Azone Factory Shop Shonan

Today I'm going to write about my trip to the Azone Factory Shop in Shonan.

I'd been meaning to visit for several years now, but always found an excuse not to go since it's in that weird space where it's too far from Tokyo to go spontaneously, but not so far that you can't make a half-day trip out of it. Worst of all is that they're closed weekends and holidays so you're forced to go during the week (when you have more important commitments... like work...). I'm sure most doll people even in Japan have never been, and to be honest, I don't think it's worth the effort to go, but I made the trek today (technically yesterday, now...) so you don't have to and I made this post so I can feel somewhat productive about it!

So first thing's first, for anyone crazy enough to go on the pilgrimage to Azone mecca, it takes about two hours from Shinjuku. You have to ride the Odakyu Line for an ungodly amount of time, but luckily there's a rapid express that cuts out about 80% of the stops. Get off at Shonan-dai (湘南台). I don't know why Google Maps told me to take Exit C when the buses leave from Exit D, but if it tells you to take Exit C too, don't do it. It's a trap. I had to run around the cul-de-sac like Quasimodo and nearly missed my bus...

Apparently there's a bus that stops in front of the factory itself, but Google-sensei told me to take Bus Tsuji-26 (辻26), which seems to come every 10-15 minutes, and get off at Jushoji-mae (寿照寺前). When the time comes, you will be summarily dropped off in the middle of nowhere and have to walk back to the main road, then walk down the main road in the blazing heat for a good 10 minutes (Google says 7 minutes but we don't trust Google anymore).

One eternity later you will arrive at a building that looks like this...

Congrats, you have arrived! Now prepare to be disappointed 😀

I have now been to every Azone store in Japan, and let me tell you, even though this is the biggest building dedicated solely to Azone, the actual shop floor is the smallest of them all by far (it's even smaller than my apartment, and I don't know whether to be horrified or proud of that fact...). Anyway, less area = fewer products. The selection was limited, but someone somewhere once said the factory was a treasure trove of old stock because no one visits so it never gets cleared out, and I thought I might be able to find what I was looking for if that was the case, which was the whole point of this expedition...

That was not the case.

I don't know if they changed things up during the pandemic, but their "old stock" was just stuff from two or three seasons ago, not several years ago like I'd hoped. Lesson learned for the second time today, don't believe everything you read on the internet!

Unfortunately it became apparent within a few minutes of arriving that there would be nothing of interest to me there. I thought I should buy something to make the trek worth my while, but there was literally nothing I wanted to spend money on. Feeling a bit ridiculous about this four-hour round trip outing, I changed gears and decided to take pictures so I could write up this absurd post for internet cred. I am so cool 😎

Anyway, without further ado...

This ginormous stack of dolls greets you when you enter the store.

In front of the window is this display. See the spoiler tag for closeups.

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From the outside. I couldn't get them all because of the glare.

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By the wall.

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At the back.

Spoiler

On top they had an illustration of my beloved Alice:

And, finally, by the cash register:

And as if this trip couldn't get any more bizarre, someone else entered the shop while I was taking these photos. 'Who else is crazy enough to come all the way out here for this?' I wondered. But I was so engrossed with taking pictures that I just assumed it was a local Japanese customer and didn't really pay much attention.

Just as I was wrapping up and getting ready to blow this popsicle stand, I turned around and had another look at the only other customer in the store.

Wait a second...

This person looks vaguely familiar...

Being the busybody I am, I walked over and took another look. Lo and behold, it was DollDreaming member @Lasonda!

What are the odds that two members of the same forum would both randomly decide to go all the way out to the Shonan factory on the same day, at the same general time, and bump into each other??? I don't even know, but it happened completely unplanned and unprovoked!

Unlike me, he was able to find many things to spend his yennies on, so he continued shopping while I circled the store a few more times. After he finished up, we went out to eat at a nearby sushi joint called 'Tough' (???), talked about dolls for a bit, and then went our separate ways. In the end, I went from thinking the trip was a total dud to thinking this was a pretty neat excursion that makes for a pretty funny story. Hope you enjoyed it!

Edited August 21, 2023 by ragnamuffin
Formatting photos

Thanks for the writeup! I briefly entertained going before realizing that it's so off the beaten path unless it were a stop on the way back from Kamakura / Enoshima. But even then, it's quite a trek from the closest station.

I didn't realize that the building was so small and thought that factory might imply they do some manufacturing there and might have offered a tour of that (but it seems to be factory more in the sense of "outlets").

Do you recall if they were still selling Gochiusa's Maya in store? I see the whole crew on display. 

Edited August 24, 2023 by chef_mai

39 minutes ago, chef_mai said:

Thanks for the writeup! I briefly entertained going before realizing that it's so off the beaten path unless it were a stop on the way back from Kamakura / Enoshima. But even then, it's quite a trek from the closest station.

You’re welcome ☺️ 

The factory is still an hour away from Kamakura/Enoshima so it’s cumbersome to get to no matter what. I’m exaggerating a bit in that it was a long, but not unpleasant trip thanks to Japan’s public transit system being clean, timely and well air conditioned, but I wouldn’t go again. Once was enough to satisfy my curiosity. You can find everything there and more between the shops in Akihabara and Ikebukuro, and the Nagoya and Osaka shops are better for old stock.

47 minutes ago, chef_mai said:

I didn't realize that the building was so small and thought that factory might imply they do some manufacturing there and might have offered a tour of that (but it seems to be factory more in the sense of "outlets").

Well, the clothing is made in Vietnam and the vinyl is manufactured by Obitsu, so my guess is that they mostly just assemble it there. No factory tours to be had (for the plebs, anyway; they sometimes give tours of the inside for TV specials).

49 minutes ago, chef_mai said:

Do you recall if they were still selling Gochiusa's Maya in store? I see the whole crew on display.

I don’t think they were. The only dolls they had for sale were the ones by the door (in the third picture). Interestingly enough, they had a ton of sailor uniforms available!