Tokyo’s SECRET Gundam shop is Life-changing
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- čas přidán 29. 06. 2024
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It’s INSANE to me that I am the first person on CZcams making a video about this shop!!! This is hands down the BEST place to find rare, vintage, and obscure kits in Tokyo. Join me as we take a look through the store and I pick up a few vintage kits.
BUILD OFF DETAILS:
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00:00 Intro
00:48 1st cabinet of rare resin kits
01:35 Famicom Gundam
01:50 Metal Builds
02:15 Gundam Wing Section
03:20 G gundam / Vintage Kits
07:00 EX models + RE100
07:41 Gundam apparel
09:05 More resin / garage kits
10:41 Cabinet of rare Zeon stuff
12:10 The motherload of vintage resin and garage kits
14:20 Outro + Misc
SHOP: GUNDAM SPECIALIST STORE 7th floor, いちご秋葉原駅前ビル 1 Chome-15-9 Sotokanda, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0021
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#Gundam #japan
what store should I go to next?
There's a surugaya specialising in gundam kits nearby. That one is a treasure hoard if you're looking for rare kits
hey thats my next video!!!@@evilkudos81
Jungle goes beyond Gundam but I find they also have a nice collection of rare and P Bandai kits at times.
@@GetterGo never heard of it! I will check it out!
Maybe instead of the already well-known shops in Akihabara, try some local hobby shops to show the local scene? Bandai has a list of all of their Bandai Pro Shop throughout Japan (bandai-hobby.net/site/proshop_list.html) so you can check those out (and any local modeler circles they are associated with) and make content only someone who is in the country can make.
Also, don't sleep on second-hand shops like Hobby Off, Book Off Super Bazaar, and Mandai Shoten, especially locations in Saitama, Chiba, and other areas outside of central Tokyo.
It never fails to amaze me the way Japan (Tokyo in particular) can support and sustain so many businesses dedicated to hyper-niche interests. A whole store of nothing but Gundam would struggle to survive long term in even the largest of US cities, not to mention the whole building is probably full of other similar businesses which all get enough business to stay afloat. Amazing!
Economic stagnation lowering rents and requirements for total activity is actually pretty chill. Got so much more buying power relative to J economy now comp to when I was getting kits in the 90's.
niche?? Gundam is a religion in Japan
@@johnwuspam1 It's still hyper specific. Anywhere else you would just see a Gundam shelf or aisle in a store. An entire store dedicated to just one thing is pretty niche regardless of how popular that thing is. That name brand water bottle is insanely popular right now in the US but you will never see a whole store dedicated to nothing but that brand of water bottles. Small stores in general are becoming more and more unfeasible in the west. Japan still has many small stores specializing in just one product.
@@BakersfieldBhaktiit’s probably due to the accessibility of amazon/online shopping. idk how small stores can survive when even malls are dying out
Travelling Man had to move out of the Corn Exchange here in Leeds where Nabil first opened his shop, my dad used to play hell with him over the rent in that place (he was an accountant, Nabil was one of his clients) until he moved over the road and behind the shops opposite the bus stops jus outside, he's been there ever since the late 90s now! There is another similar shop, Forbidden Planet on the Headrow, it used to be at the bottom on Eastgate, but they levelled that whole array of shops to open a shopping centre akin to St. John's and the Merrion Centres! They're both still there today! They're not open cuz I'm literally posting this at 2:10am...
I have one of those Famicom RX-78-2 kits in my collection, it was a Club Nintendo contest prize for one of the Wii games in 2006 and they only made 1000 of them. It's surprising to me how little info there is about that kit on the internet, I'm super apprehensive about building mine just because of how rare/obscure it is
I can't believe how slick and nice that Famicon looked like. Gundam has really good aesthetic and I really think this summer is the summer I dive into the series.
godspeed! It can be an overwhelming series to get into! lol
2:32
That was the first kit I ever built. This whole store is a dream come true. Hopefully one day I can shop there, even better if I can buy half the stuff
Seeing some of those old Gunpla kits and the old art work brings back memories of getting into Gundam back in the early 2000's.
