Trip to Tokyo

[katherinesdaddy]

I leave for Tokyo in less than two weeks.

thank you all for your posts about the shops in Tokyo.....

I was trying to see if the tenshodo shop was still there in Ginza, and the tam tam shop, where I don't know.....

 

I remember visiting the tenshodo shop, and the top floor had used n scale sets at a great price. wanna go back there.

I am also planning on visiting Kyoto for a day, any suggested shops there, like plaza japan?

 

[ToniBabelony]

For Tōkyō, I'd suggest just visiting Akihabara. TamTam, Hobby Land Pochi, Popondetta, Liberty, F Models, Yodobashi Camera, Laox, etc., etc. All stacked with trains. Kyōto, I have no idea. I know there is a shop near the main station though.

[westfalen]

I don't know if Plaza Japan has an actual shop or if he is just online.

 

According to the hobby shop guide in the last issue of RM Models there is a Poppondetta branch in a large AEON shopping mall near Kyoto station. If you go out the south side of the station, turn right and then take the first major street to the left where the Kintestu line crosses under the shinkansen you should find it.  I remember going down that street in 1994 when it was still old houses and shops and finding a small old style hobby shop with all model trains down there but it's obviously long gone.

[Dani]

I was gonna suggest also Popondeta in Kyoto. As Westfalen said, it's near the south exit of Kyoto Station (shinkansen tracks access). Turn right when you exit the station, and after two intersections turn left and you will see the AEON shopping mall, it's in the 4th floor. Here you have a Google Maps: HERE

I found very good prices in the "discount" section with a lot of material.

 

Before going to Japan I did a Google Map with a compilation of train shops (many of them taken from this forum), railway museums, railway bars and "otaku sites". It's not exhaustive, but may be it can be helpful: https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zA7CH06ojTQc.k4ha92eUkoUs

 

Cheers,

Dani

Edited May 6, 2014 by Dani

[CaptOblivious]

I've been to that Poppondetta, and it is quite good. There is also a Hobby Land Pochi, a second-hand shop, that is also excellent a bit further north. I forget the details, but at one time we had begun compiling a map of model train stores in Japan somewhere on this forum, in a thread with lots of good stories. I'll see if I can find it and post the thread here.

[CaptOblivious]

Ah yes, don't forget the Yodobashi Camera just to the west of Kyoto Station. A very good selection of new models, as well as accessories and layout materials. And Pla-Rail! All on the top floor.

 

Here is the thread I was thinking of, you should look through this and Disturbman's map:

http://www.jnsforum.com/community/topic/2282-train-shop-map-a-hobby-map-for-us/

[CaptOblivious]

Finally, katherinesdaddy: When you reply to emails generated by the forum, they just end up in my inbox—you have to hit the links before you can post a reply. I was wondering why I got an email telling me about this thread!

[lurkingknight]

I did an address search on plazajapan in google maps, it turns up a building just north of shinsaibashi near midosuji in osaka. I creeped the area on street view but was unable to discover any sort of signage that linked plaza to any floor of the building that turned up on the search. 

 

I would probably go to popondetta as an assured thing, rather than get lost in osaka trying to find a place that may or may not have a retail location.

 

As an aside.. you could visit david of loco1.. not sure if he has a store front or not.. but he's in osaka isn't he?  :P

[The Next Station Is...]

The Volks Showroom is also worth visiting in Kyoto with a larger range of stock than Popondetta. It's one stop from Kyoto station - from the JR Kyoto station take a local train on the JR Kyoto line westbound to Nishioji. There is one exit; after you exit the station turn immediately left and follow the pedestrian underpass alongside the main road. Keep going until you see the Volks building on your right hand side. Cross the main road using the last pedestrian crossing before the building to reach it.

[domino]

Please tell, how did you trip go ??

Any pic you would like to share ?

