Tamiya Factory Store Tokyo Japan 2023

Surprise trip to Japan and it just so happened that I was staying within walking distance of the Tamiya Factory Store. I had just enough time to run in there and check it out. So, I took a bunch of pictures to share with everyone!
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[@johndaarteest]

As a teenager in the '80's, this would have been absolute heaven to me - even now looking at all those boxes takes me back to going to model shops and browsing. The sound of cardboard scraping when pulling open the boxes to look at the contents. The smell of the plastic cement used. Oh happy memories.

[@josephn944]

Love Tamiya. One time I misplaced a decal sheet for my F-14A. Emailed them, they looked through a defective kit of the same type they had lying around and mailed me a new decal sheet for free. Great people.

[@nathantw]

When I was young during the 1970s my absolute favorite was the large print Tamiya catalog. I looked at that catalog so much that it fell apart. It had pictures of the completed models in dioramas. Great memories. This video is my new catalog. Thank you!

[@TheMidwestModelShop]

They actually still produce a catalog! I picked one up when I was there and you can order one!

[@user-ts9ix4gk8p]

Welcome to Tokyo, Japan. Have a nice day in Japan ! Message from Tokyo.

[@benred9833]

I could spend hrs wandering around the Tamiya store. Thanks for the photos.

[@THROTTLEPOWER]

Me too!

[@ktiger1766]

Can stay for hold day 😮😍😅

[@maxbgi70]

Best model company, period!

[@Abbeville_Kid]

It’s nice watching all these videos of shopping in the mother country. The sheer volume of product that these places carry is crazy, wether it be military, civilian or Gundam. The Gundam shops over there are absolutely insane!

[@theedxqboi]

I remember back in the early 80's, I had the catalogue to drool over. Whenever I get to Japan, I'm coming here!

[@ricdale7813]

This place is a Museum and Modelers Amusement Park all rolled into one. The amount of design and display about the whole store is World Class.

[@rOEN911]

The law in Japan about advertisement and what you get is very strict ,i dont know if you noticed that but exactly what you see on labels even at restaurants is what you get even at the venting machines same goes for the Tamiya the display models are made by them the dioramas and other models by employees or very close associates ! The display models needs to be exact what you getting no weathering and in many of the older kits they dont even use Putty just sand them down and paint so you can see exactly what you get ,not sure if you have noticed many of them are not painted ...for that reason and at most events that they go you will get for sure the unpainted version and maybe some painted ! Japanese are very proud for that they are very honest people ..... and thats why Tamiya is the best plastic model company for so many years !

[@ChanNel-dt1gy]

Totally opposite to China 🤭

[@fredericrike5974]

I became super aware of their attitude about "customer experience" negotiating a car lease for an employer; even over the phone, they were awesome about "my details".

[@user-dl3uo3we2z]

Hint take a pic , Google has an icon ( search in rt corner of box) will show search of similiar items, but also a tab to hit translation and it will translate for you I get if your busy trying to see everything and not time for translation

[@kustomart1869]

@@ChanNel-dt1gythen check out Chinese Meng models

[@WellBattle6]

@@fredericrike5974Unless you go to Bigmotor for car repairs, in which case they hammer extra dents into it so they can raise your car insurance premiums by ten times.

[@andrebaumbach9447]

Tamiya takes me back to a kid growing up in 70s/80s and I've always wanted to get back into it as I've gotten older as a relaxation thing. Would love to visit this place.

[@TheMidwestModelShop]

Relaxing is the number one reason why I build models.

[@uwekonnigsstaddt524]

Back in the early 90s, I was stationed at the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, in Southern California. I visited their store at 1 Orion Blvd, if I remember correctly their address. A fellow Marine and I just showed up and asked if we would be allowed to see their show room. They told us they don’t have visitors. However, they were very kind and gave us a tour of their model room. What an experience! We were very grateful for their kindness, specially after showing up impromptu. Very impressed. Thanks for sharing

[@KanOfWhoopass]

Simply AMAZING! When I was a kid in the late 1960's I was lucky enough to get some of their WWII planes that I would hang above my bed in dogfight configuration. There is no better model production than Tamiya. I still love them and have a hard time passing one on the shelf without buying it. Thank you for this video! Fabulous!

