Your First time entering a Volks Store :)

wait...there's a Volks Store in LA?

...okay. i know where im going next month, or even the duration of Anime Expo 2012.

 

Kanu's Edit: Pa, I want new clothes.

Everyone says LA but it is actually in the city of Torrance. Here's the address:

 

VOLKS USA, INC./ Tenshi-no-Sumika

386 Beech Avenue, Unit B-4,

Torrance, CA 90501-6202

 

Saturday-Sunday: 11:00AM-6:00PM

Monday-Friday: CLOSED

 

Just be careful when going to look for it because it is in a industrial part of Torrance and can easily be missed if you aren't looking carefully Hope you & Kanu enjoy it when you do visit!

wait...there's a Volks Store in LA?

...okay. i know where im going next month, or even the duration of Anime Expo 2012.

 

Kanu's Edit: Pa, I want new clothes.

Everyone says LA but it is actually in the city of Torrance. Here's the address:

 

VOLKS USA, INC./ Tenshi-no-Sumika

386 Beech Avenue, Unit B-4,

Torrance, CA 90501-6202

 

Saturday-Sunday: 11:00AM-6:00PM

Monday-Friday: CLOSED

 

Just be careful when going to look for it because it is in a industrial part of Torrance and can easily be missed if you aren't looking carefully Hope you & Kanu enjoy it when you do visit!

 

 

ah i see.

only weekends? hm, shouldnt be too hard with my current schedule. i'll try and round up a friend or two to go

Everyone says LA but it is actually in the city of Torrance. Here's the address:

 

Well, that's true, but to be fair, Volks USA themselves does call it "Tenshi no Sumika in Los Angeles" so I think the moniker just sticks.

 

The Volks USA store is small and cozy yet well-decorated. With the floor-to-ceiling decorations and ivy hanging everywhere it felt more like a doll-otaku's room than a retail store the time I visited! That's the best way I can describe it, since pictures are not allowed inside. My first and only time there (living so far away) is when I went to adopt DD Rin in person and buy her some accessories plus a hardshell case to bring her home on the plane in.

 

A year later I went to a couple of the Volks places in Japan to get her a stand. These stores were much bigger and it was a bit overwhelming! Side note: No Need to give the checkout girl your Tenshi no Sumika LA member card when paying, as they don't have a similar membership system in Japan and won't do anything with it beyond giggle. Here I brought it all the way to Japan just in case!

They need a store up in Seattle.

@SakuraSylph: Yup yup very true, they do indeed call themselves that so it can't be helped that everyone would think it is in LA

 

I definitely love how cozy it is within the store! Like you said, it is more like someone's room than a store when you first step in. Were you visiting family or friends when you were here picking up Rin? :3 And hey it never hurts to be prepared even if the card wasn't useable in Japan haha~

@Nightmare Tea: I'll keep my fingers crossed for Seattle to get a store!

Were you visiting family or friends when you were here picking up Rin?

Oh, that's an unusual part of the story, too. I was in town by way of my house-moving flight, moving my household from Baltimore to Hawaii. I purposefully made my layover at LAX last a few days instead of a few hours, so that I could go to Anime Expo and Volks USA that very same weekend.

 

Originally I wasn't planning on picking up Rin since Volks wasn't expecting her to arrive from Japan until two weeks after AX. I was just going to buy some extra clothes and wigs and things for her to play with. But when I asked the enthusiastic shopkeepers for some help picking out properly-sized clothes and explained who they were for.. that's when they said "Oh by the way, you can take Rin home with you today if you would like." O_O. Yes, please!

 

As an interesting aside, upon leaving the area I learned that a Dollfie in a violin case counts as an instrument to the airlines. Well, I don't know if it officially does, but nobody complained about me having an extra carry-on when leaving LA for Honolulu (suitcase + personal backpack + Violin/Rin).

My feeling when I walked into Volks USA was that it felt really girly. Not the dolls, just the way they decorate the place. And I'm female even!

 

The employees were very helpful and kind though. It was probably the best experience I had in a physical store, well, ever.

