This post is something I’ve been looking for when preparing for this year’s trip to Japan, but it simply didn’t exist, therefore I decided to spend a few hours of my flight back home to organise my thoughts and bring you a pretty extensive summary of most of the stores with R18 / CDs / figs I’ve been to during my whole trip.
This post will be divided between 3 cities (with some exceptions):
- Tokyo
- Osaka
- Kyoto
Every store will be divided into three categories (where applicable):
- R18
- Music
- Figurines
Without further ado, let’s get to digging!
Tokyo
Tokyo is the best of all worlds – everyone can find something for themselves. This is also the city I’ve explored most extensively.
Surugaya Akihabara Station Front Shop
R18
The best store in the entirety of Tokyo, there is a whole floor dedicated to R18: JAV, CDs (music and ASMR), doujinshi and tankoubons.
Doujinshis are divided by parody series and by genres, there are some less normie ones like futanari and TSF. I’ve actually found a few decent picks here, but nothing too special.
The thing that counts the most is the discounted doujinshi section, it’s pretty big (Mandarake Complex has a bigger one), but it also has the most diversity inside of it when it comes to fetishes. I’ve bought quite a lot there, and prices started from 50 JPY per piece.
Tankoubon selection here is pretty mediocre, and also, they aren’t ordered by artist name, so finding anything is quite a challenge.
CDs were actually the most surprising part. I’ve found a doujin music album Ryoujoku Hardcore by Rush Hour 2, which was really well priced and pretty unexpected to find on an adult floor. There were also a few pretty cheap Taimanin drama CDs.
There is also a small selection of adult figures, but I’m not really that into them, so it’s hard for me to talk about the prices or availability. Sorry!
Music
This is one of the two Suruga-yas in Tokyo that have a dedicated doujin music corner. This one has the better one tho, I’ve found quite a few, maybe not that rare, but pretty specific CDs from labels such as Notebook Records, 999 Recordings, Cis-Trance and UOM Records. This is the place I’ve bought the most doujin music at.
They also have a pretty wide selection of game music, including rhythm games soundtracks from IIDX, GROOVE COASTER, SDVX and DDR. I’ve also bought two IIDX OSTs there.
Figures
They have some less popular series in stock, like SDVX or Rozen Maiden. My girlfriend has also bought the only Rose of the Versailles figure that we’ve found during the trip, which she considers a huge win.
This Suruga-ya is also the only one that has discounted goods bins in front of the store that actually contain decent products. I’ve found a complete but a little dirty Cirno figure, and my gf found two mini Pullip dolls and one mini Blythe, each for 500 JPY.
Lashinbang Akihabara New Store
R18
This Lashinbang has a pretty nice goods section with dakimakura covers, some of them were actually the most affordable ones I’ve seen during my whole trip. They also have tapestries, mouse pads and various other cloths and different smaller things.
The doujinshi section is pretty big, but I haven’t found anything interesting besides a few random pieces. They were also sorted by parody and genres. I honestly can’t remember if there was a discount section. Even if there was one, I haven’t bought anything there, so I count it as a loss.
There was a pretty well-sized tankoubon selection, but I haven’t found anything interesting there. Mostly normie stuff.
There was also a section I dread the most, as it’s the biggest time waste in those stores – the new arrivals section. If you don’t look through it, there’s a massive FOMO, but I also haven’t ever found anything interesting in these, so recently I tend to skip through most of them.
Music
There is an anime music section, but it mostly consists of IM@S, LL! and otome series. Hard skip on that one.
Figures
First of all, most of the figures there are really well priced, and the pricing doesn’t vary between different stores of this brand, which is worth mentioning.
Selection is very wide, starting with recently released prize figures on the 1F, and continuing with more niche series like Touhou on 2F. On this floor, they also have kits from Kotobukiya and Bandai and more expensive scales, not only from different franchises but also originals.
When it comes to figures, it’s definitely one of the biggest players on the market.
TRADER Headquarters
R18
Trader Headquarters is the first store on the list that doesn’t stock doujinshi books. However, they have the biggest selection of doujinshi software/videos in the Tokyo area. I’ve bought quite a few MiMiA Cute DVDs there that I couldn’t get anywhere else.
