By Jeff Okamoto. Reproduced with permission.
From: Jeff Okamoto <okamoto@hpcc123.corp.hp.com>
Jeff
-----
$Header: stores.tokyo,v 1.6 94/08/01 17:52:30 okamoto Exp $
The USENET Guide to Shopping for Anime in Tokyo
This file may be freely redistributed, but the fact that it originated on
USENET must be published along with any excerpt from the list.
Disclaimer: The information provided by this list is not guaranteed to be
correct or up-to-date. You're on your own.
The current maintainer of this list is Jeff Okamoto.
(okamoto@ranma.corp.hp.com)
(okamoto@corp.hp.com)
(..!hplabs!hpcc01!okamoto)
Submitters to this list include: Jeff Okamoto,
Gordon Engel, Steve Mah (smah@sdcc13.UCSD.EDU),
Eugene Fornario (genef@netcom.com),
Brian Wilson (wilsobr@storm.cs.orst.edu),
Austin Tate (bat@aiai.edinburgh.ac.uk),
and Sze-Ming Lau (san@CS.Stanford.EDU).
Books Libro (Jeff)
Phone: ?
Hours: ?
Location: Books Libro is located on the B2 level of Seibu
department store's main branch in Ikebukuro. Get off at
Ikebukuro station, enter Seibu, and look for a map. The
anime selection is towards the rear of the store.
Selection: Books, books, books. This was the only place I
was able to find the "Art of ..." books and Roman Albums.
Books Kinokuniya (Jeff)
Phone: ?
Hours: -2000
Location: Get off at Shinjuku station. This is by far the most
confusing station in all of Tokyo, perhaps because it is one of the
largest. You want to head towards the Central East Exit. When you
surface you may be able to see Studio Alta, the giant TV that was
featured in Megazone 23. The street that Studio Alta is on is called
Shinjuku-dori. Keeping Studio Alta on the left, Books Kinokuniya is
on the next block. Go up the escalator to the CD and LD section.
Manga is on the 6th floor and in the basement.
(Note: Alternately, you can head towards exit A13, which puts you
inside the Studio Alta building itself. When you exit the building,
turn left, go one block, and Kinokuniya will be on your left)
Selection: Their CD and LD selections are fairly good. Although the
manga on the 6th floor is sparse, the selection in the basement is
said to be quite extensive.
Anime Pero (Jeff and Brian)
Phone: (03) 3356-4393
Hours: 1100-1800, closed Thursdays
Location: Continue down Shinjuku-dori. On the right-hand side of the
street will be a movie theater, the Palace Theater. The entrance to
the store is just before it. The actual store is below ground and is
quite small.
Selection: Lots of posters and small stuff, including lots
of idol and phone cards. No CD's or LD's.
Note: It can become difficult to move around inside as the
store becomes swamped by children within minutes. If this
happens, leave for about 1/2 an hour and the store will
empty out again.
Animec (Jeff)
Phone: (03) 3354-2261
Hours: 1100 - 1900 (Sunday 1000 - 1900)
Location: After passing Anime Pero, continue down Shinjuku-dori.
You'll eventually find a Wendy's on the left-hand corner. Turn right
and go one "block". Animec is on the second story.
Selection: Lots of manga, some posters, CD's, video tapes. Some LD's.
They also have a good selection of manga and books. Some cells.
Note: Animec is a good mile or so from Shinjuku station. If
you don't feel like walking, or the weather is bad, the Shinjuku
Gate entrance to the Shinjuku-gyoenmae station of the Marunouchi
subway line is at the corner where the Wendy's is.
Animate (Ikebukuro) (Jeff, Eugene, and Brian)
Phone: (03) 3988-1351
Hours: 1000-1900 daily
Location: Get off at Ikebukuro station. Follow the signs to
the Seibu department store. While still underground, there
will be entrances on both sides of the corridor. Ignore these
and continue until you get to the street level. If you look
around, you should see an extremely tall building, the
Sunshine 60. Head in that general direction. It's about a
10 minute walk. Animate is just across the street from the
Sunshine 60 building. It's on the side closest to the
station and next to a store called Taro. Thus, if you head
more or less towards the Sunshine 60, turn left so the
building is on your right, and the store will be on your left.