 

Brian

[jrcrunch]

akihabara is your best bet

[katherinesdaddy]

The trip was awesome, I took sooooooooooooooo many photos.....I posted them all on facebook. if you would like to see them. look me up and I can point you to them.

use my email to look me up

katherinesdaddy@yahoo.com

 

best shops......as usual...the one in Ginza was awesome.

their top floor has used models. I picked up a kato 500 shinkansen for $50. and a few other sets.

shop name - tenshodo.

 

went to Kyoto for the day, there is a GREAT shop there, although no English speaking, but take your cataloug with ya. as they have tons of used stuff to buy. I got a control system, and a few trains there.

it is the shop inside LAOX in Kyoto, about 4 blocks from the station.

 

Kato hobby center - awesome place to go. in near shinjiku. bought a few models their, and they even had a bargain table. picked up a couple of sets from that table.

 

Shinigawa platform - awesome - I bought these tins of cookies on this station. they are in the shape of the trains. three shinkansen and 3 local comuter trains. awesome tins.

 

akihabara, it is nice to visit, got a few typical souveniers. but the hobby shops there, never could find anything their, but nice place to go,

also visited harajuku, that was fun.

Tokyo tower,

Tokyo Disney

 

but the best shopping and nice place to visit, we found, was Tokyo teleport. just on the other side of rainbow bridge.

life size gundam model, two malls, the bottom floor of one mall was dedicated to just pets. awesome.

my favorite store, the kids train store in the first mall. I bought soooo much stuff their, (not model trains) just other stuff. like shinkansen containers, shinkansen slippers, shinkansen backpack, shinkansen hat. train dvd's chop sticks, and even shinkansen bandaids.

[cteno4]

Sounds like a great trip!

 

Hope Katherine likes Japanese trains or will you be sporting the Shinkansen backpack to work and wearing the Shinkansen band Aids?!

 

Cookie tin sound great!

Cheers

 

Jeff

[katherinesdaddy]

she will have to fight me over the backpack. :)......

bandaids. I am going to have a tough time using them. :)

 

chopsticks went straight into my display case.

I am in the middle of building more shelf space to display all the new trains I bought. (it will never be enough room lol)

I think I bought about 20 trains while I was there. cheaper than online. carried them back myself. and paid no shipping(yes I took an empty suite case with me just for this purpose .....heh heh heh.

 

the tins. yes totally awesome. Ate the cookies, and kept the tins. have I mentioned they are awesome ?

 

the thing I remember most, this last trip and the trip before that ten years prior....is how great and FRESH the food is there.

[spacecadet]

the thing I remember most, this last trip and the trip before that ten years prior....is how great and FRESH the food is there.

The food is one of the big things I look forward to. You can walk into any restaurant and it'll be great. I've also gone enough times now that there are a few places I'm almost a regular at - I seriously think about them all year in anticipation of going. But we make sure to try new places on every trip too and I feel like we've eaten at seriously some of the *world's* best restaurants there, without even really trying. But even just stuff like 7-11 bento, or their bread, or the little bakeries on every street corner, or the little outdoor carts that sell cronuts... I mean it's just all great. I usually gain about 5 pounds after a week there.

 

The amazing thing to me is always how much better *American* chain restaurants are there. I never think to go to McDonald's in the US but I can't resist it in Japan. Even Doughnut Plant is about 100% better, and that's just weird.

 

Anyway yeah, you're onto something about the food there.

Edited February 6, 2015 by spacecadet

[stevenh]

Just watch out for the sea-urchin.

[katherinesdaddy]

it is like it is fresher and better there. don't know if it is the altitude. or that they really focus on quality there. which is I think the key.

fresh fresh fresh.

even the poky sticks are better than any where I can find them. even the ones they import from japan to here in texas, are not as good as the ones in japan.

we ate at this little resteraunt, and omg....it was heaven.

we stayed at the hotel shinagawa seaside hotel. GREAT location and affordable.

[nscalestation]

Glad to hear that you enjoyed a great trip.  I've been a number of times and each trip has been a little different with something more to see and do.    Years ago I made a rule for myself that I would only collect models of trains that we had actually ridden to limit how much I would buy but I still have a cabinet full. 

 

Cheers,