Hunting for Z gauge in Akihabara

[sandiway]

I was in Tokyo last week. Wanted to find Z gauge stuff in Akihabara. I visited about 11 places, and only 2 or 3 were good.

5 min video.

 

https://youtu.be/1gdugwXkvnM

[Ander88]

Regarding prices which places did you find cheaper, the official rokuhan store or at akihabara? Are also all in Akihabara new items or second hand? Thanks for the video!

[Kingmeow]

15 hours ago, sandiway said:

I was in Tokyo last week. Wanted to find Z gauge stuff in Akihabara. I visited about 11 places, and only 2 or 3 were good.

5 min video.

 

https://youtu.be/1gdugwXkvnM

 

Great video even though I'm not into Z scale.  You have a great desk!  If I have trains running in front of my monitor I would get nothing done!  🤣

 

I'm surprised that the Rokuhan show room store opens 4 days a month.  I mean, don't they have to pay rent and heat/AC?

 

13 hours ago, Ander88 said:

Regarding prices which places did you find cheaper, the official rokuhan store or at akihabara? Are also all in Akihabara new items or second hand? Thanks for the video!

 

Since the Rokuhan store sells full retail, I'm sure the Akihabara stores are cheaper.  I know Yodobashi disocunts from full retail price as well as Tam Tam.  Yodobashi also has tax/duty free but Tam Tam does not.  Models Imon is full retail but is tax/duty free.  But they are irrelevant since it appears they don't sell Z.

 

Your best bet is Joshin Super Kids Land in Osaka.  Discounts from full retail price (I think 10%) as well as tax/duty free AND 5% discount when using credit cards (VISA/MC, not sure about Amex).

Edited December 27, 2024 by Kingmeow

[railsquid]

7 hours ago, Kingmeow said:

 Models Imon is full retail but is tax/duty free.  But they are irrelevant since it appears they don't sell Z.

 

Errrm, they do provide a retail discount (not sure of the exact policy, but something like 20% for N gauge), and have a store card for a decent points system.

 

FWIW the Akihabara store might not do N Z gauge, but the Shibuya one certainly does.

Edited December 28, 2024 by railsquid
correct mention of Z gauge

[sandiway]

20 hours ago, Ander88 said:

Regarding prices which places did you find cheaper, the official rokuhan store or at akihabara? Are also all in Akihabara new items or second hand? Thanks for the video!

Buy at Yodobashi for discounted price plus 10% in points. Or use tax-free if more than ¥5000.

Better still, buy in Osaka at Joshin Super Kids Land in Denden Town. They even had an extra 10% off for using a certain credit card a couple of years ago.

[sandiway]

5 hours ago, railsquid said:

FWIW the Akihabara store might not do N gauge, but the Shibuya one certainly does.

The Shibuya Models IMON does Z?

[sandiway]

6 hours ago, Kingmeow said:

Your best bet is Joshin Super Kids Land in Osaka.  Discounts from full retail price (I think 10%) as well as tax/duty free AND 5% discount when using credit cards (VISA/MC, not sure about Amex).

I agree about Joshin. But I was surprised not to find a branch of Joshin in Akihabara.

[railsquid]

59 minutes ago, sandiway said:

The Shibuya Models IMON does Z?

 

Sorry, I wrote "N" where I meant "Z"... Yes IMON in Shibuya does have some Z. I don't think the one in Shinjuku does though.

[railsquid]

58 minutes ago, sandiway said:

I agree about Joshin. But I was surprised not to find a branch of Joshin in Akihabara.

 

It's an Osaka-based company, has a few branches around the outskirts of Tokyo, but not in the central area, AFAIK doesn't sell model trains (at least the closest one to me doesn't).

[Ander88]

8 hours ago, Kingmeow said:

 

I'm surprised that the Rokuhan show room store opens 4 days a month.  I mean, don't they have to pay rent and heat/AC?

 

They have another Store (where they have their main offices) out from the city which opens in weekdays I believe. I think the one in Asakusa will open the days their main Office shop is closed.

[Kingmeow]

13 hours ago, railsquid said:

 

Errrm, they do provide a retail discount (not sure of the exact policy, but something like 20% for N gauge), and have a store card for a decent points system.

 

FWIW the Akihabara store might not do N Z gauge, but the Shibuya one certainly does.