[@wavydavy9816]

My Uncle (Pat) gave me two of his models (which had been hanging on his ceiling for years, just as you described) in about 1984 when I was 10 (and he was about 22 [my mum's youngest brother]) He knew I thought they were the coolest thing I'd ever seen and that makes him a pretty great guy. I felt like I'd won the lottery.

[@tormid100]

What a fantastic video. Thank you so much.

[@michaellynes3540]

When my dad was a kid, Tamiya wasn’t a huge hit in America than it was today, but it a huge hit in Japan.

[@quattro4s]

I am from Greece and I remember seeing some new models from Tamiya I was fascinated by the quality standards. Later on other companies in Europe mainly followed the same quality as the Japanese did and we now have many great kits even by small kit companies . Keep modeling

[@ejicon3099]

One of the things that many reviewers who visit Tamiya's Factory Store in Tokyo forget to highlight is how AMAZING their customer service is. The employees were VERY nice and helpful even with my broken Japanese.

[@map009]

I visited this store in April and agree with your comments, it was almost overwhelmingly amazing. Lack of English language did mean I did not purchase and lack of bag space meant many desirable models were not purchased either. Pricing seemed reasonable, too. Worth the visit!

[@edg1754]

What a great store! I'm happy you got to see it, and thanks for bringing us along!

[@kevinbush5632]

Was good to hear you ultimately say that you appreciated the clean, brand new appearance of their displays. I can’t agree more. I can’t imagine a factory store like that, displaying their products any other way. It’s hard to do a super clean model like that! Weathering can hide a lot of imperfections! By the way, I LOVE your Missouri build, I have that kit stashed away and need to get going on it.

[@captainobvious9233]

My local hobby shop just closed down after being in business for 50 years :( The owner was in his 70s and decided it was time to finally retire after the year's lease was up. I love Tamiya kits - Nicely detailed with the right balance of challenge. Not too complicated, but not too easy and boring.

[@C.Brown5150]

That's the best video of there store that I've seen.. I'm glad you had time to get there , I would love to go just once.. I appreciate you sharing this adventure with us... 👍

[@Ddraig62SPD]

Man, what a nostalgia trip! I’m 61 years of age and nearly fell off my rocking chair when I saw the diorama about 4 minutes into your video … as I vividly remember making a very similar diorama with the German Hanomag troop carrier and truck-mounted gun emplacement in winter theatre conditions. Happy days spent tucked away in my bedroom breathing in the fumes from those little paint pots and stringy glue. I have to admit that they were every bit as good as the ones in that store! Glad you enjoyed 👍

[@TheMidwestModelShop]

I’m glad the stringy glue situation has improved, even though I still use it for big parts from time to time 😉

[@usssaratogacv3lefevre978]

WOW! That's So cool, glad you got to go.

[@THROTTLEPOWER]

😍Oh wow, very cool!!! 👍

[@garyschiffli1043]

I haven’t built a model in years,but watching your channel and the videos you put out makes me wanna try it out again. Great video Ben.

[@clintwhittiker1221]

I hadn't either since the 80's, until a couple months ago. It's such a fun hobby and can't believe I waited so long to get back into it. As a kid, I started with dinosaur models, then built about a dozen 1/48 scale aircraft and got pretty good. One observation, models are cheap, all the tools and paint combined are not (if you go beyond basics)!

[@DIFowner]

That is not Mr. Tamiya. It is Motegi Diasuke the chief Oboe player of the NHK Symphony Orchestra telling of his life long fanship of Tamiya’s Waterline Series. 😎👍

[@ctrlzyx2]

Would love to see an English translation of his comments.