The first time I walked into the Volks USA store was amazing. Felt a little shy at first, but having Sak-chan with me helped out alot. After looking around for a bit I started to talk with the staff. Everyone there is so nice and helpful. It really was the best first time trip to any store I have ever been to. I have always wanted to go there since I got Sak-chan, but never had the chance since most of the time when I'm in LA it's for Anime Expo. Usually too tired afterwards. Now I'm gonna make it a habit to visit them everytime I can.

Actually, I found the Akiba Volks store entirely by accident. I was in Tokyo 2.6 years ago and my friend from Australia (yes I know, I'm from Canada, this is an online friend of mine I hadn't met before, call me crazy lol) got delayed a day because his plane's luggage compartment broke or something. So I was wandering around Akiba for a bit (not my first time, I've been to Tokyo...what has it been now...almost 5 years ago with a host family) on my own. I looked in the building where the Kotobukiya figure store is and noticed there were even more shops on the 2nd floor. After perusing that for a while, I thought there might be more on the 3rd+ floors. Turns out there wasn't much on the subsequent floors other than a random guy selling old Arcade pieces and vintage audio/visual equipment. But then I came across the Volks Showroom (I honestly wasn't paying attention to what it was at the time, I just saw some figures in there, so I stepped inside).

 

Now at the time I was still a figure collector, and I didn't know about DD at all, I just thought the gamut ran to Super Dollfie or those other brands that I still actually find creepy. But then I saw that showcase....

 

http://mahoro.snowberri.jp/Photos/Dolfie/Volks%20Tokyo%20Showroom/IMG_0142.JPG

 

http://mahoro.snowberri.jp/Photos/Dolfie/Volks%20Tokyo%20Showroom/IMG_0143.JPG

 

But then I saw the price tags on the larger ones and said "No way, there is no way I'd spend THAT much on one", even after seeing them again at Mandrake and other such stores. But well, that was the seed of corruption, so to speak. I didn't actually buy one until months later, but that's probably a story for a different topic. I did however return to buy 2 smaller Dollfies that trip because I still liked the DDs that I saw, even if I didn't want to buy them at the time (I certainly had the money, but I've inadvertently conditioned myself to have physical reactions to spending huge amounts of money on things my brain can't deem as necessary). So actually, I never originally intended to go into the Volks store for Dollfies, I didn't even know what they were at the time xD I went in for figures!

 

Suffice to say, I do not collect figures anymore, not only because I have no shelf space left, but because I can actually have fun playing with my daughters instead of just staring at a figure. I could go into it more, but that's probably also for another topic.

We looked at each other and said:

"Hmm... "Books?"

"Well that doesn't seem to make much sense... Want to check it out?"

 

 

 

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I love hearing all the different experiences people have when going to the store from intentional to just plain by accident stories! Whenever my dream of visiting Japan happens I'll definitely be stopping into as many Volks Stores hehe.

 

But then I saw that showcase....

 

http://mahoro.snowberri.jp/Photos/Dolfie/Volks%20Tokyo%20Showroom/IMG_0142.JPG

 

http://mahoro.snowberri.jp/Photos/Dolfie/Volks%20Tokyo%20Showroom/IMG_0143.JPG

 

But then I saw the price tags on the larger ones and said "No way, there is no way I'd spend THAT much on one"

That was my first reaction when seeing the price tag on these lovely ladies! I was just like "They are so beautiful, but how could I ever spend that much money on one?"

 

And now I have one at home, one on the way, and possibly another if I win Natsuki in the lottery event next weekend :3 I guess my husband was right when he said that my first Pure Neemo Azone Doll would lead to bigger dolls such as DDs ^^;;;

 

We looked at each other and said:

"Hmm... "Books?"

"Well that doesn't seem to make much sense... Want to check it out?"

Haha that's pretty amusing Technically there are some "books" in there in the form of magazines of their products hehe~

We looked at each other and said:

"Hmm... "Books?"

"Well that doesn't seem to make much sense... Want to check it out?"

Haha that's pretty amusing Technically there are some "books" in there in the form of magazines of their products hehe~

 

 

Yes, but if it had been a book store, the kanji for "Books" would have been something else.

Written out as "Bo-ku-su" it really didn't mean anything to my sister

The first (and only) Volks store I have been to is the one in Akihabara, Japan in 2010. It was sooo amazing! I spent close to all day visiting not only the Volks store (which was actually being rearranged while I was there); but in all the other levels with figure collecting. What I love about where this particular Volks store is that it's next to the hobby/Gundam store.