 

Not when I was there in Oct/Nov (Shibuya store).  I bought a bunch of Kato decoders (EM13's and FL12's) and Kato parts (pantographs, motor mounts, pickup strips) and they were all sold at prices on the packages.  When I whipped out my passport it was 10% off.  Maybe they do not discount parts?

 

Maybe you need a store card for the discount?  I didn't know the secret handshake.  🤣

 

Edit:

I dug out my receipts (don't call me a hoarder 😁) and I compared what I paid for a FL12 from Models Imon Shibuya and Kato Hobby Center.  Out the door from Imon it was ¥1500.  From Kato it was also ¥1500 but I know Kato sells at full retail price and they are Duty Free.  For both places I had to show my passport to get those prices.

Edited December 28, 2024 by Kingmeow

[railsquid]

9 hours ago, Kingmeow said:

 

Not when I was there in Oct/Nov (Shibuya store).  I bought a bunch of Kato decoders (EM13's and FL12's) and Kato parts (pantographs, motor mounts, pickup strips) and they were all sold at prices on the packages.  When I whipped out my passport it was 10% off.  Maybe they do not discount parts?

 

Maybe you need a store card for the discount?  I didn't know the secret handshake.  🤣

 

Edit:

I dug out my receipts (don't call me a hoarder 😁) and I compared what I paid for a FL12 from Models Imon Shibuya and Kato Hobby Center.  Out the door from Imon it was ¥1500.  From Kato it was also ¥1500 but I know Kato sells at full retail price and they are Duty Free.  For both places I had to show my passport to get those prices.

 

Parts usually have a much smaller discount, and I've never bought a decoder in my life so no idea what the policy is there, but it's stil incorrect to state they sell everything at full retail (assuming you mean the recommended retail price), so wanted to clarify that for anyone else reading. Looking at a couple of DCC things on the website, if you had a store card, you'd get 10% of the price as points, which can be used against the next purchase.

 

For normal models, e.g. a Kato N gauge EF60-500 has an RRP of JPY 7,920 according to the Kato site, Imon will sell it to you for JPY 6,336 (20% discount), and you'd get a futher 15% from that as points (amount will vary by product, and will probably less in all cases if paying with a CC). Not sure how that combines with sales tax exemptions for non-residents.

Edited December 29, 2024 by railsquid

[bill937ca]

Models Imon carries Z scale, but only at Shibuya as previously stated.

 

https://www.imon.co.jp/pages/shopinfo

 

https://www.imon.co.jp/webshop/category/308/60

 

https://www.imon.co.jp/webshop/category

 

The Models Imon site can be located with English in Google even though it is a Japanese language only website.

[sandiway]

2 hours ago, bill937ca said:

Models Imon carries Z scale, but only at Shibuya as previously stated.

https://www.imon.co.jp/pages/shopinfo

Thanks! Clear information. I've never been to their Shibuya shop. Maybe it's bigger than the others?

[bill937ca]

It is their flagship store.

 

Shibuya store profile (with pictures):   https://www.imon.co.jp/MODELS/INDEX087.MBR/SHOP

Edited December 29, 2024 by bill937ca

[sandiway]

2 hours ago, bill937ca said:

It is their flagship store.

I'll definitely pay a visit then next time I'm in Tokyo. 

[RCRail]

On 12/29/2024 at 4:51 PM, sandiway said:

I'll definitely pay a visit then next time I'm in Tokyo. 

As someone who visit Japan 2-3 times a year, IMON definitely has the biggest collection of Z scale.

All their stores carry some Z, but the Shibuya one is the best. Their staff is also by far more professional and helpful - with shirt and tie on, they would take 15 minutes to just find you a set of decals for a specific train you have.

[railsquid]

While looking for something else, I stumbled on this handy overview of which Imon stores carry which kinds of products:

 

https://www.imon.co.jp/pages/shopinfo

[Madsing]

In addition, you can use the Product Search function

 

 

and check which of their shops have stock. Very useful for difficult to find items.

 

[RCRail]

On 1/5/2025 at 11:32 AM, Madsing said:

In addition, you can use the Product Search function

 

 

and check which of their shops have stock. Very useful for difficult to find items.

 

 

The product search feature is usually correct but not always.

I have found several parts "in-stock" at 2-3 stores, just to find out that they were in fact sold out after visiting them all.

 

On the other hand, I was hunting for the Tomix HO 683 series basic set (new scheme) last Summer. It was shown sold-out at every store, but I spotted it on the shelf in Yokohama store and managed to secure it!