Any shops of note in central Tokyo?

[OSHIROmodels]

although part of my time in Japan will be spent out in the sticks of eastern Hokkaido for a wedding

Ooo, rather envious of that. Always wanted to go to the east of Hokkaido (only been to Sapporo and Hakodate).

If you get a chance go to one of the Home Centres as they are superb for lots of materials.

cheers

James

[Constable Bertrand]

Karsten...

Daiso.

It's their $1 shop and everything is $1. I found they carry a cheap toy train range, about HO, (which could be a scratchbuild platform) and bought a few wrought-iron bridge pieces. (They also had engine shed etc) (I found mine in Harijaku, Tokyo).

[von Lucky]

I discovered Daiso in San Francisco years ago (and have visited one in Singapore) as yes, they have value (there's also at least 5 locations in Melbourne now). But sounds like it's one for the list as I suspect the Japanese locations have more "cool shit". Thanks for the tip.

[Constable Bertrand]

Wow I hadn't realised they had spread.

It was amazing to walk around discount stores and read everything was made in the country, here in Aust discount stores (and most shops) everything is made in China/Taiwan.

Good for cheap souvenirs too ^_^

[von Lucky]

I would rather see this:
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2015/07/usa-challenges-japan-to-a-duel-between-giant-robots/

[Constable Bertrand]

there is a giant gundam somewhere in Japan. I would go see that and take a selfie.

It's down outside "diver city" in Tokyo. ka shopping centre on the new artificial island. The museum of innovative science down there is cool too! You can see Asimo!

My favourite nerdy spot was Niagara Curry - the best darn curry I've ever had, and cheap! And the place is decked out in train memorabilia, and the food arrives on the back of a flatbed train car pulled by a loco.

[Cypher226]

Just to echo a lot of the above, the big Yodobashi Camera store is a goldmine of Gundam and Space Battleship Yamato, or was in October anyway.
Other than that, Yellow Submarine in the Radio Kaikan building has tons of little detail parts, like cut-to-fit vents for gundams and obscure kits. Take an hour to wander round Radio Kaikan, some of the other geeky stores are just worth the time. 
In terms of stuff to get, the decal sheets and panel lining pens are excellent.

Gods I miss Japan... I was only there two weeks and I feel like I left a piece of my soul behind 

[von Lucky]

Okay, I'm back from my two weeks in Japan (Tokyo, a little town close to Nagoya and Osaka). The little town obviously had nothing of note (wife stocked up on Brazilian food imports instead), so I'll give a comprehensive review of each of the cities below.

Tokyo
Shinjuku
Yodabashi Camera - didn't make it here. Wish I had though after going to the one in Umeda, Osaka.

Shibuya
Tokyu Hands (north west of the station on Inokashira Dori) - top level has a whole floor of N scale railway stuff (large range), 1/72 & 1/48 Baidai Star Wars (full range), mecha kits (large range) and other bits and pieces. The toy section on another floor is also worth checking out. I based my earler review of Tokyu Hands on this location as I was staying in Shibuya last time; the other Tokyu Hands locations aren't that great wargaming-wise. (http://www.tokyu-hands.co.jp/foreign.html)

Akihabara
Yellow Submarine - Great range of plastic sets, mainly mecha and related. As mentioned, there's a whole lot of other stores in the same building and adjacent area (behind the Sega building where Kotobukiya is, etc). (http://www.yellowsubmarine.co.jp/)

Aomi
Toys R Us (at Decks Odaiba) - Tamiya sets (small range, cars and a few 1/48 modern Japanese tanks), mecha (medium range), Tomica diecast cars (full range), 1/72 & 1/48 Baidai Star Wars (full range). (http://www.odaiba-decks.com/)

Full-size Gundam Statue (at DiverCity Tokyo Plaza) - two tiny shops with plastic kits and other Gundam-related toys. (http://www.divercity-tokyo.com/en/)

Toy sections in various department stores are also worth checking out for cars, trains, mecha and dinosaurs. They won't be cheap but not overly expensive.

Osaka
Namba
Joshin Super Kids Land (on Sakai-suji east of Namba Parks) - There's two locations, one with mecha, the other location further south is mainly electronic goods, but on a higher floors there's model kits, train sets and remote-controlled cars. Tamiya sets (large range from naval, vehicles and planes), mecha (large range), Tomica diecast cars (full range), lots of other bit and pieces. The area between Sakai-suji and Namba Parks is full (similar to Akihabara) of places like Kotobukiya, etc.

Umeda
Yodobashi Camera - A lot of stuff. Like a lot. Will have to go to the Tokyo location next time. Tamiya sets (large range from naval, vehicles and planes), mecha (large range), Doyusha 1/350 samurai castles (I only realise now these were the ones Dolmot mentioned), Tomica diecast cars (full range),lots of other bit and pieces. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yodobashi_Camera)

So what did I buy? We travelled light as it was with a budget airline and a spur of the moment decision to go on the trip. Therefore I was limited to 7 kilos in carry-on, with an additional 15 kilos check-in on the way back (using one of our carry-on size bags). This didn't give me a lot to take back (as I wanted to bring back a bit of sake, etc in the check-in as it was going to be heavier).

Wargaming-wise I got:
- Bandai 1/48 AT-ST for ¥2000 (~US$16) from Toys R Us, everywhere else was selling it for ¥2400. Yodobashi (when I got there) had it for ~¥1800. Will be used to make a Simon Stalenhag inspired mecha.
- Bandai 1/144 MS-06F Zaku II for ¥292 (~US$2.35) from Tokyu Hands. Will be converted for sci-fi neo-noir/anime gaming with its twin, below.
- Bandai 1/144 MS-06S Zaku II for ¥226 (~US$1.80) from Joshin Super Kids Land.
- Doyusha 1/350 Gifu Castle for ¥1360 (~US$11) from Yodobashi. The other castles in the range were up to ~¥2000. Very nice (large box!) kit. Perfect for 15mm terrain piece.
- Tamiya 1/100 MiG-19 for ¥432 (~US$3.50) from Yodobashi. Just couldn't say no at that price and I was using up coins on my last day.
- a few of the Tomica diecast cars for 25/28mm Japanese-themed gaming (I have a growing collection). This also includes a DeLorean time machine from Universal Studios in Osaka.

I think if you can make it to a Yodobashi or Joshin you'll be set. Everything else is slightly more expensive with a much smaller range.