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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/glocks4interns on 2024-12-03 00:59:48+00:00.
This is a little niche but wrote this up and figured it might help someone in this sub. This is a guide to Tokyo for someone who plays Warhammer or other minis games. Tokyo is amazing for plastic model kits and anime figures, but it’s not a wargaming hotbed. You can find plenty of Warhammer but it will be expensive and there isn’t much reason to buy it there unless you’re a local. So this will be more focused on what you might want to visit, and some non-gaming shopping to consider. Also I’ll note that prices will be in yen, but price comparisons will be in US dollars as that’s what I know. So prices may be better or worse than what I discuss here based on your local currency and local hobby market/markup.
I’ll also note that I’m sure I’ve missed things, this is a guide for tourists, not anyone living in Tokyo. If you have advice on other things to add please reach out via email or social media.
You can find a map of these locations here. The map includes some other sites that I know less about or don’t think are worth going out of your way for, but you can stop by if you’re in the area.
Gundam Front Tokyo
I don’t care how much you hate Tau, the Unicorn Gundam on Odiba is worth seeing. GW’s 1:1 scale models, eat your heart out, this thing is 65 feet tall. I recommend visiting Gundam Front Tokyo in the late afternoon or early evening, depending on the time of year. It’s best if you can see the Gundam in the day but also lit up at night. There are set times where there will be light shows after dark (depending on time of year) and at 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, and 17:00 it will activate it’s transformation mechanism (panels moving, not like turning into a plane). Getting there in the late afternoon you can check it out, go inside, come back for more pictures at night.
When you head inside at Gundam Front Tokyo you’ll find a large Bandai-run Gundam store with plenty of exclusive models and some interesting displays. If you’re luck enough to be going around the end/start of the year you may see Gunpla Builder’s World Cup models which are truly stunning. This store also has a lot of Gundam clothing, often collaborations with other brands. When you’re shopping here get the merch and exclusive models, this isn’t the place to pick up your next HG or MG kit, these are full retail price.
Cost: Free
Hours: 11:00-20:00
How long will I spend here?: 30-90 minutes
Address: Japan, 〒135-0064 Tokyo, Koto City, Aomi, 1 Chome−1−10 ダイバーシティ東京 プラザ7F
Small Worlds Miniature Museum
Small Worlds Miniature Museum is a fairly new museum that displays a number of models. The focus is on large scale dioramas and while nothing is directly related to wargaming there is infinite inspiration to take from it. They have some exhibits that change, but it’s mostly permanent exhibits. It starts with a large space exploration model that has some great little scenes in it, but overall it lacks the cohesion of the better exhibits. There is a large airport model and full scale airport lounge, which sounds kind of strange but I enjoyed sitting down and having a coffee while watching model planes take off and land.
The highlight for me is the Evangelion section. This is a large part of the museum and there is a lot to see. There is a model of the Eva launch cages from the series in something like 1:48 scale. There is then a partial 1:1 scale Eva Unit 0-1 model and a 12 or so foot tall Lance of Longinus. Now, all of that may sound like gibberish if you’ve not watched the series, or it’s been a long time. But trust me, it’s cool but those are the two weakest parts. The highlight of the Eva section is without a doubt the scale model of Tokyo-3 where Eva takes place. I’m bad with trains but I think this might have been in N scale which is ~1:160 or about 10mm scale for our toy soldiers. And it’s huge, they’ve created a number of areas of the city, with a backdrop using forced perspective to show the transformation of the city when the skyscrapers descend into the Geofront. Again, some of that probably sounds like gibberish, but I think it’s worth seeing because there are a lot of clever things going on. There are hidden (well, small) scenes with characters from the show scattered about. The forced perspective trick is used in Tokyo-3 and the airport lounge and I think under-utilized by modelers. So you’ll just see a lot of Neat Stuff and I hope it inspires you.
