Shopping In Tokyo

• manga – C$2 to C$10
• doujinshi – C$2 to C$10

Hikaru no Go doujin from a quick HnG raid on K-Books in Ikebukuro

Coupons & Frequent Buyer Cards

If you are offered coupons and frequent buyer cards, take them. K-Books and Animate have specials where once you’ve purchased a set amount in their store, you will receive a gift, such as a very pretty bookmark. Do not refuse. And do not think you won’t buy enough. If you’re seriously planning a hard core purchasing trip, you WILL end up with once or twice the month’s collection of bookmarks from K-Books.

New vs Used

It goes without saying that new items are generally more expensive than used.  The Japanese are a very careful people and the condition of their used items are excellent.  In fact, if you purchase a “used” figure, chances are good that it’s never breathed fresh air before (these are otaku we’re talking about).

Speaking of figures, I have seen used/older figures for a fraction of the cost that they were when new and I’ve seen them even more than they were when new.  It all depends on availability and demand.

New manga range from ¥400 to ¥1,200 (or thereabouts).  Used can be as little as ¥100 (although more often just over ¥200), up to ¥400.

You will save very little on buying used art books, unless you somehow luck out.  I buy used to find older or discontinued stock.

New doujinshi range from ¥400 to ¥1,400, usually about ¥900.  However, use doujin are a fraction of the cost new and end up in the used sections very quickly.  It’s very easy to ride that slippery slope into doujin addiction.

Character goods are usually best purchased new although some shops (i.e. Lashinbang, K-Books) have enormous bins of old character goods at heavily discounted prices.  When you have time and you don’t have the bandwidth for hard core shopping, bin diving is a fun way to spend some time (and money).