Eugene: If you go outside of the main entrance of Tokyu Hands,
cross under the expressway to the first light, and make a left
turn. Animate is on left side of the street, not much more than
half a block.
Selection: Lots of different things, but no real depth. They
have manga, CD's, LD's, posters, small stuff, etc.
(The elevators to the top of the Sunshine 60 hit a peak velocity
of 600 meters/min. Supposedly on a clear day you can see Mt.
Fuji (which is 95 km away!). The night-time view of downtown
Tokyo is pretty nice too.
Note: Animate can sometimes be very crowded. Obvious times would
be Saturday after school lets out, Sunday, and holidays. If this
happens, leave for about 1/2 an hour and the stores will empty
out again.
Yamano Music Store (Ginza) (Jeff)
Phone: ?
Hours: ?
Location: The one I went to is right in the middle of the
Ginza section of Tokyo. If memory serves, it's close by
Mikimoto Pearls.
Selection: Their anime CD section is pitiful. But they do have
a large selection of LD's on the top floor (4th?).
Ishimaru-denki (Jeff and Brian)
Phone: (03) 3257-1200
Hours: 1000-1900 (except holidays and closed on one day per week)
Location: Get off at Akihabara station. Follow the signs to Akihabara
Electric Town. Once you leave the station (from either direction),
you will be in a kind of cul-de-sac. Walking one block places you on
the "main drag" of Akihabara (the LAOX store should be directly in
front of you. Ishimaru-denki's 1, 2, and 3 are all towards the left
(to get to 2 and 3 you go to the intersection and turn right. 2 is on
the left, 3 on the right).
Selection: Ishimaru-3 had a large selection of LD's and CD's.
Ishimaru-2 had smaller selections of both.
Note: Ishimaru issues coupons worth 10% of all purchases, including
purchases made through coupons. They also give away freebie posters
and other kitsch depending on how much you buy.
Note: Visa is accepted for purchases above 5000 yen.
Disk Map (Jeff and Brian)
Phone: (03) 3253-6088
Hours: 1100-2000, Sundays and Holidays 1000-1900
Location: After getting to the main drag of Akihabara, turn right,
go past the Yamagiwa Soft Shop (CD's and LD's) on the right, until
you reach Kuramae-dori. Turn left and left again at the next
intersection. Turn right at the next intersection. It should be
on the right.
Location(Brian): After getting off the Akihabara station cul-de-sac,
take a right. A few blocks past Yamagiwa Soft, and one block before
the next main cross-street (Kuramae-dori) you will see a store across
the street with a pink awning and a pink rotating signpost set out
front. Above the awning in big, gold letters is "DISK MAP" and a
floor listing of the building. This is the CD store. The anime CD's
are on the 2nd floor. The LD's are in their other shop just down the
side-street to the right of the corner that the cd shop is on. It
has a pink vertical sign in katakana that says "disk soft". Anime
LD's are on the 2nd floor with adult stuff.
Selection: Used CD's and LD's, plus the more recent releases.
I picked up Nausicaa for only Y7400 (list Y9300), and found some of
Kinuko Ohmori's and other anime CD's at discounts of 33% to 50%.
Selection(Brian): Very good selection of used LD's. Prices are not
extremely low though, most only 10-25% off retail, but if you don't
want to pay full price, then check here. They even have a grading
system to tell the condition of the disks("A" being the best if I
remember) They also have a little bargain section of less popular
and lower grade disks that may be worth checking out.
Note: Visa accepted in the LD section for purchases above 5000 yen.
??? (Jeff)
Phone: ?
Hours: ?
Location: Take the subway system to Jimbocho station. When you
exit, look for a branch of the Dai-Ichi Kankyo Bank. Nearly next
door is a building with a glass elevator visible from the street.
The anime and manga sections were, I believe, on the 5th, 6th,
and 8th floors.