[@TheMidwestModelShop]

@ctrlzyx2 I redid the video with everything translated. It’s the same thumbnail with “In English” at the bottom.

[@THORFXMX]

An interesting story of the original Top Gun movie . When the Special Effects department had to build a mock up f14 interior and aerial exterior on a hydraulic gimbal for close up shots on stage plans and measurements were not available and in fact were still classified at the time. So a Tamiya model was scaled to full size and real canopy was acquired it was only 1/2” off from a perfect fit.

[@sneakyfildy]

wow, really awesome! Thanks for sharing

[@DirtyFacedKid]

Amazing! Thanks for sharing!

[@daivietnguyen7289]

The precision of the Japanese culture is second to none, and you can see that influence on every single Tamiya kit !!!

[@cutterbacon]

Pearl harbour wasnt the brightest moment was it?

[@adamfox1669]

Awesome. Thank you

[@NorwegianModellingBench]

Thanks for a great walkthrough of the store, definitely on my bucket list to go there 😊

[@johnperkins6432]

My first exposure to Tamiya was an RC car. Alway build models as a young child so RC cars wasnt a big leap. Hours of fun with both. Really cool to see this shop. Great video.

[@emiledutoit9434]

the reason for most of my favourite hobbies! Tamiya!

[@1983dmd]

Very interesting ! Thank you!

[@stephenchaiser5082]

I was in Japan last year and I went to that store and bought a bunch of 1/700 ww2 ships want to say about 20-25. One of the coolest places. They are know for their ships and paints more than anything else, they also have another level. I think I spent nearly 2 hrs in there until the wife was ready to go.

[@udeychowdhury2529]

Thanks for sharing

[@mikemalliski8380]

Very nice….thanks….

[@linkpoison5511]

Awesome!!!

[@bernarddickinson9841]

Great show Ben, well put together Thanks very much for sharing

[@goforitpainting]

Thank you for sharing. 👍

[@JesBear]

Very interesting. Thanks.

[@WATTScostumes]

Cool !....Great stuff Ben. Great tour.

[@howiemiller7698]

Thanks for sharing what a place I saw a lot of my favorite kits

[@andyandy4306]

Great company!

[@richardvoisey5914]

You might be interested to know that Tamiya have a Tamiya Plamodel shop in Bangkok, Thailand which is a copy of the shop in Japan. It looks very similar and has the same decor. but is smaller and has a few official built up models. It struck me watching video how similar they are. You will find it very close to the main Bangkok airport in a mall called Robinsons. It's a short Taxi ride.

[@paulsmodels]

Really an awesome place. I would have a hard time holding on to my money if I went into a store such as that. Thanks for the tour!

[@Freeagent-4-life]

How wonderful.

[@timmytangles5520]

Thanks for the video. I'll be going to that shop in a few weeks.

[@RichardsGameStudio]

They have just opened a new shop at the end of May 2024, which is located next to the old shop.

[@raven9057]

thank you for sharing this. :)

[@Thunderbyrd.]

Soooooo glad to catch this video. I can't believe I was geeking out on photos of plastic models, lol. Good video with appreciated narration.

[@ArizonaCowboys]

so cool of you to post this. dream trip

[@justinbest9429]

Damn! I'd love to visit this place! Super cool!

[@sixone7478]

Went their last year. Super friendly & helpful staff. Bought few bits n pieces you won't get here in Australia. Super cheap compared to Australia. Also worth mentioning is the Plamodel shop is just a short walk away from Tokyo Tower. So I went up on the Tower and on every selfie you'll see at least 2 huge Tamiya bags next to me 😂😂😂

[@nish221100]

At 3:26, that guy is Daisuke Mogi (Mogi is his family name) who is a principle oboist for the NHK Symphony orchestra.