It's so great to see this!! I went to Japan in 2016 and went through a lot of the buildings in this area and was amazed. At that time my favorite place for Gundam was YodobashiAkiba, but they mainly had the normal retail kits. I gradually learned that it was the smaller stores like this (or smaller sections of the larger multi story stores) that had the hidden gems. I was sad to see that since COVID a lot of the bigger multi story stores shut down, so its great to see there are still some gems when I (hopefully soon) return.
Got to visit this shop last November. It was recommended from a Facebook group and it honestly was the best shop out of all the ones I went to. I did a lot of damage here but picked up tons of first print Thunderbolt kits.
so glad this video popped into my feed! going to be in tokyo in a couple of days and there were definitely a few kits in this video that i'm hoping will still be there. Jungle's mecha shop in osaka has some pretty neat vintage kits but this place definitely seems to have quite a bit more, very excited to check it out, thanks for making this video!
I shouldn't have clicked on this video, smh already have a sizeable backlog. The old kits have good cover art.
lol. Imo they are worth buying for the art alone!!! I know the backlog can be dangerous 😂
You: "Ah shit here we go again"
Same... I just came back from Japan and I missed this store :(
I have bought a few Gundams but don’t watch this type of content on CZcams, but today this video got suggested for some reason and I’m so glad it did! I loved that you took your time to go around the shop and show things and paused on rare models. I didn’t know of this place but I’m visiting Japan in October and will definitely check it out now. Your voice is really relaxing too. Such a great video. Thanks for sharing this great find!
thank you so much for watching!!! glad you enjoyed! :)
When I was living in Japan a couple years ago I was exploring Tokyo with a friend and randomly found this place. I was in heaven while my friend had no idea why lol
some people just dont understand, lol!
Thank you for taking time to do this what an amazing store
Amazing store! I got to visit that store while hunting for some Gundam metal builds back this January; this was the only store I've seen sell ALMOST EVERY metal build and ALL KINDS OF GUNDAM. Luckily, I found the one I was looking for from this store after hunting for a long time in Japan. I'm glad this store is getting some recognition on the internet. It's a fantastic store.
(Awesome channel! Love the style of editing you did in this video! Keep up the good work!)
thank you for the kind words!!! glad you got to check out the shop!
amazing store! I wouldn't be able to fully appreciate all the cool hard to find stuff there so I'm glad you highlighted all the interesting kits
Glad you enjoyed! Thank you so much for watching!!! 😊😊😊😊
Wow this store looks amazing! I love all the vintage artwork and so many cool kits I have never seen! Thanks for sharing!
thanks for watching!
love this store tour thank you. great packaging for those old kits!!
The old box art is just the best!
This is awesome. We found this shop by sheer chance back in May! We were eating ice cream in the corner opposite the arcade when we looked up and saw a shop sign for Gundam. It must not have opened long before because it looks quite different in this video now and our receipts don't even have the shop name on them
Thanks for letting us know about this store. I'm heading back in June and will hit this place hard.
Wow what a cool store - all those vintage kits really took me back
I went to this store back in January and I had the same reaction. I was so overwhelmed with all the different kits and good prices on stuff
right!? it's such a wild place. It's crazy to think youtube is flooded with gundam base videos and no videos of this shop
Thanks for sharing! Definitely checking this store out later in the year 👍
glad I could be of help!
I recently managed to order one of those older Victory kits. It might just be my favorite series (despite various things), and the Victory and V2's themselves are just really versatile units. Not to mention, the Gunblastor (Gunblaster) MS's that superficially have a lot in common with other Gundams in general (mainly the head IMO). Thanks for filming this and showing us around this store!
Awesome.vid! Thank you for sharing this place!! Will have a trip to Tokyo soon, cant wait to visit this place!!
Have fun!
Oh my goodness Im so jealous. I wouldve gotten that 1/144 Zeta Gustav in a heartbeat 😳 really cool to know that this place exists!
oh man this shop is amazing. thanks for sharing
Great content! New to Gunpla in the last few months as a hobby and love your channel.