Selection: I found some really old anime books and movie programs.
They also have a pretty extensive manga section too. Strangely
enough, some of their manga is on the same floor as, and right next
to, a whole pile of Japanese adult magazines.
My City (Shinjuku) (Jeff)
Phone: ?
Hours: ?
Location: On top of Shinjuku station. You can't miss it. On
the fifth (?) floor is a branch of Yamano Music store, which
has a small selection of anime CD's, LD's, and Videos, but
sometimes has those hard-to-find CD's.
Kotani Music Store (Shinjuku) (Gordon)
Phone: (03) 3351-4151
Hours: 1100 - 1900
Address: 1-73 3-chome, Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku
Location: On the other side of the theater (next to Anime Pero),
on the same side of the street is a vertical sign that says
DENON CD, but the store is actually called Kotani Music Store
(they may have changed ownership, so look for the word "Kotani"
on the front door). It's a big (for Tokyo) music store, and
has a large (1/2 bookcase) selection of Anime CD's, as well as
a few CD singles. This is where I bought most of my CD
singles, since they seem to sell them a day earlier than the
release date.
Hoshindo Books (Iidabashi) (Gordon)
Phone: (03) 3235-5111
Hours: ?
Location: On the second floor of the Ramla department store,
which shares a wall with the Iidabashi JR station. It has a
fair selection of manga, including many back issues. Like a
condensed version of Kinokuniya. I wouldn't go out of my way
for this one, it just happened to be conveniently near my hotel.
[Gordon spent three months living in Japan.]
AILD (Steve and Brian)
Phone: 03-5391-3261
Hours: 1030-2000, Sundays and holidays 1030-1900
Location: If you're taking JR, get off at the Ikebukuro station and
leave thru the West exit. When you come out, there should be a
McDonalds directly facing you (unless you take the underground
passage beneath the street in which case you come out right next to
it). To the right of the McDonalds is a small alley, which is
exactly where this place is.
Selection: Almost exclusively LD's (they sell a few tapes). Anime
is on the ground/first level, and the selection is quite good.
However, they don't seem to have discount coupons like Ishimaru
Denki. At the time I went, however, they were giving away free
video release posters (Patlabor P-series, F-91, etc.- needless to
say, I grabbed a bundle :-)) And if anyone is interested, the
basement had Karaoke, the second level had regular movies, and the
3rd was totally X-rated video tapes.
Manga no Mori (Manga Forest) (Steve and Eugene)
Phone: ???
Hours: they close at 10PM on weekdays- I forget on weekends
Location: also in Ikebukuro, it's right behind Tokyu Hands/Sunshine
City, which has an elevated expressway running right along the
building.
Steve: The store is kind of in a back alley. Basically, if you're
facing Tokyo Hands, walk into the alley directly to the right, and
make a left when you get to the next street.
Eugene: If you were to go outside the main entrance, turn right with
the freeway on your left side, then make a right into the first side
street, Manga no Mori would be on your right.
Selection: A very impressive selection of manga (they even sell
American comics!) as well as some CD's, telephone cards, and LD's
and video tapes of the more popular anime titles (e.g. Patlabor,
BGC, Madara, Detonator Orgun- you get the idea). As far as manga
selection went, I'd say it had the best variety I'd seen in Tokyo
(and none of the manga are bagged, so you can freely look at
anything you want- at least for a little while; some clerks always
seemed to be walking around saying something that I didn't quite
catch). I think they even book-cover the stuff you get (at least
they did when I picked up Silent Mobius vol.3). They also carried
those "The Art of..." books (altho it seemed to be mostly from
Miyazaki films). Their selection of adult manga is to the right,
when you enter and is the biggest I've seen. (I don't know if you
want to print that last line :-))
Wave (Steve)
Phone: ?
Hours: ?
Location: also in Ikebukuro (I guess you can tell I was staying in
Ikebukuro, huh?). If you come out of the Ikebukuro station's east
exit, make a right and walk for a little while. It's directly
opposite some kind of museum of modern art or something.