Their eroge selection is also nothing to scoff at, however, prices aren’t the most competitive. Their availability is tho, I’ve managed to score Eroge! from developer Clock Up, which I didn’t see anywhere else. They also had quite an extensive Lilith selection, but prices were rather high.
They also stock new releases, but I’m not after any of them, so I can’t help you there.
It also has a tankoubon section where I actually found one of the few pieces I’ve been looking for. Worth looking through it.
They also had a floor dedicated to real-life models, but I don’t care about that, so I didn’t go there. I think they also had onaholes there.
Figures
They had discount bins with 500 JPY prize figures, which looked pretty good but weren’t from any of the series I like. Otherwise, their figures are usually more expensive than in other stores like Lashinbang.
Trader2
While we’re already on the topic of Trader let’s also go through their second, smaller store.
R18
The range of available products is similar to their main store, although because the store is smaller, there is not as much choice. However, here I’ve also found some gems in the doujinshi software section.
They also had a “junk” shelf with games/OVA/anything disc really, and those things were dirt cheap while actually being pretty worthwhile. I bought one of those, and the disc and case look near mint to me. I haven’t yet tried actually playing the disc, but it looks good.
Figures
Selection is pretty similar to their main store, tho in this one some of them were cheaper than in the main store.
Lamtarra/Mulan
This entry refers to multiple stores from two different owners:
I’ve bundled them together because their selection was very similar.
R18
Onahole selection was weak and they were expensive, and the used discs / tankoubons were not to my liking. They weren’t cheap either.
Figures
Pretty limited selection, some of the prices were better than in Lashinbang for the prize figures.
Mandarake Complex
R18
It’s the most complete but also the most autistic store to get around, there are three different ways of sorting: parody series, genre (if original) and the most hardcore one, but pretty easy to get around if you know what you’re looking for – by circle name. This was both the blessing and the curse of all Mandarake on this trip. It’s probably the fastest way to get what you’re looking for, but this way you also skip some less popular circles.
There was also a discount section, but I couldn’t find anything interesting there, mostly LoveLive and IM@S thingies.
There’s one thing that’s available in Mandarake and in no other store – used adult comic magazines. I’m mostly interested in Girls forM and Anthurium, and a few volumes of both were available there.
There was also a really big selection of dakimakura covers and a smaller section for various other goods.
Music
There is a pretty big anime music section available. There is also a video game music section, but it was rather small and rhythm games were basically nonexistent.
SURUGA-YA Akihabara Main Building
R18
Theoretically, on their website they market themselves as having doujinshi, but realistically, all you’ll get there is goods such as dakimakura covers, tapestries and different flat things. They also have a pretty large selection of adult figures. I haven’t bought anything other than 2 Appetite games and 100 JPY eroge out of curiosity.
Figures
They have them and are priced pretty okayish, as always with Suruga-ya, that’s a bit hit or miss. There was also a selection of model kits.
K-BOOKS Akihabara
R18
Doujinshi were sorted by parody and genre, and then came the new arrivals shelf 😭 I’ve actually found some books there. The doujinshi selection isn’t the biggest, but it can be surprisingly diverse.
Pop Life Department M’s
The biggest and prettiest adult store in Tokyo. I’ve bought a few toys there. The onahole selection is pretty large, but there weren’t any novelty fun ones.
Love Merci
Overpriced store with a selection really similar to m’s, but the inside is way dirtier and prices are egregious. I don’t even want to bother describing what’s there and what’s not there.
Osaka
Unfortunately, I won’t be able to say anything about figures in Osaka since I wasn’t planning on buying any there.
However, if you look for R18 and more obscure artists/fetishes I guarantee it’s a city you can’t miss.
I’ve bought and shipped back home almost 10 kg worth of things from here, which is a lot considering how niche my taste is.
Mandarake Grand Chaos Shop
R18
Honestly, this place was rather unremarkable, just another Mandarake. Sorting was just as in Tokyo, there was a new arrivals shelf and besides the doujinshi, there was a nice tankoubon section with many niche artists.