[@danielsotelo3942]

I'm with you on the exhilaration you felt starting with your flight to Japan, then experiencing the airport and drive to your hotel. Then going into your cozy super clean room, and then seeing the super Hi-Tech potty with all the bells & whistles to clean your "A" Hole. And then going out in the morning on a incredible cab ride to Tokyo's Hobby & Electronic center of the world.... I being inside the bicycle industry starting in the late 70s working for a Japanese company called Shimano and being a model, M/C road-racing and RC scale airplane fan.... "I know the feeling". At that same place in Tokyo I saw Hi-definition TV and CD players at the SONY building in 1981. A few years later I was into road-racing a TZ=250 R and wanted to get the best go fast parts in the world, and discovered this place that has six floors and each floor had every exotic component you could think of in stock.I took a budget of $10K and bought everything possible to turn my TZ 250 into a world class rocket ship, right down to the magnesium wheels. Going to Japan is unreal.

[@TheMidwestModelShop]

That’s awesome!

[@bmw128racer]

Nice video. I'm looking forward to checking out the Tamiya store when I'm in Japan in March 2024.

[@ktiger1766]

That's a dream place of paradise for everyone who loves building models 😍😘🙏😭👍👍👍👍😅

[@lachaudjl]

Wahou ! C'est la caverne du Père Noel ! Merci pour le partage !

[@robc.5745]

Those diramas are over the top.

[@tenminutetokyo2643]

Also check out the giant model floor in Yodobashi Akiba.

[@raytheonbuna1021]

Awesome! I find Google translate camera function can be handy in instances like this. 🙂🙂

[@wavydavy9816]

You _know_ a video is really great when you watch the whole thing but there's no moving pictures 🤗💖 If you have more photos then please show them 👍

[@ferg1680]

Sherman....the most famous U.S. Tank in History 🇺🇸

[@johnheffner3950]

Jaw slacking hammer dropping cool!!

[@gene5572]

Ben, this sharing your trip to the Tamiya store!!

[@keithsmodelsandrcs6593]

very nice walk threw and commentating on everything that's a great way to show and tell in video thanks for sharing buddy keep up the awsome work id love to get the chance to go to Japan in the future iv taut about it a few times maybe in future great video once again bro👍Keith

[@shirolee]

I stopped at this store 6 years ago, and I felt like a kid in a toy shop!

[@tazsnuts99]

Love tamyia paint and extra thin cement

[@kahmed7328]

That was awesome! I actually bought one of the Aerobase airplane structure models from Narita airport. It’s a tiny model and I’m so glad I got one.

[@Barry_the]

I was in there today. Always fun.

[@nprwikeepa6082]

Man this is like Mecca. Can see alot of Bonsai inspiration with the polished wood display bases

[@DirtyRobot]

That is exactly what they are. You can buy them for cheap and are a good source of quality wood for projects.

[@nish221100]

One of my dad's friends promised that I could build his Tamiya Yamato (I think that was pictured) when I "grew up". We moved before I could ask. :-)

[@trekmountain9788]

Merci pour cette très belle vidéo et ce partage que j'apprécie particulièrement. Vraiment top 👌

[@AlvinREDDELTA]

this is paradise 😍i want those

[@jasonamigo023]

Was just there as well a few days prior to this video being posted, was somewhat out of the way from where I was but I made sure to visit while at Tokyo. Nice to see those exact displays in person :)

[@user-ov5pf8jv2w]

TWO THUMBS UP TO JAPAN AND JAPANESE PRODUCTS AND TECHNOLOGY❤❤❤ R and D prior to Manufacturing Durable and Dependable Products🙏👍👍🙏❤️

[@horrido666]

Tamiya is the Toyota of the model industry. They don't get their reputation with the way they manufacture their products. They get their reliable designs by the way they spec out their products. I lived in the midwest during the 90s, and worked the automotive industry. I designed Chrysler and Toyota heater control panels. One of those two held our hands while we designed. You can guess which, I'm sure.