Thanks you! Welcome to the hobby! :D
Great video, I will be there by the end of February I hope to find something good there, thanks for the info!!!
Yes definitely check it out!!! I can not recommend it enough
Omg
I am so overwhelmed by ur channel ur recent move 2 Japan is awesome !
Ur luv of Gundam immensely captivates and inspires!
I will make a promise to myself …..once I my 40K Black Templar Build and Paint , I am going to my storage facility and grabbing my GundamUC (Red) and Mazin Kaisers x 3versions and SD KAISER ! Build and paint them !
Thank you so much for sharing ur luv of ur hobby!!
Be well
Be safe🖖🏻
thanks! :)
I hope when we go to Tokyo one day I have enough time to just go in stores and nerd out about stuff, I can’t imagine a nicer way to spend a day. In my case it would provably be more vintage audio gear and whatnot that you can’t get easily stateside (I’m sure you have an interest in that as well) but I really appreciate the excitement over these rarities and what a great time to be getting stuff there with the favorable exchange.
I found a bunch of cool vintage audio gear at a hard off in Yokohama but it was too big and heavy to buy
"Thank you for watching" nonononono, thank YOU for uploading!
Thanks for this! Going to check it out!
Out of all the shops for model kits that I visited in Akihabara, this was my favorite. I literally picked up all of my p-bandai gunpla here. It was great, and I would go back to when I have the chance and get more Gunpla.
I agree!
In an Hobby , if you see something that you want or been wanting. Then you think you may never come across it again or at the price then....Get it! I have missed out in my Hobbies like this , but now I make the buy.
you're right! I didn t buy one of those O kits and when I went back it was gone!
been there just a couple of weeks ago, that store is insane. Bought a few amazing kits, some of em I didn't even know they existed before
yes! thats what I like to hear!
Last year, there were Gundam-themed Aerial snacks at grocery stores and convenience stores. The different flavors had different characters/mecha on the bags. It was for that recent Gundam show I have no idea about. Witch from Mercury or something like that.
Hey! New to the channel. Loved the video. Always been a big Gundam fan since way back. I got to go to Japan way back in 2005. Went to an automotive store called super autobacs and I found a cupholder for my car that was in the shape of a giant Gundam head. I really loved that thing, it looked awesome in my car. I had it for a few years, but then my car got stolen and unfortunately it disappeared with the car. I wish I could find another one. Congrats on the move. Can’t wait to see more videos.
thank you!!! sorry to heart about your car that is terrible!
I’m going to Japan in May and although I haven’t built in years and I have quite a few still sitting untouched in storage, i definitely going to stop by and pick something up
Very good tour. Appreciate the price comparisons.
thank you!!! glad it was helpful!
Adding a stop to my Japan trip! Thanks!!
Happy to help!!!
Thanks for a nice video to watch while building the rising freedom. I was back in my village and felt so bored so I ordered two kits and struggles with my old tools and bad lightings.
thanks for watching!!! I'm honored to be the background video while people are building kits lol
This is great, planning to go to Tokyo this summer! Im a big fan of the RX78, probably going to get something there. As long as its cheap!
Seems like an excellent store to go to. Some of the GK are very cheap, but some of the standard Gunpla sell for like 2x the cost of their retail. For instance, like that old 1/144 EZ-8
You’re right. It’s a bit all over the place, but what I love about this shop is if you’re willing to dig there are definitely deals to be had
Very good exchange rate for me. Philippine peso to Japanese Yen exchange rate is awesome right now! Was in Japan back in October with the family and grabbed lots from the Gundam Factory in Yokohama as well as two kits from Akihabara. Will definitely go back and look for that store next visit to Japan! Thanks for posting this video.
glad you enjoyed!!! :)
Thank you for doing this video! And to think this is basically beside Akiba station and I didn't know this was there. Now I know where to go on my next Tokyo visit.
yay! glad the video was helpful! :D
Bandai didn't own Sunrise (the anime studio that made the Gundam anime) until 1993. Sunrise always worked closely with Bandai but could license their properties to anyone before 1993 and they still do now for anything not Gundam
woah! thats really interesting I had no idea!
