Monster Taipei - Japanese and US Toy Store in Taipei, Taiwan

Monster Taipei is a well known toy shop in Taipei. It's been around for more than 15 years. First up, here's the store info:

English Address: 1F, No. 46, Lane 51, Sec. 1, Da-An Rd, Taipei City 106, Taiwan
Chinese Address: 106 台北市 大安路一段51巷46號1樓
Google Map to location: Click Here
Phone: +886-2-2740-2428
Facebook: Monster Taipei

The store's original location was in the Ding Hao department store on Zhong Xiao East Road. (Well, technically the owner had a small shop before that on Xin Yi East Road, back in the mid-1990s.) Monster Taipei later expanded to a second nearby location in the mid-2000s. That was called Monster Gear, and it focused on clothing.

Side note: The shop that was previously in the Monster Gear space was called Pixie. It was run by toy designer Mark Chang, who made a cool toy called So What. Taiwan megastar Jay Chou (周杰倫) even designed a version of the toy.

The Monster Taipei Ding Hao location closed in 2014 or 2015, I think. Then Monster Gear and Monster Taipei combined in the Monster Gear location, which I visited recently.

Here's a video I shot of the store:

More still photos after the jump:

Star Wars: Rogue One Theater Goods in Japan

Along with just about everywhere else, Star Wars: Rogue One was recently released in Japan. An age-old tradition here is to sell a bunch of movie-themed goods at the theater, to the point of creating a pop-up shop for the biggest films.

For Rogue One, the product roll out was much smaller than for 2015's The Force Awakens. In fact, the theater I went to was even selling TFA goods as well as standard toy store Star Wars merch alongside the small number of Rogue-specific goods. Anyway, a few gems emerged. Here's a look at the offerings.

Sample movie program. For more than half a century, special programs have been made in Japan to be sold during theatrical releases..

Cool selection of 3D glasses.

 More after the jump:

Vintage Japanese Christmas Toys

Here's a nice selection of Christmas toys made in Japan in the 1950s-60s. The still photos are followed by a video.

 

 

Osaka Walks

The tiger is something of a municipal symbol, as the local baseball team is the Henshin Tigers.

Osaka is Japan's second-largest city, and one of the few that continues to grow in population. It remains extremely popular with tourists, particularly around the river area in the Shinsaibashi area.

A Shinsaibashi shotengai (shopping street).

There are some toy and hobby shops, clustered mostly in the Namba area. However, unlike a decade ago, when you could find wonderful things in shops like Super Position and Psychedelia, bargains are now scarce, and the selection is not what it once was. Still, the city is famous for its food, and it hosts some toy shows like the Doki Doki events.

Toy shop in the Nihombashi area, just adjacent to the Namba district.

After the jump, here are more photos of the city: