Collectible Toy Stores of Japan!

When I traveled to Tokyo in the summer of 2019 (thank God I did before 2020), I hit up every toy store I could find that carried action figures. There was Toys R Us, Hakuhinkan Toy Park, and of course, the second hand collectible toy stores that carried figures dating all the way back to the 60's! The Mandarake store chain was the best for this type of merchandise, but there were many other smaller businesses crammed with overpopulated glass cabinets of action figures! 

Below is just a smidgen of what you can find in these toy wonderlands!

For an idea of the prices shown when these pics were taken, Summer 2019:

¥1000 ≈ $10

¥20000 ≈ $200

¥300000 ≈ $3000

Japanese collectible toy stores are PACKED with glass cases such as this full of crazy oddities. This is just ONE of many with Godzilla vinyls. Do not be fooled, some of the cheesiest looking vinyls are priced $100+ in this cabinet!

Here is an Ultraman vinyls cabinet. Although I love Ultraman, these were not the type of figures I was pursuing in Japan.

Ultraman S.H. Figuarts! I about crapped my pants when I saw this cabinet! This was the main toy I wanted to pick up in country! They were not cheap, but they were definitely cheaper than our U.S. eBay prices. I bought 6 of these throughout my trip!

Adjacent to the Ultraman cabinet was a Kamen Rider cabinet. Kamen Rider is just as popular in Japan as Ultraman. I think of Ultraman as their Superman and Kamen Rider as their Spiderman!

Here are some loose repro Henshin Cyborgs for about $50 each. It was always a dream to buy a Henshin Cyborg in Japan, so I searched for one that had complete cyborg head and hands along with a decent disguise accessory!

This photo shows the numerous aisles of cabinets crammed with toys! These stores are as much museums as vendors and they will literally exhaust and strain your eyes! 

Here are some MIB 90's Henshin Cyborgs for about $15 each. I have plenty of these, so I did not buy them, but $15 is a steal for one of these!

This is a vintage Henshin Cyborg outfit MIB. Not sure who the hero was, but it was priced at about $80.

Here is some more Henshin-esque stuff. Notice how that Kamen Rider figure is about $1000. Crazy...

This was a very pricey cabinet of Japanese Joes in Henshin attire. That Ultraseven looks to be complete with helmet for a whopping $1500!

Here are some loose vintage Japanese Joes with the manga style heads. These are quite pricey in any market. I would love to have repro versions for some fun kitbashing!

Here are some more Henshin Cyborgs and Joes. I fancied the repro King Walder in the Spectreman gorilla villain outfit, but I did not want to drop $120 on him. There is also a Japanese Nazi Joe MIB right next to him for $1200. Yikes.

One of the Mandarake stores had a whole floor dedicated to these weird customizable dolls. Apparently this is a niche hobby in Japan.

These are the wigs for the dolls above. This floor was a little creepy walking through.

Here are some cool 1/6 Medicom Ultraman figures. These were above my price range, but they were cheaper than what they fetched for in the U.S. They look very nice, but I question their fragility and play value. I do know that the Cy Girl Anne Yuri on the top right is a solid figure.

This is a Medicom G-Force figure. We know him as Gatchaman. It's fun to observe how the Japanese view characters that the U.S. receives as imports. I did not notice much G-Force, Speed Racer, or Street Fighter stuff there. These are older franchises, so the current generation may not care for them.

These are repro/vintage Micromen. We know them as Micronauts. I don't collect these, but I find them cool and creative. If you were unaware, G.I. Joes in Japan became Henshin Cyborgs. Henshin Cyborgs became Microman. Microman eventually evolved into Transformers. Oddly, I did not notice many Transformers over there either.

Here was a fun figure to catch! This is a vintage Captain Action Superman without mask. I could not tell you if this was a Japanese version or not, but he was definitely a treat to see!

Mechani Kong! I was super interested in this 1/12 vinyl figure based off the bizarre 1967 Japanese film, King Kong Escapes! Unfortunately, by the time I discovered him, I had already spent loads of money and was too tired to bargain him down. $50 was a little high, but he goes for about double that here on eBay. Hopefully, I will run into him again for a more comforting price...

This appeared to be a custom figure of Alien Spell from the banned Ultraseven Episode 12! The controversial episode was erased, because for some twisted reason, Spell's costume was designed to look like a nuclear burn victim! I watched the American dubbed version where they confusingly translated him into a vampire, but apparently the Japanese version of the episode was just a giant anti-nuclear war message (a common theme in Japanese pop culture). If you look behind him, you will see cards of Anne Yuri from the same TV series. From what I observed, both Anne Yuri of Ultraseven and Akiko Fuji of Ultraman are viewed the same way Americans see Lt. Uhura!

There were THOUSANDS of other fascinating figures in these crazy stores, but the ones I noted were of immense interest to me! These items were not cheap, but they were mostly cheaper than what they sell for in the U.S. aftermarket. Here is an online link to the king of these stores, Mandarake! They have good prices, fast and cheap shipping, and their site is American friendly! If you ever get a chance to go to Tokyo, devote a WHOLE day to pursing these type of stores!

Stay tuned for more toy store adventures!

-Chuck