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Japan central map - shopping, places to visit and more

kuro68000

By kuro68000
in Hobby Shops - Where are they?

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kuro68000

kuro68000

Posted
Posted

I have been working on a map of places to visit in the Tokyo and surrounding areas, including Kawasaki and Yokohama. It has a number of train shops and places like train museums to visit, as well as loads of other stuff. I started a wiki as well but it is nowhere near finished.

 

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zIv8e-XHKUeY.kmSTlyl3I8IU

 

If anyone has anything to add to it, please let me know and I'll put it on there. As well as the model trains category, the general category has lots of useful stuff, ranging from the location of coin lockers to places to eat to ATMs that take international cards.

 

Full disclosure - I'm friends with the owner of Tokaisou, the hotel that is marked with the home icon in Asakusa. I stay there twice a year on average, it's my home away from home. As well as being well placed for access to Akihabara (two stops away on the Tsukuba Express line) it's cheap.

 

Useful wiki pages:

 

Shops

Taxis

Phones

Money

Getting to Japan

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Kitayama

Kitayama

Posted
Posted (edited)

Money Wiki, ATM:

All Japan Post ATMs accept foreign cards. Since they started accepting them, cash is no longer a problem for a foreigner.

 

http://www.jp-bank.japanpost.jp/en/ias/en_ias_index.html

 

Suica card:

Only useful in metropolitan areas. Suica is actually only used in JR East metropolitan areas, but the number of areas served by partnerships with other cards, e.g. Kansai ICOCA, is increasing.

 

http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/pass/suica.html#suicaMap

Edited by Kitayama
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kuro68000

kuro68000

Posted
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Posted

Hey thanks.  Didn't know Ome existed.

 

It's worth a visit. Mostly steam stuff, and the Type 0. I seem to recall it was incredibly cheap, like 100 yen to enter or something like that.You have to climb a steep hill to get to it... There is probably an easier way.

 

 

TomixWorld is near of Omiya Station

 

Thanks, added. One to visit next month,

 

 

 

Thanks, added that too. Another one on the list to visit.

 

Money Wiki, ATM:

All Japan Post ATMs accept foreign cards. Since they started accepting them, cash is no longer a problem for a foreigner.

 

http://www.jp-bank.japanpost.jp/en/ias/en_ias_index.html

 

Suica card:

Only useful in metropolitan areas. Suica is actually only used in JR East metropolitan areas, but the number of areas served by partnerships with other cards, e.g. Kansai ICOCA, is increasing.

 

http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/pass/suica.html#suicaMap

 

Thanks, I'll update the wiki. I wasn't aware of Japan Post taking international cards, it is definitely very handy. For some reason international cards don't seem to work in a few shops, even if you ask them to use chip and pin. I've never got to the bottom of it, but there are few usable ATMs in Akiba for example.

 

I'll add a note about Suica. I'd like to have some information on what cards have partnerships. Seems like Edy terminals accept Suica but beyond that I don't have much data.

 

Global Advanced Communications are being a pain in the arse at the moment too, wanting to charge me nearly full price for the Android SIM. I'm tempted to just order an iPhone SIM because it should work fine in an Android phone and costs half as much.

 

Oh, and I found another used model train shop in Akiba but can't for the life of me remember where now... I'll try to find it again and add it. I think it was somewhere around the old Onden building. There are a few shops to the south of the station and some north towards Ueno too, by the railway line. It seems like some shops are moving that way, presumably for lower rent.

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kuro68000

kuro68000

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Thanks guys, I'll try to add all those over the weekend. I have the Nakano Broadway but I'll put the extra link in. There are actually a few shops in there selling model train parts.

 

If anyone wants to edit the wiki just ask and I can provide a login.

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Guest keio6000

Guest keio6000

Posted
Posted (edited)

your akihabara list is a bit thin.  there was a kml floating around some years ago that had several more akihabara listings.  not sure what the status of that is...

 

also, there is or at least was a west shinjuku and akihabara pochi. not sure if there now; i had no problems taking a perfectly fine 10-car TGV off of them for JPY7500 or so i think it was a couple of years ago :)

Edited by keio6000
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railsquid

railsquid

Posted
Posted (edited)

also, there is or at least was a west shinjuku and akihabara pochi. not sure if there now; i had no problems taking a perfectly fine 10-car TGV off of them for JPY7500 or so i think it was a couple of years ago :)

 

Both still there, in fact there are two Pochis in Akihabara.

 

(It's damn hard living in Tokyo, I still keep coming across shops I was unaware of, like the Greenmax store two storeys above IMON in Akihabara... and visiting them all takes so much time... I even have to split up my weekly-ish Akihabara trips into two "rounds"...)

Edited by railsquid
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cteno4

cteno4

Posted
Posted

We pity you squid, it's quite pathetic that you have to do two rounds to Akihabara every week or so. But I guess some poor slob has to do it! Good on you for throwing yourself on that grenade for the rest of us... ;-p

 

I only wish I could be that poor slob, but then I would be broke...

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

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lurkingknight

lurkingknight

Posted
Posted

volks hobbylife in akiba also has a section of model train stuff. They have the entire 8th floor of the new radio kaikan building google maps (currently) only displays a construction site but the new building opened late last year I think, it's essentially 10 floors of various hobby stores of differing tastes. The new volks store though is smaller than their old location I think on the other side of the chuo tracks that was 3 floors, which is no longer there. I think there's another volks hobby store in the area as well I think on the corner, but I didn't have time to venture in.

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railsquid

railsquid

Posted
Posted (edited)

volks hobbylife in akiba also has a section of model train stuff. They have the entire 8th floor of the new radio kaikan building google maps (currently) only displays a construction site but the new building opened late last year I think, it's essentially 10 floors of various hobby stores of differing tastes. The new volks store though is smaller than their old location I think on the other side of the chuo tracks that was 3 floors, which is no longer there. I think there's another volks hobby store in the area as well I think on the corner, but I didn't have time to venture in.

 

Oh that place. I vaguely remember trailing up to whichever floor had the train stuff, taking a cursory look round and departing, never to return again. IIRC just a boring selection of the usual Kato/Tomix suspects at boring prices. Only interesting if you're really pressed for time and need something really close to the station.

Edited by railsquid
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Guest ___

Guest ___

Posted
Posted

Didn't we do a map like this a few years ago. I'm pretty sure Martjin or disturbman made one

 

What am I, air? We have a Google map with nearly every hobby shop in Kansai and Kano on it!

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cteno4

cteno4

Posted
Posted

Arron,

 

Can you repost the link? Perhaps it should be a pinned thread here with the link as the first post

 

Thanks

 

Jeff

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