Hlj and hobbysearch still list some of those old resin kits, even though they are long sold out
Holy smokes! I swear I visited this place in 2013, but then could never find it again on subsequent trips! I will now save the address 👀
You're a hero!
you're welcome!!!
I'm gonna try and visit again when I'm in Tokyo for a couple days end of March
Wow. Just wow. I can’t believe I missed this when I was there but I remembered I was out of luggage space already 😂
My recent trip I bought a large duffel bag from a street merchant for 1900 yen and filled it up with my kits and bubble wrap lol
Thank for this I'm about to go to japan in next weekend will check this place out
Yooooooo so many cool kits i haven't seen thx for showing
np! glad you enjoyed the vid :)
I just got back from japan and bought lots of tools!! Akihabara is crazy,, My favorite store is volks tons of stuff there. making a video of all the stuff that I bought soon!! keep up with the channel and good luck studying in japan! fantastic place going back in December.
So cool
thanks! :)
I just stumbled across you channel and its kinda put me in the mood to try and put a kit together again. I haven't done many and my gaming collection took precedence in my hobbies but maybe its time. I think i still have an un opened Ez08 kit. I've always kept an eye out for some Blue Destiny kits though, but I've never found one. I dont sub to many people but i will here, i'm curious to see what else you come across
Of course I hear about this place after visiting Tokyo 😭. If you're in Osaka I also suggest Jungle Mecha Store which was incredible.
im glad here in chile had an awesome gunpla culture, most of those kits i've already seem them here (except for most of pbandai stuff)
lucky! in america everything is rare
gonna check this place out! Thanks!
i was so bummed i didnt know this pleace existed on my last trip to Japan, next trip i'll make sure to visit this place, thanks you so much for this information.
my pleasure! :)
I saw the intro and I had to stop watching.
I knew the video would trigger my shopping impulses.
😂😂😂
Maybe I will come back to this video... One day.
As a master gunpla meister one must master the art of self control! lol 😂
8:11 Aerial chips were the most gundam related snacks. That collaboration with Witch From Mercury was the best. 😊
I love my 1/100 serpent, it and Aries really needs a new kit. I hope rg tallgeese 3 gets a reprint, i really want one..
ugh I really want a 1/100 serpent and 1/100 tallgeese 3!!!
I WAS IN AKIBAHARA AND SAW THIS ON THE MAP AND COULD NOT FIND IT I WAS LOOPING AROUND RADIO KAIKEN COMPLETELY LOST
It’s really hard to find! You need to go down the back of a hallway and take an elevator
think i went there 2yrs ago. i remember a store in that area with only gundam, might be 2 floors but only gundam stuff. there is one kit they never make in AGE series i'd love to have but only saw one custom build online rather than production.
the backlog is a must, i have a backlog of 5-6. can never have 0 backlog! though i dont build them much these days, more backlog on other hobbies to contend with...
I just got lucky today and found a hg 1/100 V2 assault buster from 94 (although its a reprint) here in LA but to be able to walkin to a store and have that many available Wow!
nice find! The assault buster is such a cool suit!
Why!!! I'm going on a trip to tokyo in April, so this just become a must stop for me jaja, i guess will need to increaae the budget trip lol.
When i get to japan I'll definitely going to visit this store!
8:05 the aerial snacks so cuuuute!!!
yes they were! thanks for watching! 😊
there were some aerial chip bags that had individual characters from WFM when it was airing i kept finding the tomato and miorine ones here in Los Angeles and may have gotten addicted to the flavor lol
oh wow I had no idea! @@someone_one_one
Every time I see those I'm reminded of that song from System of a Down.
I never knew this store existed! I'm glad this popped into my feed. I'll be there next week and my hotel is right across the street! This could be dangerous... Lol
glad the video helped!!!
