Sorry I dont have much to hot rod-related report this time, but I'm back in Japan for work and looking at old toys and car stuff whenever I can. If you want to buy cheap electronics, anime, and "otaku*goods", the Akihabara district is the place to... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
..ever come across any of the supposed vintage corvettes stockpiled in Tokyo from the late 80's ?! I still hear stories but seem to think it is a wives tale. =)
Exchange rate 95.9 JPY to 1 USD but certainly is good stuff. I think the roadster is made by Marklin, I have another model with those wheels. I love this stuff thanks for posting. Fernando
My friend worked for a huge Japanese company. When he finished his Model A he decided to drive it to work one day. At lunch time he noticed about two dozen Japanese swarming all over his car. He went out and showed them the car and he asked them "don't you have antique cars in Japan"? With that one person replied "we did until you Americans destroyed them in world war II, OOPS!
That's expensive but that set on eBay often goes for several hundred dollars. I was living in Japan when I really got interested in collecting toy cars. I couldn't afford much of what I wanted to buy.
Us old timers remember when "Made in Japan" meant cheap crap, but this stuff looks pretty cool, especially that Silver Arrow.
He won’t be hurting anybody any more, because now they have this guy protecting the gate and keeping that little furry bugger at bay. Although pre WWII stuff is rare, there’s still a bit of local vintage tin around the place if you know where to look. I always try and allow at least a day to tour the hobby shops and markets in the Akihabira area, when in Japan, so much cool stuff, so little cash and shelf space to keep it.
yeah, a lot of the older suburban types still harbor some resentment about that, i was in yokohama on pearl harbor day and had it thrown in my face how they "won" that one. it was uncomfortable. ok, now back to cars and toys!
Of all things, I'd want that thoroughly O/T VW 411 since I had a real one when I was young... I'll just leave this here...
Japan is a great place, I always have a great time. I've been in Japan now for three months, leaving in the AM tomorrow for California. If, your in Tokyo go to the Toyota museum lots of cool old cars Japanese and American. Most of Japan's old cars were melted down for there war effort. CRUISER
I collect vintage toys,mostly auto related.I sold a robot to a fellow in Japan back in the 90s for more than a nice roadster would go for now.Those were the days......
Just goes to show - the HAMB absolutely CANNOT refer to Japan for more than 5 seconds without it going this way (sigh)! Thanks for the pics, I love to spend hours in that market when I'm in Japan. Expensive, but you can walk away with that one shelf filler that no one else will have!
Theres a BADASS toy store in Koenji just up the street from the train. Cant remember the name off the top of my head but if ya walk past Ink Rat Tattoo it'll be on yer left. SOOOOOOOO MUCH STUFF!!!
You did notice he's holding two flags, right? One red, one white [maybe a signalman]? As was stated in the original post, these toys were made for the American market. Would make no sense to print English on the tank if it were for the domestic market would it? - RBR
Yeah I collect space toys and robots. The robots go for crazy money over there Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Hey Cruiser, I assume you are speaking here of the museum at Venus Fort/Toyota Megaweb near Aomi station (walking distance from where the 9 story high GUNDAM Robot in my previous post lives)? This is actually only a very small branch of the Toyota Automobile Museum which is located at Nagakute, near Toyota City (south of Nagoya) and houses one of the worlds finest collections of antique automobiles from all periods and all corners of the globe 9including the two '36 Tojos pictured previously). However, my favourite part of this museum is the Annexe building which is a little like the Henry Ford Museum and in addition to the cars, houses an incredible collection of cultural items illustrating how the post WWII occupation forces and the strong influence of American culture completely changed the face and fortunes of modern day Japan. If you're ever down that way, it's well worth a look. I can post a few pics later if anybody is interested in seeing what it looks like.
I'd like to see some pics; my dad was in the USAF occupation forces after the war and even got shot at in '49 (there were some troubles with the local Communists then). Please post 'em if you got 'em...
Yokohama has an amazingly cool Tinplate toy museum,with toys dating from the late 1800's on.We went the day after going to the mooneyes show.Located in an interesting suburban neigbourhood ,we enjoyed the visit especially as they had toys from my childhood (60's/70's) on display. See shot below of some of the toys. Well worth a visit if you are there Cheers RM