Nakano Broadway Turns 50 This Year

Above, the entrance to Nakano Broadway. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A special place in Tokyo marks 50 years this year.

It is the mecca for otaku shopping: Nakano Broadway.

The Japan Times reported:

Nakano Broadway turns 50 this year. The shopping complex in Tokyo’s busy Nakano district remains popular with enthusiasts of pop culture, boasting dozens of manga, anime and collectors’ shops. 

The scruffy but vibrant building, housing some 300 shops and restaurants across its five floors, sits at the end of the Nakano Sun Mall shopping street, which is adjacent the north exit of JR Nakano Station. 

Since the opening of Mandarake Inc. stores at the center in 1980, Nakano Broadway has evolved into a center for enthusiasts of pop subculture, offering everything from cosplay items and old movie posters to figurines, plastic models, toys and used books. There is, of course, a good dosing also of manga publications and anime goods.

Along with the various Mandarake stores, Nakano Broadway has other, but smaller, stores who cater to your "inner fanboy" (or "inner fangirl") such as Robot Robot.

It is a must-visit place in Tokyo.

To read more, go here.

For an "ultra-short" history of Nakano Broadway, go here.

Nakano Broadway

Above, the entrance to the Nakano Broadway. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

For the past 15 or so years (maybe even longer) the Nakano Broadway Mall has been legendary for being the place to go to buy new and vintage kaiju toys of all makes and sizes.

I first visited the Broadway Nakano in 2001 and was impressed by the number of shops catering to the Japanese pop-culture collector.

Mandarake has several stores in the mall with each one targeting to differing interests. Another great store for finding kaiju items is Robot Robot.

Tokyoing.net has a picture article on the Broadway Nakano. They have several photos of different shops (oddly, no shop names are provided except for Print Mouse). Most of the photos appear to be of Mandarake shops.

They begin with:

Are you interested in manga and anime? And, are you going to Japan for the first time?
If you are so, I recommend you to visit NAKANO BROADWAY. 

Even though Akihabara is famous and attractive town for fans of anime, this town is too big for first visit. 

On the other hand, NAKANO BROADWAY is not crowded with people, and easy to look for products of anime, manga.

I don't know when the writer of the pictorial article went there, but the Broadway Nakano has always been crowded whenever I've been there. But since the mall has four floors, the upper floors have fewer people to have to contend with.

To view the photos, go here. 

The Other Otaku Heaven: Nakano Broadway

Above, the entrance to Nakano Broadway.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Ever since I first stepped foot inside the Nakano Broadway mall in 2001, it has been a "must" stop each time I've been to Japan ever since. Sometimes I've found some items I was interested in, sometimes not.

Nakano Broadway is a haven for those who are collectors of kaiju toys, anime, manga and other items of Japanese pop culture. Mandarake dominates the floors where collectibles are found. There are other stores of interest that are also worth checking out. Robot Robot is another favorite.

Japantravelinfo.com's "Only In Japan" has an article on the Nakano Broadway that collectors should read.

It begins with:

Any visitor to Tokyo interested in anime and manga will surely have Akihabara high on their to-do list. However, on the other side of Tokyo, Nakano Broadway is just as much a must-see for fans of Japan pop culture. A short walk north of Nakano Station, Nakano Broadway is a four story shopping mall whose second and third floors are entirely dedicated to anime, manga and collectibles. It can be easy to lose your bearings once inside, but the shops listed below are all notable for the range and quality of their merchandise.

Above, a RCA-Victor "Nipper" figure I picked up at Mandarake
at the Nakano Broadway mall.  Photo by Armand Vaquer. 

 To read the article, go here.

Kaiju Toy-Buying In Tokyo

Above, the entrance to the Broadway Mall in the Nakano section of Tokyo.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

One of the things that attracts fans of Japanese science-fiction and fantasy movies to Japan is to fill in gaps in their collections of character toys and movie memorabilia.

There are two sections of Tokyo that are my favorite sources for collectibles.

The Nakano section of Tokyo is one major source for monster goods.  Near Nakano's JR Chuo Line station (north exit) is the Broadway Mall.  In the mall (in the upper floors) are several stores of Mandarake.  Each store specializes in genre collectibles.  One store would specialize in manga.  Another would specialize in toy collectibles.  I last went there in December 2010 and purchased a porcelain figure of "Nipper," the RCA Victor dog ("His Master's Voice").

Over the years, I've made many purchases of Godzilla and Gamera-related toys at Mandarake.  (See page 26 in The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.)

Also, the Broadway Mall (third floor) has another store that specializes in kaiju toys and collectibles, Robot Robot.  Both Robot Robot and Mandarake sell used as well as new toys.

More recently, I found a toy store right on Nakamise Street in Asakusa that sells kaiju collectibles.  And, on a side street off of Nakamise Street, is another toy store where I've purchased kaiju toys.  It is right next door to a McDonalds restaurant (photo below), which makes finding it easy.

The nice thing about purchasing kaiju toys in Japan is that the prices are reasonable, whereas, U.S. importers greatly jack-up the prices.  There are other places in Tokyo where fans can buy collectibles.  Akihabara is a mecca for otaku.

For Ultraman collectibles, the Rox department store in Asakusa is the place to go.  A statue of Ultraman stands at the store's entrance (photo below).

And, in the Setagaya district of Tokyo, Ultraman goods can be found at the Ultraman Shopping District (Ultraman characters adorn storefronts and lamposts). See page 22 of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.

For more information on the Broadway Mall, go here.