My Favorite Gundam 🤩
This where I bought my SDCS Phoenix Gundam and P-Bandai MG 1/100 Sandrock Custom EW! This is near the Akihabara Electric Town Exit. Also, the floor below this store is a maid cafe hahahah
Followed this is a cool find!
Honestly like the bottom replies clicking on this video is going to make me cry. I too have a backlog and wanted more models
I regret not picking up all the g gundam ones when I was in Japan if I go again I will defo get all the 144s of them, my fave and my third ever gundam I built was bolt gundam such a cool design
That Denan Gei kit you held is really great! I would have bought that, the NG 1/144 GuAIZ, Vertigo and Virgo resin kits!!!
I'm tempted to go back and get more resin kits!
1:36 Yeah haha, I saw it recently while browsing through various rx-78-2, this one is a famicom 1/100 MG granpa from 2007, this stuff was listed for 60 000 yen on mandarake, crazy
That’s crazyyyyy. Ugh the perfect combination of gunpla and retro gaming!!!!
Happy that the shop did survive covid. The gunpla shop in nakano did not. It had the best selection of resin kits and good supply of tools.
ugh sad to here that! I should do a video on nakano. I went there recently and it was crazy.
Cool
glad you enjoyed the vid! :)
There should be a wiki that documents all the Japanese Brands and Products lines of Sci Fi Model Kits and collectable figurines. Not just Gundam but all the others as well, Macross, Diaclone, Dougram, Xabungle and so on. Particularly should document all the old airbrushed and hand painted box art that you don't see much of nowadays.
I fear if it is not documented by someone then a lot of it will be eventually lost.
1000% agree with you. I've thought of making a wiki like that, but I dont think I have the time to do it alone.
Found this place by accident when I was there. Came out with some great stuff.
This store was cooler than the Gundam Bases for Shopping. It was rad as hell
1/144 virgo? damn. I actually know some of these weird resin kits, because HLJ sold some, back when I first bought gunpla back in 2000. Looking back, I regret not getting some extremely rare kits back then, I just didn't realise how rare they were even back then. There's all these gundam wing 1/144 grunt suits, which, I know exist, but this is my first time even seeing the box, I've never seen the actual kits build. I've looked I've asked, these kits seem too old and too rare. If I was in that shop, I would have to buy some of these kits, doesn't matter the price.
I totally understand. I really wish there was a site similar to dalong for archiving resin kits, garage kits, and things other than gunpla that was in english!
Damn I can't believe I missed this shop. was just in Tokyo a couple months ago. My hotel was actually right by Akihabara station. I would have loved to check this place out in person. Thanks for sharing.
there's always next time!!
I literally just scored an EX-S 1.5 when I happenee to stumble in here walking through Akihabara looking for shops. Definitely a hidden gem.
Literally what I'm trying to do this October when I travel to Japan, need that kit so bad
@k0_18 it wasnt easy. I hit up about 20 different hobby shops between osaka, kyoto & tokyo and it was the only one i saw.
@@ThrashisBack6 I will be going one week to Tokyo and one to Osaka so I hope that it makes my chances of finding one bigger
@k0_18 check out the Suraga-ya shops for sure too. They had a better selection than the Mandarake's of Book Offs from my experience
@@ThrashisBack6 thanks man! You're the best!
This is nice I just started back up building I’m working on the rg rx78
nice!
That place looks sick! I am DEFINITELY going to have to drop in there when we go, Akihabara is on my list of places to go as well, so, since we're there... A fair few units I don't know, but that's to be expected, I haven't seen ALL the Animé, so... and I only have one Manga, Thunderbolt Vol. 1...
And not many people can make sunglasses look cool, but Char does it three times better than anyone else! (Had to!)
lol! char loves his shades.
enjoy the trip!
I've been there! My GF and I went there after we went to Heaven's Gate below! I couldn't believe it but they had most rare collectibles on sale like the Nike SB×Unicorn, Gshock and many more! Although they are pricey but for hardcore collectors this was an absolute heaven lol
Thanks for the tip. I know where I’m going to go in the morning before I fly home.
let me know if you pick up anything!