The last bit of the Eva section to talk about is less applicable to scale modelers but is super cool. There are models there that look unfinished, on first seeing them I recognized them as the city from the 1.0+3.0 rebuild movie, and I thought maybe they were building them in place. That isn’t the case. These miniatures (which are quite large) were built for the filming process, they were not used for filming but to establish shots, locations, and provide a physicality to the digitally animated movie. For anyone who has seen the movie you can agree it pays off, Village 3 feels like a real place with physicality and a sense of place.
Okay, that’s enough weebing out about Eva. I think the other thing that will really appeal to miniature hobbyists is the workshop. I wish they had a little more here, but you’re able to walk through their workshop and see their models in progress, their 3d printers, their laser cutters, it’s really cool and I’d love to know more about the process. You can get a 3d scan of your body and a colored 3d print out of it sent to you,
The other good news here is that it’s pretty close to the giant robot above so you can do both of them in the same day. What I’d recommend is starting off with Teamlab Planets in the morning, a fantastic immersive art museum, then hit Small Worlds and see the Gundam as it gets close to sunset. I will say as a word of warning, that I loved it and got a lot out of this, but reviews online are a bit mixed. I think any wargamer will enjoy seeing this but your family may be less excited at the experience.
Cost: ¥3,200
Hours: 09:00-19:00
How long will I spend here?: 1-3 hours
Address: Japan, 〒135-0063 Tokyo, Koto City, Ariake, 1 Chome−3−33 有明物流センター
VALKYRIE VF-25F - Chiba Institute of Technology
So next up is a much smaller, much more niche sight but one I recommend if not too far out of your way. This is a 1:1 scale model of a Macross Valkyrie, which readers of a certain age may recognize from Robotech, or even as a Land Air Mech in Battletech. This particular one is from a newer series, Macross Frontier (the best Macross show, now streaming in most non-US countries on Hulu) and it’s not a complete model. You can only see part of the fighter/mech but what you can see really resembles a scale model. It’s staged as in a repair bay and there are tons of lovely details, check out all those warning notes.
The Valkyrie is a little hard to find but in a convenient location. Tokyo Skytree is the tallest tower in the world and the third tallest structure in the world. Paying for a ticket is well worth it for the the best views of Tokyo of any observation deck. The Skytree is build on top of a 4 story mall, and at one end of that mall there is an office tower. And in that office tower on the 8th floor Chiba University has a display space. This isn’t worth a long trip but they have some pretty cool stuff, beyond the Macross fighter you can see a sword forged from meteoric iron, touch a meteor, see a scale model of a satellite, and see the robots being used to observe the site of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. And it’s all free. The Skytree and this exhibition space are some of Tokyo’s most famous shrines and also the Kappabashi area known for knife stores and other kitchen shopping.
Cost: Free
Hours: 10:30-18:00
How long will I spend here?": 15-45 minutes
Address: Japan, 〒131-0045 Tokyo, Sumida City, Oshiage, 1 Chome−1−2 ソラマチ8F
Warhammer Cafe Tokyo
Very much worth a visit is the Warhammer Cafe in Tokyo. The cafe is in Akihabara, the center of anime and nerd fandom in the city and probably won’t be out of your way for that reason. This is the only Warhammer Cafe I’ve been to and they did a good job. Not a ton of playing space but a ton of painted models are on display, they stock a wide range of online or Forgeworld exclusives and some GW Exclusives such as the Realm of Chaos books.
I didn’t try the food or drinks, I’m sure they’re edible if not the best option in the area. The staff is friendly and if they have something you want feel free to buy it, but keep in mind for most visitors you’ll be paying a small premium on your local prices. The exclusives of course make the most sense to buy.
At this point I’ll mention the other Warhammer stores in Tokyo, they’re fine, in the context of what one-person Warhammer shops are, they kinda suck. I didn’t stop by any but the last time I went I checked them out and if you’re near by stop in but don’t expect much. No slight to the staff, it’s just a bad format for a store ...
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