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View Full Version : Transformers in Tokyo??



darockk
20th November 2008, 10:54 AM
Hey im in Tokyo now and was wondering if anyone could point me to where they sell Transformers? ive found one store in electric town, near the subway station but they only had a small number of movie toys and a few binaltechs.

cheers

Gutsman Heavy
20th November 2008, 12:32 PM
its not TF related but you must get a Pan & James DVD, just ask for the DVD where a monkey rides a dog (NOT sexually)

sanbot
20th November 2008, 01:13 PM
hi darockk,

hope you are having as much fun as I did whilst in Japan.

Akihabara has many small shops of which each one doesn't stock too many TF's. Having said that though, there are three stores I think that are worth visiting.

- Don't know the name of the building but as soon as you come out of the "Electric town" exit of Akihabara, there is a big building diagonal to the exit. The lower grounds are filled with tiny stores that stock small electronic accessories and they surround this stairway that leads up to 4 levels of model shops there are various shops in there that stock some alternators, henkei version of universe tf's, some over priced movie tfs and animators, car city? (forgot name, omega supremes, some titanium series and I believe I saw some TF collectors club exclusives. Don't expect too much from this one though.
- This one you can get excited about. Go further down the main road of Akihabara (when you come out of the station, walk to the main road, stay on the side of the road that you are already on and head to the right). Eventually you will come across this store that has shelves of glass display cases with heaps of TF's this is on the ground level. They are all second hand TF's but many of them are 2nd hand ones which havn't been opened. They have a whole range of TF's so you need to spend quite a bit of time browsing and having trouble deciding which ones to get :p
- Go further down the road and you will come across a tiny shop with heaps of ole skool toys (not just TF's). One side of the store is full of TF's both old and new. You might be able to find some more rarer stuff though I remember this shop is much more pricier.

If you are planning to goto Osaka, well thats a whole new different ballpark! Their "electric town" has this massive store where there is almost 2 levels of TF's!!! Again, its on the side of the road that you are already on, and you head right. Once you reach a T intersection you will see a store under the overpass (hard to miss, as your TF sensors will be going off hehe). The ground level had some dirt cheap bargains on new TFS but the range is not as much but the 2nd level is where all the TF goodness happens... There are other stores in Osaka worth checking out on the same road as I found some bargains and prices can vary a lot from store to store (even the same item in the same store can sometimes have different prices, so be careful which one you pick or be prepared to use you super "nihon" language skills to the test in getting an exchange or refund).

Oh also, if you plan to goto Hiroshima, there is some TF's there too. There's a particular toy store thats down this massive shopping arcade which has a massive entrance (hard to miss), but I can't for the life of me remember the name, sorry.

OH man I wish I was back in Japan!

darockk
21st November 2008, 11:46 PM
thanks alot man, i managed to find one of the stores you spoke off. it had one isle full of transformers, they looked 2nd hand but as you said some were not opened. it was so hard to decide which ones to buy. im going to have to go back again later towards the end of my trip and hopefully ill have some cash left for some more.

i picked up arcee and bluestreak binaltech figures for around $40 and $45AUD each MIB.

this store had so many strange japanese transformers i had never heard of!
though im sure alot of the more knowledgable than me forum members would be able to name them all!
i think the most expensive figure was a set of protectobots (Japanese packaging) in worn box selling for 95000 yen which is about $1500 AUD.


the trouble im faced with now is trying to fit as many of these as i can into my suitcase. =)

sanbot
22nd November 2008, 12:03 AM
... it was so hard to decide which ones to buy. im going to have to go back again later towards the end of my trip and hopefully ill have some cash left for some more.....the trouble im faced with now is trying to fit as many of these as i can into my suitcase. =)

I know exactly how you feel! Given my rather amateur knowledge of TF's I just didn't know what was a good price and what figures to get that I should get in Japan only. In the end I guess it just came down to what I actually thought looked good and how the price compared between Akihabara and Denden town and Sydney. There were so many ole skool ones that I would have liked to get my hands on too but those ones I had no idea what a good price was!

The suitcase problem was solved by buying another suitcase! And even then I still had trouble fitting it all in :o

Anyways, happy hunting!

GoktimusPrime
22nd November 2008, 06:48 AM
Wow, I never found Transformers in Akihabara. :/

I would recommend Ikebukuro. There are two big department stores near the train station which stock TFs. There's also Bic Camera there too which sell TFs usually at discounted prices. Otherwise you should be able to check out any department store. :)

sanbot
22nd November 2008, 08:09 PM
Wow, I never found Transformers in Akihabara. :/

I would recommend Ikebukuro. There are two big department stores near the train station which stock TFs. There's also Bic Camera there too which sell TFs usually at discounted prices. Otherwise you should be able to check out any department store. :)

Its not immediately obvious that there are TF's in Akihabara. I went expecting stores and stores of the stuff but I had to go explore to find them, but that was all part of the fun! As a geek, I have no dramas walking past store after store of electronic gadgets (which I like) to get to my TFS (which I love!) :D

I went to Ikebukuro and found only one store that had TF's and it was pretty much the same stuff as the other department stores I went to (which wasn't much).

Actually, I have to admit, whilst Akihabara was fun and going to that toy store in Osaka was a treat, it was surprisingly barren. I just didn't find as much TF's as I'd expect there to be. I thought Taiwan and Singapore had more stuff.