, clay, glass, mixed media, performance art, singing, and dancing. You've got your goth, your sloth, your mothman, plastic headgear fettish, people sleeping on public benches (very avant garde - it looked so real!), and on and on....

One thing that stood out is there was a slightly darker edge than in the other 2 DFs I've attended. And it wasn't just your Harajuku goth lolita costuming - more brooding, gory, and explicitly gloomy stuff. Of course there were still plenty of teddy bears, butterflies, and fish skeletons and insects suspended in little glass vials filled with a viscous liquid. So you know - balance.

Enough of the preramble! Here's the whole kit and kaboodle - mostly unscripted!

Dozens more pics after the jump!

Design Festa 32 Report. Part 1: Sofubi

Ah Design Festa...Where else can you see a booth filled with fine art next to a booth used as a gurney for an alien dissection and then think, "Yeah, that makes sense." The latest installment of the long-running show did not disappoint. Thousands of art fans, interested onlookers, and people with giant plastic fruits used as headgear flocked to Tokyo's Big Sight to get their weird on.

There's always so much going on at the show (which occupies a space large enough to host a fleet of Spruce Geece) that one post isn't enough. So let's start with the sofubi. Wait, before we do that, can we zoom in on the entrance arch...

Yeah, that's it. The idols of Design Festa past!

Enough of the preramble - on to the toys! But first, a man with half his face shaved:

Let's begin....

The biggest selection of sofubi was concentrated just inside the main entrance. There, Max Toy, Dream Rockets, Sunguts, Pico Pico, and more shared a row of booths which, along with companies set up throughout the venue, made this show a serious toy event in its own right.

Max Toy and friends:

 

 There were a *ton* of gorgeous one offs on hand.

Glow Bead Glory!!

 

 

 75 more photos after the jump!

OneUp sofubi update...

Went back to the 4th floor of Nakano and found the Dead Presidents customs were nearly all entirely cleared out. Found out most of them went to local collectors.

Sofubi - Ilanena style

Always a pleasure hanging out with Ilanena-san. We met up at the Nakano Starbucks and checked out some Broadway shops. Also had a chance to try out the Taiwanese vegetarian restaurant on the 2nd floor. I thought it was OK, and cheap enough for the noodle soup, but if you've got a bit of time, then you're probably better off exiting the mall to check out the restaurants in the alleys to the east of the complex.

After dinner, we wandered to another place and got there in time for some happy hour beer (350 yen for a glass of draft) - nice! Then Ilanena-san brought out some of his Dai Kaiju Card Monsters.
Really nice group here - the solid pink version is an earlier release from 2007. The gorgeous clear with inserts was a Beams exclusive. The amazing clear pink version is a one-off set which graced the cover of the Encyclopedia of Kaiju book released a few months back.

Breakdancing Betarus:
A close-up of the one-off from the book cover. (Make sure to click the pic to see the full size!)
This is the first time the set has been shot and shown publicly at hi-res close-up. Ilanena-san explained the paint layering technique he used to achieve the solid/clear counterpoint affect, as well as the "black light" effect of the color scheme. Fascinating to listen to the master explaining his craft. I just wish my Japanese were better!

We also talked about the state of the sofubi scene and how some younger collectors are getting involved. Here's a pic of some artwork given to Ilanena-san by a younger fan:
Look for sofubi releases from Ilanena-san at the upcoming Pachisummit, next year's winter Wonderfestival, and I'm sure plenty of stops in between!

New Monstock toys

It had been some time since I dropped in on my buddy Isao-san at Monstock, so I headed to Itabashi...only to discover the store had moved. Not only that, but some developer has torn down a row of old shops and restaurants (once opposite the old store) that gave the alleyway so much character. It was narrow and dark, twisting and brooding, like something you'd find in Holmes' London. Now the row is just an empty plot, and it's like the wall of an old house has been torn down, leaving the rest exposed and out of place (in its own space!) Alas...

Anyway, a really nice fellow there told me Monstock is now located in the Jujo station area. So I headed over, and Isao-san kindly met us at the station to lead us to the shop.

I was excited to see Monstock has been busy despite the move! In recent months, they've put out a bunch of new figures, many of which come from the dynamic design duo that make up Atelier Pu - an outfit I first learned about when I instantly fell in love with Softo-san after seeing their DVD + resin figure of the character.

Here are shots of many of the figures. They're mostly hi-res images, so click on each one to see its full size.

Froggen:
Moairobo:
Kameron:
Mini Kameron and Mini Moairobo:
Yggdradon:
Mr. Patriot:
You can follow all the news about Monstock on their blog here.

New shop address: 東京都北区上十条４－１３－５
It's located on the Saikyo line, just a few stops north of Ikebukuro.
Click here for a map to the new shop.

To inquire about ordering Monstock toys, contact Isao-san at: monstock_2＠yahoo.co.jp

Japan veggie food inforama!!!

Came across a couple of amazing links today. I had no idea there are *dozens* of veggie, vegan, and veggie-friendly restaurants in Tokyo - and quite a few in other areas too.

Click here for a comprehensive site listing restaurants by location, type, etc. (Keep in mind a lot of the places also serve non-veggie, but they indicate that, so it's cool.)

Here's another good site with news, articles, and links - including one of a a Google Map showing veggie restaurant locations.

I've added this info and more links to my write up of veggie toy hunting in Japan.

Itadakimasu! (Bon appetit!)