[@JL-qk2sk]

just a suggestion with the Japanese words, I use my phone to take a picture of the words with google translate, and it will translate pretty much everything into English 🙂

[@TheMidwestModelShop]

Thanks. I know about that. I was just too excited to remember to do that.

[@lucgagnon5241]

Could you imagine how much time was invested to make all those models ?.?.? And the skills needed to do it ! I think that's where comes the wonder. You just can't really understand all the commitment it needs to do ONE kit unless you tried it once in your life. And the strangest thing about this is that it needs more time than talent to reach interesting goals.

[@coalhouse_walkerjnr4735]

Thank you very much for sharing your tour. Makes me want to go to Tokyo and spend a day in the store. I thinl I'd have to leave my wallet in the hotel sate though!

[@craiggilchrist4223]

I used to work at Beatties Toys and Models here in the UK back in the early 90's a huge company with a branch in almost every city. Used to meet with the Tamiya reps all the time. Used to build the display cars too.

[@dboconnor57]

I got to Japan too early. I was working in China, got some time off and went to Japan for R&R. I could only visit the Shizuoka facility-which was Mecca for us in those days. I still had a great time, but I would have loved to have seen that Tokyo store. This was back in the good old days so I bought a huge number of kits-at the time sold through a store near the Tamiya facility called Rainbow Hobbies(). Models, the best sushi I’ve ever had and a relaxing time in Shizuoka made it the best Pilgrimage ever. Maybe someday I’ll get to the Tokyo showroom/store.

[@Swellington_]

you know they have kits and different versions of kits that are probably not available in the US,or anywhere else more than likely ,I'm sure they have full interior kits and large scale kits etc,man,I'd love to go through there,I'd walk out flat broke 😂 😂

[@marcelochialvo5436]

¡¡¡¡ OHHH POR DIOS¡¡¡ Es el Paraíso del hobby ¡¡¡

[@joeji7442]

Downstairs is all RC cars and the Mini 4WD cars.

[@sneakyfildy]

did you notice a cat in that big diorama with a crane several tanks? :)

[@maverickmitchell9383]

Tamiya ,only the best....

[@keithralston1133]

Wouldn't mind being able to go there one day.

[@petermerz2704]

Happy Thanksgiving! 😎🇨🇦

[@Custerd1]

I bet Takom or Trumpeter would never have something like this.

[@jayhope615]

i used to build models as a kid,spend hours and hours on painting and detail..Then my bigger brother would come along and say stuff like"king kong" then smash them to pieces..

[@richardchioccola5179]

I have a bunch of Tamiya RC parts new in the packages from the eighties.

[@andreaselesky9970]

Wonderful place. If you have Google translate using your camera you get instant translation, just an FYI the next time you are traveling overseas. It will even work with the photographs you have posted. I held camera up to your images and it translated them...

[@bryanbishop2377]

I own a 1/32 scale F-15C kit I bought in 1997 in Fussa Shi. Unbuilt.

[@randomnickify]

Plastic wrap is apparently american thing. In EU model shops you can also just pick up the box from the shelf and look inside. Only models in supermarkets often have plastic seal around them since I guess with more shop area its more difficult to control whatever someone doesn't steal things. Edit: Judging from other people videos second floor is all/most RC stuff.

[@user-dj8xt7yx4m]

Tamiya debería dé expandirse,y poner tiendas en todos los países....

[@TheMidwestModelShop]

But no one would shop anywhere else 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@garyyoung4074]

Now convince the company to make some NEW BIG Kits. How about 1/48 models of a B-47, a C-119, and a Boeing short body 737 with the fan engines. Full interior w/lights would be REALLY COOL! They would be no bigger than the 1/48 B-29 or C-130!!! PLEASE MAKE SONETHING COOL!!!!

[@davidgold5961]

3:22 Just point your phone at the Japanese text using the CAMERA function in the Google Translate app and you will read all about this guy - an orchestra conductor who loves models.