Japan Trip Day 9 Nakano Broadway

Finally, a trip post with some doll pics in it!

 

On our 9th day in Japan, we decided to hit up Nakano Broadway for some heavy shopping. I didn't want to carry around my DSLR camera all day so I only had my phone for photos. I really didn't think I'd take too many but I wound up taking WAY more than I thought.

 

Starting off, we did some cleanup at the apartment and I managed to get everything I'd bought so far stuffed into one bag. Little did I know that wasn't going to be enuff at all....

 

20170326_081627 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

This little store was just below our apartment and never seemed to be open. We finally did catch them once but they mostly had gaming cards and silly trinkets none of us were after.

 

20170326_085319 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

For some reason, we always had cool cars parked near us. Here's a couple of tuners.

 

20170326_085511 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

20170326_085521 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Under the JR train tracks.

 

20170326_085942 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Conbini breakfast yet again. I'm so glad the US doesn't have these around because I'd go broke eating there all the time.

 

20170326_090425 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

We headed to a different train station this morning because it was easier to walk to one with a direct stop at Nakano that doing train transfers later on. We knew it would be raining most of the day so that's why we planned on shopping.

 

20170326_091759 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Pizza Hut! They had a small armada of those bikes for deliveries. But it seems pizza isn't a fast food here.... it's expensive and has really strange toppings.

 

20170326_092113 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

20170326_092126 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Almost at the station.

 

20170326_092335 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

20170326_094346 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

The entrance to Nakano!

 

20170326_094418 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

I love the main area in Nakano, so many neat stores....

 

20170326_094615 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

20170326_094826 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

This bakery smelled soooo good!

 

20170326_094922 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Side streets always had neat streetlights on them.

 

20170326_094957 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

20170326_095035 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

20170326_095145 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

We have finally arrived at our mecca!

 

20170326_095112 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Even the drink machines were nerdy!

 

20170326_095139 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Why can't we have ice cream vending machines in the US???

 

20170326_095631 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Well, we underestimated the time to get to Nakano and we also thought most of the stores opened up at 10am..... when they really don't open until noon. Needless to say, everything was closed when we got there at 10am. The place was completely deserted.

 

20170326_103940 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

But around 11am, a few stores started to open up, including this arcade.

 

20170326_100622 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

I liked this poster just outside the arcade.

 

20170326_100632 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

We found the Mandarake store for dolls! But they didn't open until noon so we had to roam around a while before coming back.

 

20170326_100837 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

So we went back to the arcade and Becca played some Samurai Spirits!

 

20170326_104920 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

20170326_104938 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Finally some stores started to open up so I started snapping pics where I could.

 

20170326_111909 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

But it didn't take me long to run back up to the Mandarake where all the dolls were. I raided the heck out of that showcase on the right with all the clothing in it!

 

20170326_115831 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

So many wigs!

 

20170326_115844 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

20170326_115856 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

They had a TON of DD girls!

 

20170326_115915 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

20170326_115929 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Loads of resins too.

 

20170326_115938 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

After spending a few hundred there we headed out to see what else we could find. Here's some random pics of store displays.

 

20170326_131021 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

20170326_135305 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Sailor Moon!

 

20170326_135354 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Studio Ghibli goodies.

 

20170326_135412 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Transformers.

 

20170326_140115 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

There was an art exhibition going on, I liked this big piece a lot since it's Inori.

 

20170326_131333 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

And of course, you can't go to Nakano and NOT see some questionable stuff. As in pervy stuff. Here's some of the more bizarre things we saw.

 

Seated cats with multiple boobs.

 

20170326_132959 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

A wall of Tenga onaholes.

 

20170326_133213 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Ok, now for THE FIND. I always thought these were an urban legend but we finally found some and they are real!!

 

What is it you ask?

 

Well, of course it's............

 

 

 

 

 

PANTY VENDING MACHINES!!!

 

This one sold brand new panties.