I’ve also bought a really well-priced OVA and Lilith game there that I haven’t spotted anywhere else.
Surugaya Nipponbashi
R18
The biggest goldmine in the entirety, prices and availability here were the best out of every place I’ve been to. The discount corner was hiding some doujinshi which were 200 JPY there and over 1k on their website. Sorting was in classic Suruga-ya fashion by genre and parodies.
Tankoubons were properly sorted this time, but there wasn’t much interesting stuffs.
Music
They have doujinshi and video game music corners. I’ve found a few okay deals, but the thing that throws me off with this joint is the fact that, for some reason, they don’t let you keep the foil protectors for the cases. It’s the only place I’ve seen that does that. Considering the prices of some of the CDs there, it’s just rude.
Mandarake Umeda
R18
They had discount crates full of niche original doujins and not only parodies.
Sorting was as in any other Mandarake, but here I’ve actually found that most circles had at least one book instead of empty sections. I’ve found quite a few books here.
They also have a magazine section, but I could only find ExE and Comic L,O both of which aren’t down my road
There was the biggest tankoubon selection I’ve seen on the trip, including more niche artists and more sought-after titles.
Music
There was a doujin music corner, but it was dedicated entirely to Touhou and featured only the most popular circles, so I didn’t really care much.
Surugaya Nipponbashi Outlet Store Annex
R18
It’s only an outlet in a name, don’t get fooled by that. Prices are the same as in any Suruga-ya. The difference is that there are huge baskets with SFW doujinshi in front of the store. Everything adult is priced normally, the selection is pretty small compared to other stores in the proximity. Sorting is by parodies and the first letter of the circle name. There were a few tankoubons, but nothing exciting.
Lashinbang – Osaka Umeda
Scam of the century, on their website, they mention they have a doujinshi part, but when I came in, they only had two small shelves of SFW and nothing else. Total waste of time.
Lashinbang Osaka Nipponbashi Main Store
Unfortunately, this is the only store I had to skip due to the time constraints. If you have any information, feel free to let me know, and I’ll update this post with your thoughts!
Nobunaga Shoten Nippombashi
R18
The best adult store I’ve been to during my whole trip.
The selection of toys of all kinds was really wide, they also had outlet promotions for some toys, and prices were the best out of all the stores I’ve visited. They also had some toys that I unfortunately couldn’t find anywhere else later on.
They also had the most comprehensive otokonoko corner, which is nice to see.
Kyoto
Lashinbang Kyoto Main Store
This is the only store in Kyoto that has any doujinshi. Personally, I didn’t find anything good there, and the corner is pretty small, but if you have free time, you can drop by and check it out.
Nobunaga Shoten Shijyou Kawaramachi -TENGA SHOP KYOTO-
The selection of products in Kyoto was pretty similar to Osaka, but male toys and otokonoko parts were smaller. Other than that, great store!
Exceptions
I’ve told you about them at the beginning. I’ve decided to put BOOKOFF and Disk Union in their own category, because their offerings are really similar throughout all their stores in three cities I’ve been to.
BOOKOFF
I feel like Bookoff has really dropped off since I was in Japan 2 years ago. I’ve found only two CDs there, and it was on discount shelves. Every band/musician (ex. Sakanaction, NUMBER GIRL, Yakushimaru Etsuko, Soutaiseirion, Tokyo Incidents, Nujabes) I’m interested in had only empty categories in every single store. Personally, I wouldn’t even bother if you’re not into mainstream.
Disk Union
This was the biggest surprise of the trip. On the last trip, I couldn’t find anything good there, but now almost everything J-pop I bought was in Disk Union. Their stores are divided by genres, so look them up on Google Maps and go to the stores that cover genres you listen to.
Conclusion
My main takeaway from this trip is: Osaka is the best.
Tokyo is really diverse, and 2D is stronger there, but for me personally, Osaka had the most interesting offerings in terms of R18.
Kyoto isn’t even worth mentioning because I bought like 2 books there in total.
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