Where to get Manga/Anime/Toys

[Toiim]

Hey guys. I'll be going to Tokyo for a week next month, and I'm really exited. I'll be staying in a hotel near the Ginza. I was just wondering if you knwo some good shops to buy anime/manga/toys.

I've heard from various sources that anime in Japan is really quite expensive, so are there any shops that sell it cheap? And is manga always generally the same price? Are there places where I can get bulk manga cheaper? I'm intending on buying a lot. With figurines, I really want to get some Gundam sets, but have no clue where to look. Thanks in advance.

[fujikuro]

Originally Posted by Toiim

And is manga always generally the same price?

As for new ones,yes.Because of the resale price maintenance system.Same price all over the country.
But you can buy secondhand mangas cheaper at BOOKOFF.You can easily find it near Akihabara station.You can also buy secondhand anime related CD,DVD there.In general,secondhand goods are in good condition.
Anyway,walk around Akihabara.It is a not only otaku friendly town,but also foreigner friendly town.
Too much web research in advance can kill the joy of the travelling.
Have a good trip!

[MMM]

BOOK OFF is great. Also go to MANDARAKE, which is all manga, toys, anime, and games.

Store Information - MANDARAKE

[samokan]

for cheap anime t-shirts, uniqlo is selling them already.

gundam, u can get them in yodobashi camera there is one in shinjuku, akihabara , machida and etc

if u get second hand manga they are cheap. I found one in Shimokitazawa and its all just 100yen ( $1 approx ). It is just few stops from Shinjuku station on the Odakyu Line.

And of course, there is always AKIHABARA !!!

[princessmarisa]

If you want toys not collectables head to the giant toys r us on Odaiba, it is under the big (ocean themed?) shopping centre on there right next to the sega land arcade thing (also worth a visit)

If you want anime style toys you *must* go to akihabara, ignore the big department stores and go in all the specialist preowned collectable stores. Off the side streets of the main akihabara street and down the little covered alleyways. Also go in the big building called radio something with two giant escalators in the middle, the second floor is full of anime and mecha toy shops. Also if you are brave/ can read bits of Japanese look out for signs 3-4 stories up I can't remember the exact wording but it is sometihng like figaa in katakana you will see it all over, head up in the lifts and go to those little treasure troves.
I got some crazy bargains!

If you go near Ueno station there is a giant toy shop just over the road I got lots of cool things from Yamashiroya or similar. It has things like pokemon and hello kitty and other tv characters on one floor, a floor or mecha, a floor of "western" things but tend to be like 80s/90s cartoons things you don't see here (UK) anymore
A floor of girls dolls, pretty much anything!
The ground floor is full of little tacky toy-of-the-month stuff though, like random keychain dogs that sing and are a USB or something so "wacky".. if you are into that kinda thing.

For girly manga and other girl based toys and that go to Ikebukuro it is supposed to be fantastic, but i just found it expensive and full of far too much fan obsessed doujinshi.

As far anime and manga tons of second hand media shops will serve you well, I loved BOOKOFF for dvds but again if you spend time in Akihabara you will find plenty of good cheap anime/manga places.
Anything really newly released head to to the big stores like yodobashi camera, bic camera etc. They habe big sales and promotions on popular new things.

Infact I know so many places for toys in Tokyo I am going to go get you some streetview locations of my fav shops *runs to streetview for nostalgia times*


*edit*
This guy knows it all!
Toy Shopping Guide Part 1 - Akihabara Radio Hall | Toybox Collection
Toy Shopping Guide Part 2 - Akihabara Area | Toybox Collection

[Toiim]

Hey thanks a lot guys. That's a lot of really useful information! Looked up Uniqlo Samokan, looks great!

Thank you all, I hope to have fun in Japan!

[samurai007]

Originally Posted by MMM

BOOK OFF is great. Also go to MANDARAKE, which is all manga, toys, anime, and games.

Store Information - MANDARAKE

I went to the Mandarake in Osaka all the time, so I had to visit the one in Tokyo when I went there for a visit, and it was great too!

Also, most any bookstore will have a manga section in it.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by samokan

for cheap anime t-shirts, uniqlo is selling them already.

gundam, u can get them in yodobashi camera there is one in shinjuku, akihabara , machida and etc

if u get second hand manga they are cheap. I found one in Shimokitazawa and its all just 100yen ( $1 approx ). It is just few stops from Shinjuku station on the Odakyu Line.

And of course, there is always AKIHABARA !!!

Are they still doing the anime/manga t-shirt series at Uniqlo? They didn't have any last time I was there (Jan/Feb).

[Sashimister]

Originally Posted by MMM

Are they still doing the anime/manga t-shirt series at Uniqlo? They didn't have any last time I was there (Jan/Feb).

Yes, but on a much smaller scale.

I think I only saw Disney and One Piece when I checked one of its larger outlets several days ago.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by Sashimister

Yes, but on a much smaller scale.

I think I only saw Disney and One Piece when I checked one of its larger outlets several days ago.

When they started...I guess it was probably two years ago, there were like five new shirts a week. That made for a lot of shirts, but each was still kind of a collector's item.