fredag 3 januari 2014

Trip to Sapporo: Day 11 - A Swedish Otaku goes to Mandarake

(Click here for first dayyesterday or for all trips)

I mentioned Mandarake yesterday, which is a store with all kinds of collectibles for the Japanese nerd, the otaku. I didn't actually take any photographs, but all the store clerks are dressed of in different levels of cosplay from the obvious to the more understated nerdy (Minami, in contrast to the others, I didn't actually realize you were cosplaying…). I could easily shop here for a month's salary, but I restrained myself and focused on presents for my children. Mostly…

Toys and miniatures (dolls for grown-ups…) are one popular part of the store. And the prices are fantastic. The nerds of Japan take extremely good care of their toys and then sell them at fantastic prices  (I think). I couldn't help myself and bought this Neon Genesis Evangelion miniature of Rei Ayanami for only 630 yen (42 SEK/7 USD)! The box is roughly 20 cm in height.

I was going to find some odd LEGO for my son but then I found these Star Wars toys, unopened, for only 4000 yen (270 SEK/40 USD), i.e. an average price of just 20 SEK… (O.O)


My youngest daughter loves cuddly toys, so off I bought some Pokemon looking ones (the names eludes me even though I am sure I have seen them). The were even cheaper so I grabbed several, but believe it or not, one of them seemed to be some kind of collectors edition (the orange dragon) and was actually the most expensive buy at Mandarake at 1000 yen (65 SEK/10 USD), but I didn't see that until afterwards. (^_^)

They also got lots of anime, computer games, some pop music collectibles, and of course lots of manga.  I was most fascinated with the vintage section, where I somewhat randomly picked these ones up:

Idol albums (kind of) from 1991 and 1982.

Front of old style manga (1000 Yen/65 SEK/ 10USD)

Back

All in all a dream for every nerd visiting Sapporo. You will find the store close to Susukino subway station in the Norbesa building. Just look for "Sapporo Mandarake" on Google Maps.

(Click here for the next day)

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