 

20170326_131130 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

But THIS one sold USED panties! A bargain at only 500 yen!

 

20170326_133225 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

We did NOT buy anything from these machines altho I really should have just for fun. But it made us all extremely happy to know that they actually existed.

 

Now back to regular shopping!

 

An entrance to one of the Mandarake stores. There were like 14 different ones, all catering to specific things. I think this one sold vintage vinyl toys and tin robots.

 

20170326_140244 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

20170326_140303 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Quiz time! Which of these bags has the more expensive items in it?

 

Here's a hint.... it ain't the big one. LOL

 

20170326_140736 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

These puzzles were amazing. They were made of clear plastic and designed to look like stained glass once they were assembled!

 

20170326_141320 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Lunch was at the local Lotteria! store. The burger was good but as usual, way too small.

 

20170326_142442 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Oh Woody, you are such a troublemaker!

 

20170326_154655 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Super cute claw games.

 

20170326_160711 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

A 5 foot tall Gundam in the back of the arcade downstairs.

 

20170326_161429 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Taiko drum machines! We had been searching for these for a while but hadn't seen any until now. Becca really wanted to play them but there were these kids all over them and they were SERIOUS players..... each kid had his own personal custom drum sticks on them! Some kids even had 2 or 3 pairs! It was nuts.

 

20170326_161817 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Back to the station after spending way too much on goodies.

 

20170326_165110 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

We got off at the station before Akiba so we could check out some of the places that were closed on the way out that morning.

 

20170326_165120 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

20170326_171359 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

20170326_171850 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

Had to grab my favorite sweet before we went home... Tayaki! This one was the traditional red bean paste and so yummy!

 

20170326_194251 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

And right before we got to the apartment, we saw the 2 itasha out on the street. I think I like the yellow one best.

 

20170326_202045 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

20170326_202103 by Billy Bennett, on Flickr

 

 

 

So that was it for Day 9! Next time we head for Kamakura, town of shrines and the beach!

 

 

 

Billy

kinda funny the only ita-cars u saw were Love Live! girls ... no other idoru is in right now, huh?

I love those indoor/alley/street malls.

Being able to go into a Mandarake and seeing all those dolls and toys would put me on full overload! I don't even know what I would do hahaha! Looks like an amazing time.

OH MY GOODNESS. That looks so much fun! But poor wallets

WAIT WAIT WAIT, was it a fullset Beatricefor just 80k?!?!?!? Lucky me I wasn't there, I would have bought a 4th Beato to add to my collection!

Oh man, I don't know what I would have done if I were in that Mandarake looking at all those dolls. If I happened to see one that I'd wanted for a while I don't think I'd have any will at all to resist bringing her home. And getting her a nice wig, and nice clothes and shoes, to make up for all that time being in a showcase...

 

Why can't we have ice cream vending machines in the US???

 

But there are ice cream vending machines in the US! Maybe not so nice as these, but there were a couple in my university, which is in the Boston urban area. It might just have been a New England thing though. I've not seen any anywhere else.

OMG Thats so exciting!

kinda funny the only ita-cars u saw were Love Live! girls ... no other idoru is in right now, huh?

 

Yup, we didn't see very many other Idol groups at all. The Love Live girls really had the otaku on lockdown.

 

I love those indoor/alley/street malls.

 

The shotengai are always amazing! So many cool stores and always neat architecture too.

 

Being able to go into a Mandarake and seeing all those dolls and toys would put me on full overload! I don't even know what I would do hahaha! Looks like an amazing time.

 

Trust me, it took quite a bit of restraint in order to NOT go nuts and just buy everything I thought was cool. And yes, it is totally insane being able to go into a store and see all these dolls on shelves, just inches away from you. Every store I went into gave me the same great felling of being a little kid going into a toy store with a $20 bill in hand.

 

OH MY GOODNESS. That looks so much fun! But poor wallets

 

It was a ton of fun and a LOT of walking but so worth it! Indeed, my wallet cried for days after this trip.

