Toy Shopping in Nagoya

Oct 28, 2014

Toy Shopping in Nagoya

So November is here and, for the more prepared of you, that means its time to get the Christmas presents sorted, particularly finding this year’s must-have toys for your kids.

While you can still order G.I. Joes and Barbies from online stores back home you may find that your child’s tastes in toys have changed during their time in Japan. Finding toys and games to suit their new tastes may be difficult, so Japan Info Swap has come up with a short list of toy stores in and around Nagoya that should fulfill your needs.

Toys R Us

Of course everyone knows the old American favorite, Toys R Us, and the Japanese variety is also an immense store stocked to the rafters of every kind of toy you can think of. There are two stores in Nagoya including a particularly large one in Nagoya Nakagawa as well as a further one in Nagoya Minato

Nagoyaminato

Address: 455-0056 Aichi, Nagoya, Minato Ward, Sunamicho, 1−5

Website

Opening Times: 10:00-21:00

Tel: 052-654-7651

Nagoyanakagawa

Address: 454-0972 Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Nakagawa-ku 1-24-21, Azupaku 2F

Website

Opening Times

Tel: 052-432-3480

Tokyu hands

Tokyu hands is a wonderful catch all department store in which you can find all manner of active stuff for kids. Whether it be handicrafts, face paints or bikes, you can find it in Tokyu Hands. There are two in the city including one in the main Nagoya JR Station, spread out over floors four to six of the Takashimaya department store. The other is near the Hisaya odori subway station in Central Park Annex.

Nagoya Station Store

Address: 4th thru 10th fl., JR Nagoya, Takashimaya, 1-1-4 Mei-eki, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya-shi

Website

Opening Times: 10:00-20:00

Tel: 052-566-0109

Central Park Annex Store

Address: Central Park Annex, 5^th thru 9^th fl, 3-5-4, Nishiki, Nagoya

Website

Opening Times: 10:00-20:00

Tel: 052-951-2115

Don Quixote

Affectionately known as Donki by most locals, Don Quixote is another store with absolutely everything, from international foods to potted plants. Their toy store is quite extensive with bikes being pedalled (badoom tish) out the front, running through playthings and costumes. Be careful with young children around the fancy dress department as things can get a little risqué, with an adult ‘toy’ section curtained but not manned nearby.

Address: 4-5-5 Sanno Nakagawa-ku Nagoya-shi, Aichi, JAPAN, 454-0011

Website

Opening Times: 10:00-17:00

Tel: 052-324-4411 / 052-324-4422

BIC Camera

BIC Camera on the West side of Nagoya Station, as the name suggests, predominantly stocks electronic goods. However, on the third floor you can find various dolls, stuffed animals, board games, and a as well as action figures alongside  sporting goods. What it also has is an extensive cache of block based toys. If your kids love Duplo and Lego they are in for a treat, and if your older children still have the building bug, they can be building bugs as well as other animals with the impressive collection of the increasingly popular Nanoblocks.

Address: 6-9, Tsubakicho, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi

Website

Opening Times: 10:00-21:00

Tel: 052-459-1111

Joshin Kids Land

Perhaps the most striking thing about Joshin Kids Land is that there are very few kids. The first floor is chock-a-block with computer games and consoles, but the second and third floors are packed with models, figures and Gundam (robots) toys and accessories, and these are taken very seriously by the predominantly adult male clientele. However, if your child is mad on Transformers and the like, they may find Joshin Kids Land heaven on earth.

Address: 4-2-48 Naka-ku, Nagoya

Opening Times: 10:00-20:00

Tel: 052-262-1203

Gateway

Did you enjoy it in Joshin Kids Land? Maybe the toys aren’t for your children after all. Well, there’s no shame in that, we are in Japan, and if you are looking for classic toys and models for your own collection Gateway in Otsubo may be right up your alley. It is a traditional style Japanese toy store with the causeways crammed with all kinds of classic toys. There is very little (if anything) modern, but if you are in to models and toys from the 1960’s-90’s Gateway is well worth a look.

Address: 2 -17-01 Ōtsubo, Tenpaku-ku, Nagoya-shi, ４６８－００７２

Opening Times: 13:00-20:00 (closed Mondays and Tuesdays)

Tel: ０５２－８３３－４３５６

Rakuten

If you can’t find what you are looking for in any of the above, it might be worth your while checking out Japanese Amazon-a-like e-commerce website Rakuten. With 1274443 Results in the toy section, you are bound to find your needle within that haystack eventually.

Website 

 

By Mark Guthrie

Image: flickr.com "My family" by Andrew Mitchell (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) – Modified