Heroic's Toy Shop Guide Maps for HK, Osaka, Tokyo & SG

[Bladestorm]

Planned out a little so far. At the moment I'm looking at going to the Mandarake Complex, Liberty #8 and JUNGLE for my Henkei/United needs. I have noted the help of a foreign passport seen earlier and that most stores are open from 12:00 to 8:00. Is there much else I am missing in terms of key info?

Foreign passport is useful (but it is only purchases over a certain amount you can do the tax exemption on). Just remember if you do use the tax exemption they seal your items and you can't open them until after you leave the country. If they random check at the airport and the items are open you have to pay the exemption back. I've never been checked personally, not even the receipts when they took them away, but always handy to be aware.

[Bidoofdude]

Foreign passport is useful (but it is only purchases over a certain amount you can do the tax exemption on). Just remember if you do use the tax exemption they seal your items and you can't open them until after you leave the country. If they random check at the airport and the items are open you have to pay the exemption back. I've never been checked personally, not even the receipts when they took them away, but always handy to be aware.

Damn, that may pose a problem, since I'm probably going to have to lose the packaging due to weight issues. Is the tax amount usually very much?

[Zippo]

Thanks for digging this up; it will be useful for my upcoming trip

Is it still mostly up to date?

And as I will also be heading to Singapore, is CSC still a thing?
Even though it looks like I wont be in Singapore on a Sunday this time around.

[Bidoofdude]

Made my way to Liberty, Jungle and Mandarake. A lot of Masterpieces and a nice looking boxed slag. Henkei Astrotrain at Jungle for $60 or so, and the world's largest supply of Henkei Grimlocks. Liberty didn't have much. Mandarake had a nice selection from a lot of lines. Only the lesser sought after Henkei stuff and a decent amount of G1 stuff.

[Bladestorm]

Thanks for digging this up; it will be useful for my upcoming trip

Is it still mostly up to date?

And as I will also be heading to Singapore, is CSC still a thing?
Even though it looks like I wont be in Singapore on a Sunday this time around.

I haven't been to Singapore in a while but price check before you go so you know what you're paying because it tends to be touted as the most expensive place to buy collectible toys in Asia these days... Last time I was there my son wanted a helicopter Drift (TF4) and it was NZ$36 more expensive than what I eventually paid in Hong Kong in a regular store (ie non-discounted). Can recommend some great food places if you want Hainan Chicken or Laksa there though.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

So, for everyone heading to Japan and planning on doing some TF shopping...try and make some time to check out Nagoya Mandarake and Jungle.
I've been doing some travel through Japan and Nagoya seems to be a forgotten treasure chest TF-wise. Better than anything in Tokyo selection-wise (possibly excluding Nakano Broadway) and only beaten by Hero Gangu (which is pretty pricey) in Osaka, the best prices I've seen in Japan so far, and definitely the places to go for 3rd party stuff in Japan. The 3P stuff isn't as affordable, but the range is the best I've seen.
Plus both stores are located in/around Osu, which is a pretty interesting little shopping district in its own right. A little bit of everything, kind of like a much smaller version of Osaka's Den Den Town and Shinsaibashi rolled into one. Also great if you're hankering for some international/non-Japanese food - the restaurants seem to be more focused on 'foreign' fare than most places I've been to. Fried chicken/karahage seems to be the local specialty.

Nagoya has a reputation in Japan for being boring/having nothing to do. But if you're a TF/anime fan, it's worth spending at least an afternoon looking around.

[valkyrie_76]

So, for everyone heading to Japan and planning on doing some TF shopping...try and make some time to check out Nagoya Mandarake and Jungle.
I've been doing some travel through Japan and Nagoya seems to be a forgotten treasure chest TF-wise. Better than anything in Tokyo selection-wise (possibly excluding Nakano Broadway) and only beaten by Hero Gangu (which is pretty pricey) in Osaka, the best prices I've seen in Japan so far, and definitely the places to go for 3rd party stuff in Japan. The 3P stuff isn't as affordable, but the range is the best I've seen.
Plus both stores are located in/around Osu, which is a pretty interesting little shopping district in its own right. A little bit of everything, kind of like a much smaller version of Osaka's Den Den Town and Shinsaibashi rolled into one. Also great if you're hankering for some international/non-Japanese food - the restaurants seem to be more focused on 'foreign' fare than most places I've been to. Fried chicken/karahage seems to be the local specialty.

Nagoya has a reputation in Japan for being boring/having nothing to do. But if you're a TF/anime fan, it's worth spending at least an afternoon looking around.

Like every place, its a hit and miss with that place. Been there a few times and as Heroic Decepticon knows, you can find a diamond and other times you keep finding coal.

I have noticed there has been more G1 stuff being sold on Mandarake lately but that maybe the New Years and people want money for the plastic crack addiction.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

^^ True. Plus it IS the tail-end of Chinese Golden Week, so the more well-known stores will have been picked over more than usual.
Still, it's worth making a stopover on the way between Tokyo-Kansai/vice versa, and it is still definitely the most affordable of the branches I've been to.

Apparently there's a shrine that houses the famous 'Kusanagi' katana here too, if you're interested in katana/samurai swords. I'd like to go and see it, but I have other plans for now.

[Bladestorm]

Damn, that may pose a problem, since I'm probably going to have to lose the packaging due to weight issues. Is the tax amount usually very much?

It depends on the store. Some will do it at 2000 Yen, others (and I think Manadrake is one of them) you need to spend more like 5000-6000 Yen minimum. Some stores don't do it at all and say to do it at the airport but I never found anywhere a the airport (in terminal 3 or 2 at Narita) where you could do it manually as the booth for the tax free redemption just collects the receipts that have been taped to your passport by the stores you already got the redemption from.