But really, it was truly amazing seeing all the diorama of Dollfie Dreams! And getting to hold the clothes and wigs and check out instead of online. Plus they had a lot of dolls you can't get anymore which was amazing. The staff is super friendly too. ^__^

The first time I went to a Volks store, my friend and I got completely lost looking for the one in Osaka. Mostly all I remember was that it was a zillion degrees out and it was such a relief to finally get into the air conditioning. There were different floors for figurines, robots, etc, so it was nice to get to the top floor where the Super Dollfies were. I don't remember seeing Dollfie Dreams on that trip. It was a long time ago; I don't even recall if DDIs were out then.

 

For some reason, I never thought the Volks stores were very exciting. It was nice to be able to pop over and pick up customization supplies or wigs or whatever, but I had more fun at the shops that sold open Re-ment and random things. Tenshi no Sato is really nice though.

This would be last year when I was in Japan mid July.. The Volks store in Akibihabara was moving to it's current location from the Radio Kaikan Bldg, and opened on the 16th.. HOWEVER, the Dollfie Section didn't open until the 23rd, the day I was leaving to come back to Canada..

 

I did go to the Store they have in Shinjuku, and picked up a DD-Dy body, some hands, and something else that slips my mind.... Hotaru showed me the DOLK store just outside Akihabara across the Kanda river, and I dropped a wad there on clothes and accessories..

Yes, but if it had been a book store, the kanji for "Books" would have been something else.

Written out as "Bo-ku-su" it really didn't mean anything to my sister

Hehe you gotta smile at English words in Katakana because sometimes they don't sound quite right :3 During my Japanese 1 class the Professor would write out a couple words in Katakana and we would all be saying what it said, but having no idea what the word was because it just didn't sound at all like its English equivalent

 

The first (and only) Volks store I have been to is the one in Akihabara, Japan in 2010. It was sooo amazing! I spent close to all day visiting not only the Volks store (which was actually being rearranged while I was there); but in all the other levels with figure collecting. What I love about where this particular Volks store is that it's next to the hobby/Gundam store.

But really, it was truly amazing seeing all the diorama of Dollfie Dreams! And getting to hold the clothes and wigs and check out instead of online. Plus they had a lot of dolls you can't get anymore which was amazing. The staff is super friendly too. ^__^

I saw a video the other day of someone filming the Gundam section of the store and I have to say I was impressed with the selection. And buying things in person is always better than buying online because you get to feel them in your hands and you get to leave with the items that day instead of waiting for them to arrive. And it's so fun seeing older DDs in their showroom! At the Volks store in Torrance they have some DD girls on display and I always drool when I see their Rin sitting in the corner wearing a yukata and sporting blonde hair *o*

 

The first time I went to a Volks store, my friend and I got completely lost looking for the one in Osaka. Mostly all I remember was that it was a zillion degrees out and it was such a relief to finally get into the air conditioning. There were different floors for figurines, robots, etc, so it was nice to get to the top floor where the Super Dollfies were. I don't remember seeing Dollfie Dreams on that trip. It was a long time ago; I don't even recall if DDIs were out then.

 

For some reason, I never thought the Volks stores were very exciting. It was nice to be able to pop over and pick up customization supplies or wigs or whatever, but I had more fun at the shops that sold open Re-ment and random things. Tenshi no Sato is really nice though.

Even if it isn't particularly exciting at least you were able to get into a building with air conditioning And oh goodness Re-ment, they are just too cute! Though I wish there were more Re-ment closer to DD scale~

 

This would be last year when I was in Japan mid July.. The Volks store in Akibihabara was moving to it's current location from the Radio Kaikan Bldg, and opened on the 16th.. HOWEVER, the Dollfie Section didn't open until the 23rd, the day I was leaving to come back to Canada..

 

I did go to the Store they have in Shinjuku, and picked up a DD-Dy body, some hands, and something else that slips my mind.... Hotaru showed me the DOLK store just outside Akihabara across the Kanda river, and I dropped a wad there on clothes and accessories..

That's too bad the DD section wasn't open yet! But perhaps one day you'll get to go back on another trip? I really want to visit all these stores (Volks/DOLK/Mandarake), just gotta make sure I have to funds first