doll shows in japan?

Anyone know roughly when shows occur? I'll be in japan for the first 2 weeks of april, I'm wondering if that coincides with any shows that might be happening.

Your only bet that I know of is I-Doll Nagoya 19 on Sunday April 12. Nagoya is in between Tokyo and Osaka, closer to Osaka, so you will need to ride the shinkansen to get there if you come to Tokyo the rest of the time.

 

I-Doll Tokyo 43 (March), Dolls Party Kyoto 11 (March), Dolls Party Tokyo 33 (May), and Dollshow 43 (May) are all outside your time window.

doh. that's the day I leave

Hey, sorry for hijack your thread sklurk ^^

@SakuraSylph: is I-Doll one of the popular doll shows? I happen to be in Japan in late Jan early Feb, just in time for the one in Sendai. I'll be heading there nevertheless but just want to know what exactly is offered on the table ^^. Also are there any doll show "etiquettes" that I need to be aware of? With my limit Japanese reading skill, I might misunderstood the FAQs but it appeared that they encourage participant not to bring dolls into the venue. So there won't be any display section for doll owners? If there is, is there a check in process or something?

I-Doll is a reasonably good show to go to. It is a dealer market only and packed in pretty tightly, so there will be many tables to look at. You can buy clothes, accessories, stands, cases, furniture, and occasionally custom painted doll parts. There will be some professional sellers there and many amateur sellers. The dealers will have dolls to display their wares on, but you as the customer should NOT bring your doll with you to I-Doll. (you read correctly).

 

The only etiquette rules are what you'd generally expect at a dealer show... Ask before you take any photos; expect to pay cash yen; don't bother the other customers; that kind of thing. You get in the door by showing up at the venue and buying the 1000yen book at the door. (unlike Dolpa, I-Doll does not sell the books in advance that I know of).

 

The event that lets you bring your own doll is primarily Volks' Dolpa.

Thanks a lot for your input SakuraSylph

and many amateur sellers

This is exactly what I want to hear! Since I'll have chance to attend WonFes a week later in Chiba as well where all of the participants will be likely well established companies. Although no Volks Dolpa this time, I can't ask for more being able to attend two events in a 10 day trip, not counting a number of Volks stores in Tokyo \