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

[Bidoofdude]

Hoping to go TF shopping at some point in the next month, hopefully at Akihabara. I've got my eye on the Specialist Autobots set, which there are quite a few of on the Mandarake website. Should I expect them to likely have the item in store at the complex? Do they have many items like United or Henkei in store, consistent with their site?

Any help is appreciated. I've had a look at the maps, so any further recommendations for those kind of figures would be cool.

[Jetfire in the sky]

Hoping to go TF shopping at some point in the next month, hopefully at Akihabara. I've got my eye on the Specialist Autobots set, which there are quite a few of on the Mandarake website. Should I expect them to likely have the item in store at the complex? Do they have many items like United or Henkei in store, consistent with their site?

Any help is appreciated. I've had a look at the maps, so any further recommendations for those kind of figures would be cool.

I found the website to be a lot different to their stores, but it could still be good to use as a guide as to what might be on the shelves. I assume that what is on the website is not on the shelf, because it would be hard to keep up with inventory that way considering the size and quantity of their stores. Perhaps if you went in with your phone and showed them what you were after on their website page they could help you out.

[Bidoofdude]

I found the website to be a lot different to their stores, but it could still be good to use as a guide as to what might be on the shelves. I assume that what is on the website is not on the shelf, because it would be hard to keep up with inventory that way considering the size and quantity of their stores. Perhaps if you went in with your phone and showed them what you were after on their website page they could help you out.

That's what I was thinking. Hopefully it's all good.

[griffin]

Hoping to go TF shopping at some point in the next month, hopefully at Akihabara. I've got my eye on the Specialist Autobots set, which there are quite a few of on the Mandarake website. Should I expect them to likely have the item in store at the complex? Do they have many items like United or Henkei in store, consistent with their site?

Any help is appreciated. I've had a look at the maps, so any further recommendations for those kind of figures would be cool.

Just be sure that you go to the top floor at Madarake, as the Transformers toys are up there, and they would probably be best to know what you are after.
Just don't get too distracted with the two (yes, two) "adult" anime floors on the way up there.

The floor guide...
1 - Buying (bring in your own items to sell)
2 - Dolls
3 - Anime/Manga (comics)
4 - Mens erotica (hard core)
5 - Womens erotica (soft core)
6 - CD, DVD, computer games
7 - Toys (Cards, cars, Model kits)
8 - Toys (robots, action figures)



Red 1 is Madarake, while Red 2 is Toys Golden Age, and Red 3 is Liberty. At least, they were there in 2013.
The blue locations were various stores that may or may not have had some Transformers toys as well.

[Bladestorm]

Hoping to go TF shopping at some point in the next month, hopefully at Akihabara. I've got my eye on the Specialist Autobots set, which there are quite a few of on the Mandarake website. Should I expect them to likely have the item in store at the complex? Do they have many items like United or Henkei in store, consistent with their site?

Any help is appreciated. I've had a look at the maps, so any further recommendations for those kind of figures would be cool.

I was there (Akihabara store) in late november and didn't see any of the Specialist sets there but their products change so quickly you never know what goodies you'll find. They did have quite a bit of henkei stuff though.
On the top floor there are a couple of areas of Transformers so don't just look at the glorious goodness behind the glass cases... check out the WHOLE floor to find bit and pieces. Last time I was there they even had loose figures in plastic bags hanging on a display near the cashier too. Just don't pull out your phone or camera to take photos (or don't get caught) as they get REALLY stroppy and follow you around to stop you.

There is also a store on the street where you exit the train station heading in the direction of Manadrake on one of the corners of the first main road you come to that also has Transformers. Again - find the lift and jump on up to their (I think) top floor but look at the guide for the "robot" floor. The prices are inflated (compared to what I pay in HK) but they did have a good selection of boxed sets and recent MP's. Their ground floor is glass cabinets with figures from every anime/manga/mecha you can think of ... and again... no photos allowed but really nice to walk through.

[Bidoofdude]

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?

[GoktimusPrime]

Mandarake staff tend to be rather quirky (probably because they recruit like minded collectors to work there, which is really good because the staff are passionate) so feel free to further practise your Japanese language skills by interacting with them on a more sociable level. Last time I was at a Mandarake I unleashed my powers of dead-pan sarcasm on the staff (two girls). A local Japanese TF fan was next to me as I was making my purchase.

Me> <produces AU passport to get tax exemption>
Staff 1> <takes my passport and fills out appropriate documents>
Staff 2> "Oh, you're not Japanese."
Me> "No, I'm Australian."
Staff 2> "But you speak Japanese very well."
Me> "Thanks, but his is better."
Staff 2> <looks over to Japanese TFan>
JTFan> "I'm Japanese."
Staff 2> <looks back at me>
Me> "No, seriously. He's very fluent."
Staff 2> <looks over to Japanese TFan>
JTFan> "Because I'm Japanese."
Staff 2> "He's Japanese."
Me> "And his Japanese is better than mine."
JTFan> "That's because I'm a native speaker."
Me> "I'm not wrong though."

[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.