Four Places in Japan I Went For Anime Goods

For people who are interested in Japan, anime is almost everyone's first thought when they go to Japan.

Let's all be honest: even for seasoned veterans that had been to Japan more than twice in their lives, they do have their guilty pleasure of buying some goods of their favorite anime series or character.

Even for me, as someone who runs an original anime and Japanese streetwear brand, I still have moments when I buy anime goods while I visit Japan.

However, there are some places I've been to that are either popular with fans or underrated.

Here are the three places in Japan I've been to get some anime souvenirs. 

1. Pokémon Center

When I went to Sendai for the Tanabata Festival, there was a chance I could visit the Pokémon Center. 

Before I even went to Sendai, I wanted to go back to the Pokémon Center in Ikebukuro, but it was still closed for... this reason...

So I went to Sendai, took in the Tanabata Festival, and in the last hours of Sendai before going back to Yokohama, I went to the Pokémon Center.

My first impression was that it was a lot busier than I thought it would be, and because of the Tanabata Festival, tons of goods were Tanabata-themed.

I mean, Pokémon fans from all kinds of generations were going in and out of the store, and the line to the registers was compacted and super long. 

Because it was super compacted, it tended to be difficult for me to even get the Pikachu plushies, and that's the easy part.

The hardest part of the entire thing was being in line to purchase the merch I got. Despite having about 9 to 10 registers, it took about 20-25 minutes for me to purchase the goods.

Although it took a long time, it was worth it overall, and I do want to go back again. Plus, I might even have the chance to go to both the Ikebukuro location and the Sendai location on the same trip.

2. Jump Store

Jump Store is a Shonen Jump store that was located in Landmark Plaza in Minatomirai (Yokohama). Because my main hotel is in Minatomirai, I tend to go to Landmark Plaza a lot, and I get to see that store a lot more.