Great info guys, thank you so much. I was just in Osaka but it was overnighting only. Won't have time to get back there :-(
Great info guys, thank you so much. I was just in Osaka but it was overnighting only. Won't have time to get back there :-(
GO TO OSAKA, stay at this hotel called Hilary's
and you're virtually in the heart (i.e. neighbor or across the road) of all 3-4 big TF stores. also their other stores (like priceline/kmart) sell upcoming figures as well for cheap. Once I got 3 United voyagers for 15AUD each!
Thanks heaps Gok, went to that area tonight, had about five heart attacks when I went into Mandarake
Saw Russy as well, will check out Spanky when I go to Mandarake to make some choice purchases tomorrow night (time permitting)
I have travelled to many countries around the World and I am a fan of many but this place despite a language barrier most of the time has been a blast so far. Lets see how they put an F1 Grand Prix on in the next few days
Hahaha, yeah. It's like a collector's not-very-dry dream. Their G1 stuff's pretty f'expensive, but some of their other stuff's alright. I got a loose complete in box Vibrant Red Alternity Convoy for approx 3000JPY and a Transformers Animated single CD for about 400JPY. One thing I admire about Mandarake is their open policy on knock offs. Look carefully at all the G1 boxed stuff, if you see a hand-written sticker with 海賊版 written on it, that means it's a KO. Now I don't agree with people selling KOs, but at least they're openly honest in informing customers that the toy is a fake. At least, that's what the Mandarakes in Osaka did -- if you're not sure, just ask them 「海賊版ですか?」("Kaizokuban desu ka?"). They won't lie to your face about it unlike some toy dealers I encountered in China (they'll show you a weirdly coloured KO that's super obviously fake, and lie till they're blue in the face that it's legit ).
All I know about the Nagoya dialect is... say デラ (dera) in front of everything.
e.g.
デラ高いですよ ("Dera takai desu yo") (That's heaps expensive)
この玩具はデラ海賊版だ ("Kono omocha wa dera kaizokuban da") (This toy is heaps fake.")
孫コンボイの名古屋弁はデラうまくないんだ ("Son Convoy no Nagoyaben wa dera umakunainda") (Goki's Nagoyanese is really not good)
Considering that I've never been to Nagoya, my Nagoyanese is probably way off... here are some probably far more reliable sites on their language:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagoya_dialect
http://mediazone.tcp-net.ad.jp/MISO/EBITENW/NB/
http://kikuko-nagoya.com/html/nagoyaben.html
Good Bye Megatron and Thank you Japan and OTCA members for steering me in the right direction. One very happy camper
Do Japan shops accept paypass? Or do you have to sign for and or pin for credit card purchases?
I was there a year ago and IIRC I generally had to sign.
Not that many places take cards anyway!
Actually I've found that cards are becoming increasingly accepted in Japan. But yeah, they are still very much a cash-preferring society. Don't forget to carry your passport to get tax exemptions. Also, will you be arranging any meetups with fans? (AFAIK we haven't had a Japan meet since 2016)