Other Tokyo Transformers Hunting

So I assume you're probably a bit tired from all the shopping over at Akihabara and Nakano Broadway. But if you aren't and are ready to go for more (assuming the wallet is still ready), here are a few odds and end type places. These districts don't have a high enough concentration of Transformer selling toys to warrant it's own section.


Shibuya

Mandarake Shibuya
Yes, there is a Mandarake location in Shibuya. That said, that's pretty much the only real toy store there as this area is mostly known to be for the younger crowd and most shops are fashion related.


Shibuya is known for the famous Hachiko statue just outside of Shibuya station as well as the famous crossing as pictured above. For any soccer/football fans out there, there is also an Adidas Fustal park sitting at the top of the Tokyu Hands building. Yes, the same one from Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift.
(Travel tip, grab a cup of coffee at Excelsior Coffee Shop which faces the Shibuya crossing, nice view)

Most likely you won't be travelling to Shibuya just to see this Mandarake store, however since Shibuya is always one of the must see districts in Tokyo, it's a good opportunity for you to take a peak inside.


Shinjuku

Yodobashi Camera
There's actually two Yodobashi's here, one of them in Shinjuku East and the other in the West. Out of the two, Yodobashi - Shinjuku West is the better of them as the East one is very small. That said, The Shinjuku West location is a little difficult to navigate as the store is broken up into a number of smaller stores specializing in a specific department. The Toy department is close to the Starbucks if that's any help. Just like the one in Akihabara, this will only have current line figures. Although the area does have a lot of vintage camera stores for anyone interested.

BIC Camera
BIC Camera is a similar electronics store to Yodobashi and so they do carry a lot of toys there as well. Again, current lines only, but if you're in the area, no reason not to stop in.


Odaiba
Another area in Tokyo is Odaiba. Commonly known as the date area in Tokyo since this is where a lot of young couples go for a date as there's a lot of entertainment venues, cafes and a couple of shopping malls on this man made island. For the toy hunter though, the only real toy store in this district is in the Aqua City Mall, there's a Toys R US located in there. That said, there's also that big giant Gundam statue there as pictured above.

Unfortunately though, Odaiba is a little bit out of the main part of Tokyo so unless you've run out of other areas to see, I don't really recommend going here as it has somewhat of a amusement park feel.


Ikebukuro
Ummmm, there's a Toys R US here located inside the Sunshine City shopping mall. Other than that nothing else. Yes there's a Mandarake Ikebukuro here, BUT don't go in unless you want to read manga that's for the female reader. They don't sell toys, and certainly not Transformers. To be honest I don't go to Ikebukuro at all. While there isn't anything wrong with the area, it however just doesn't have much of anything that's worth taking a train out that way.


Ueno
There's really only one place in this area that sells toys and that's Yamashiroya - Ueno. They sell newly released toys so again, no vintage hunting here. However, you might be in this area as there's Ueno Park nearby which is home of the Tokyo Zoo and home to a number of museums which your guide book may have suggested visiting so it's worth taking a look into.

Side note, for any golf fans here looking to pickup some used Japanese golf clubs, there are a couple of used golf stores in this area as well.




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