Selection: a good selection of CD's on the main level. The
selection of LD's on the bottom level is pretty good too, although
they're catagorized by subject, so it's kind of difficult to find
specific titles. They don't offer discount coupons either, but
there was something called a "Wave" card- I don't know if this gives
you discounts or what, but it was prominently advertised. If you go
to the upper levels, you can find musical scores for various anime
shows/movies. (a/v fans might be interested in the HDTV display, as
well as the surround sound demo setup).
Yamagiwa Soft (Brian)
Phone: ?
Hours: ?
Location: As you exit the Cul-de-sac from Akihabara station, turn right
and walk down several blocks, it will be on the right hand side.
Selection: Good selections of new anime(CD's and LD's) on 3rd floor.
They seemed to have many anime posters but I asked and they said
they were only available with purchase.
Shintoku Ongakukan (Brian)
Phone: ?
Hours: ?
Location: As you exit the Cul-de-sac from Akihabara station, the
store is right across the street (Pale yellow storefront, the one
under the BIG, blue Panasonic sign).
Selection: It boldly advertises CD, LD, and video, but I did not
have a chance to go in. It is a big store though, so they will
probably have something.
B-Club (Austin)
Phone: ?
Hours: ?
Location: Approximately 200m South West of the NHK Broadcasting Center
in Shibuya.
Selection: Banzai's vinyl models shop. Lots of robot models. Also
stocks anime artwork magazines and Entertainment Bibles.
Hobby Lobby (Austin)
Phone: ?
Hours: ?
Location: About 750m West South West of Shibuya Station and about 200m
South of Shinsen station.
Selection: A shop with a large stock of models including a good range
of anime mecha and character models.
Parco and Tokyu-Hands (Austin)
Phone: ?
Hours: ?
Location: Shibuya
Selection: Also worth checking out for their anime models and anime-
related modelling magazines.
Comic Station
Phone: 03-3406-9319
Hours: ? - 2000
Location: Located at the 6/F of Tokyu Bunkakan in Shibuya.
From the Shibuya Station, there is an exit that goes into
the Bunkakan directly.
Selection: They say it is the biggest manga store in Tokyo.
Huge selection for manga, video.
Miscellaneous (Steve)
There was also a bookstore in Ikebukuro that had some manga, but I
don't remember the specifics.
Also, the Yodobashi Electronics store in Shinjuku has a whole level
devoted to LD's, but their anime selection isn't the greatest. They
have a "Yodobashi Card", however, that gives you discounts on future
purchases, depending on how much you buy.
There were just tons of other smaller stores, but I don't remember
enough about them, so I'll just stop there. But it might be
worthwhile to mention Harajuku- there were a couple of places there
that were selling anime-related toys, posters, dolls, etc. in that
extremely crowded store line-up that you see when you come off the
subway.
Oh, and just _one more place_. There's a toy store on the bottom
level of Sunshine City directly facing the video arcade that sells
models, as well as Kiki/Totoro dolls (all sizes). Maybe you saw it?
I know all of this is kind of vague- I have all the bags at home, so
maybe I can be more detailed later.
Miscellaneous (Austin)
BattleTech Center
Address: Dr. Jeekahn's, 2-4 Maruyama-Cho, Shibuya-Ku, Toyko
Phone: (03) 3476-7811
Hours: ?
Location: The location is approx. 500m due west of Shibuya station.
It is on the ground floor of a building housing a couple of bars and
a nightclub called Dr. Jeekahn's. It has one of the fairgound
simulator rides out front.
Note: BattleTech is a sit-down simulation game with a canopy that
closes around you. You are surrounded by outside view and tactical
screns as well as weapons selection controls for your "simulated"
powered suit. You play real time seeing the mechas of other players
from your outside view screens.
[Editor's Note: There is a BattleTech parlor in Walnut Creek, CA.]
Note: The center has 6 BattleTech units. The people are very
friendly and will help you register as a BattleTech "Warior",
select your armoured suit, weapons load, etc. Ten minutes of real
time interactive simulation costs 1000 yen in 1992.