 

WAIT WAIT WAIT, was it a fullset Beatricefor just 80k?!?!?!? Lucky me I wasn't there, I would have bought a 4th Beato to add to my collection!

 

Yes indeed it was! Some of the dolls were very well priced, others were a little more than I see normally. I was close to buying another girl a couple of times but then remembered that I needed to just go for clothing for the girls I already owned.

 

Oh man, I don't know what I would have done if I were in that Mandarake looking at all those dolls. If I happened to see one that I'd wanted for a while I don't think I'd have any will at all to resist bringing her home. And getting her a nice wig, and nice clothes and shoes, to make up for all that time being in a showcase...

 

It was HARD not to just toss my wallet at the people there and grab whatever I could. And yes, spoiling a new girl is always the best way to make them feel better.

 

But there are ice cream vending machines in the US! Maybe not so nice as these, but there were a couple in my university, which is in the Boston urban area. It might just have been a New England thing though. I've not seen any anywhere else.

 

Really? I've never seen one anywhere in the US, not even in airports where you normally see odd vending machines. They wold never last down here in the South where I live tho, it gets so hot in the summer that all that ice cream would melt within an hour of the sun coming up.

 

 

 

Billy

I'm saving for my first trip currently, I envy you so badly. Mandarake is absolutely a destination in my future.

Nice trip

whaaat used panties ?! o_o It's exist !!

I'm saving for my first trip currently, I envy you so badly. Mandarake is absolutely a destination in my future.

 

Great! Make sure to put aside money for food and sight seeing and not just doll goodies! You'll love Mandarake stores!

 

Nice trip whaaat used panties ?! o_o It's exist !!

 

Thanks! And yes, they do exist! I always thought it was an urban legend but they're not! They're real!

 

 

 

Billy

Well, 'real' with an asterisk of course, its 99.9999999999% likely that the 'used' ones were actually just stuck under a dude's arm for a bit.

Not that a genuine used panty trade doesn't exist...it's just that it happens entirely online, and apparently largely in the west (I read an article about this and it was hilarious. The things people pay top dollar for...)

Well, 'real' with an asterisk of course, its 99.9999999999% likely that the 'used' ones were actually just stuck under a dude's arm for a bit.

 

Haha! That's exactly what we were thinking too. No real girls were used in the making of said pantsu, just fat sweaty guys rubbing them into their armpits and such to make some quick bucks.

 

Not that a genuine used panty trade doesn't exist...it's just that it happens entirely online, and apparently largely in the west (I read an article about this and it was hilarious. The things people pay top dollar for...)

 

It's not *entirely* online. There's a HUGE shop in Akiba ( we called it Titty Tower because of the 8 floors of adult items and the big ad outside showing a pretty girl with a huge rack ) that had them with detailed info on the girls that supposedly used them along with pics of said girls with the censor bar across their faces. It was hilarious to see half a wall of them just hanging there like that.

 

 

 

Billy

LOL I know the store you mean. Every time I see it I am overwhelmed with morbid curiosity, and yet I've never been inside. It feels like an alternate dimension that doesn't count in reality lol. I'm sure the list of stuff they don't sell in there is shorter.

m's lifestyle on the south end of akiba? I went in cause.. you know. whatever.

 

Not that much different than many other sex shops you'd find anywhere else. Actually kind of cleaner.

 

There was a wall of photos, not sure if it was some sort of "craig's list classifieds" equivalent or not. The rest was your standard sex toy assortment guys and gals, lotions and potions, condoms, fetish costumes, dolls, etc.

 

The clientele was mostly scandanavian and european at the time I went in, oddly enough and a lot of couples.

 

There was a stark contrast between that store and the AV stores tucked away that I happened to wander unknowingly into in comparison. Both were cramped but the AV store more so, but there seemed to be more of an air to quiet leave me alone shame to the video store vs the sex store.