Mandarake At Nakano Broadway

Walking down the tight corridors of Nakano Broadway is like stepping into another world filled with all sorts of rare toys, games, and other collectibles difficult to find almost anywhere else.

Nakano Broadway is a four-story shopping mall just outside of the Nakano JR station. This structure is filled to the brim with all kinds of unique stores, and it’s the perfect place if you’re in the mood for a change of pace from Akihabara.

The main attractions of Nakano Broadway are the Mandarake stores, a chain that buys and resells Japanese pop culture merchandise. With more than 20 shops, each specializes in a different kind of collectible.

There are of course, video game, comic book, and anime figure stores. But, there are also stores for books, tin toys, animation cels, movie posters, sports goods, and even a store with a healthy collection of pro wrestling masks.

Prices in these stores range from used books or small figures that cost just a few hundred yen to rare tin toys from the Showa era that can cost more than ¥10,000. The prices aren’t that different from other stores in Tokyo, but it’s the range of items sets Nakano apart.

Each store features a mix of display cases showing off rare goods and shelves stocked with less popular items like a Vash the Stampede figure from the anime Trigun. You can spend hours her

e going through each store hunting for unique treasures or little pieces of nostalgia. What makes Nakano different from Akihabara is the ease with which you can find older toys, like

a Robby the Robot, as well as figures from the more current and mainstream anime like One Piece.

Not looking for collectibles?

If anime and manga aren’t your thing there are still a lot of neat little shops in and around the mall. Spaced between Mandarake stores is a large variety of other boutiques offering everything from expensive watches and jewelry to military surplus clothing and camera equipment. There are even occasional pop-up art galleries.

When you finish shopping, check out the large Namco arcade attached to the east side of the mall, located on the first floor. And if you’re hungry, eat at the one of the many restaurants in the mall itself or venture into the nearby alleys to try and find something more local.