@@pixxellie I went just before opening and there was a small queue. I've been to Akiba a few times but didn't know that this building even existed. I was hoping to find a HG BF Leopard Da vinci for a kit bash. No joy, but I did get a nice P Bandai HG Todesritte that I missed on the PO.
I really do wish Bandai would make posters of the kit art. Would love a box art of master grade 2.0 titans mk2 gundam.
oh thats a great idea. It would be cool, even if they sold them on the P bandai site or something.
wwaaaahhhh!!!! i've been looking for a virgo!!!
If only I had seen your video two weeks ago and I would have been able to visit! Was literally in Tokyo last week!!😢
Oh no! Hope you enjoyed your stay at least!
@@pixxellie hi thanks for the reply and good wishes - actually I did! Managed to visit Yokohama Gundam Factory and well as having picked up most of the accessories for my Metal Build Aile Striker Gundam which I originally had thought not possible. Also watched Gundam Seed Freedom in a TOHO cinema - a first time visit to a Japanese cinema sans subtitles.
holy SHIT. mind definitely blown. i have been shopping on suruga-ya recently because the pricing is great and they do free shipping basically every weekend... this is definitely insane though, it's on another level. need to go check it out in person some time.
yes! surugaya free shipping is an awesome deal but it's hard to beat seeing the kits in person!
very true. i love the whole "digging through the racks" vibe at hidden corner type places like in this video so no doubt i would end up spending an ungodly amount. thank you for shedding light on this place! i'm getting my passport this year so hope to plan a japan trip eventually.@@pixxellie
Just went to this store and can confirm that this place is the best.
I managed to find a few white whales here for reasonable-ish prices - the RE/100 Guncannon Detector, MG Rick Dias, and the Nippon Ham Fighters RX-78. I was very pleased.
nice!!!
A VIRGO MODEL?! O.o 🤯 AND a Death Beast/Death Army kit? WOW...
right?!?!
@@pixxellieI was losing my whole freaking MIND when I saw those! I have wanted a Virgo (both versions) FOREVER (as well as Aries and Taurus), and to see a Death Beast kot that wasn't the new P Bandai one was just.... WOW. I would need to save up so much money for this ONE SHOP! XD
Thanks for this one! Gonna check this store out next time I'm in Tokyo. Also check out Volks Hobby Paradise and Jungle. I loved going Jungle Scs in Osaka, lot's of hard to find goodies, many damages to wallet.
The volks shop is AMAZING and has the best tool section I’ve seen. Unfortunately they have a strict no filming policy 🥲
@@pixxellie That's a shame about the no filming policy, how was the plamo section at Volks last time you were there. Any cool resin dress up kits from the brand YujiaoLand or oddball garage kits?
I dont recall seeing any garage kits, it was mostly big company stuff from what I remember@@blaaaaaaaaaaaaargh
13:59 I’ve got the Alpha Aizeru, as well as the Queen Manza, GP03 and Neue Ziel from the same line. Really cool and unique kits. Bandai needs to make more Mobile Armors.
I agree 10000%. Mobile armors are the best!
This is where I found my Qubeleys!
I didn’t get to look as thoroughly through this store as I would have liked. It was already dark outside and my wife and I were tired. It’s the reason I would ever go back to Akiba.
Some they do exist. They are actually in the very old catalogue Gundam if you manage to get them in the first place.
Some are fairly new, but also promotional item like the event or Gacha is literally lucky draw 1 out 75 me able to get it also to add some P-Bandai item are also rarer than others.
Also, there are some bi exclusive they only available in Japan in the first place like the China version that sometimes get no realistic value half the time they look cool, but they don’t mean much..
Wow that’s a great tip, I didn’t think to search really old gundam catalogues!
Went to this store last year. Not really the cheapest, but they do have interesting selections. Cool elevator and store entrance too. Lol
The really good usd to yen exchange rate is helping me out right now! It’s a good deal better than last year, but I hear you!
I miss the old hand painted box art it’s so much cooler than the newer art. They should release an art book of all the covers