Whats going on with Gunpla in Japan?? Gunpla shopping in tokyo 2024!

[@Gunplameli]

also forgot to mention I went to BIC Camera as well ( even LESS models) and akihabara Mandarake which had an okay selection!

[@kenvercordero7165]

first

[@dragoneater6771]

Very nice. Great job.

[@Matanumi]

You know I think I used to get PS Vita and 3DS on eBay for very affordable now not the case I know both of those systems are out of print but I think Japan has followed the west in scalping culture

[@VexNToys]

I also go to those in Akihabara as well as yellow submarine and amiami. Last time I was there I found everything I was looking for was at a mom and pop shop in KOTO-Ku.

[@Changchar37]

Really appreciate the insight! I’m going to Japan this summer and wanting to checkout some of the stores and hope I can find some rare limited items. Even 2nd hand would be fine since I’m going to paint them

[@jonathand827]

This is happening with also with retro games too, there’s a massive amount of exporting also, combination with the yen being down, people are mass exporting things from Japan to sell on US and other countries. eBay, meracari, etc.

[@user-ve1er3sc8j]

3rd party sellers are killing the fun of collecting and nobody seems to care, but the collector.

[@chtminh5175]

Ohhh that make soooo much sense, I found it weird too but never pieced it together like that. Thanks

[@jonathand827]

@@chtminh5175 kinda funny the amount of people complaining who have youtube channels who go to Japan to buy thubgs often don’t even know this O_o 😅.

[@jackyfan]

Yeah I studied in Japan in 2014, 2015. The retro gaming scene was still bussing. I was able to grab 2nd hand Gameboy Colors for less than 1,000JPY in really good condition. Instead of taking a part-time job, I learned some basic soldering, and refurbished GameBoys to sell back into my home country around average asking price which was about 8,000JPY (to stay consistent with currency conversion). Gameboy Advance and SPs managed to get about 15,000JPY after refurbish. It was a good hustle. I would be able to grab a bunch after attending class, and do two or so a night which only took an hour or so. Don't do it anymore of course. I'd say I missed it, but it was a thing I did to stay afloat in Japan and there wasn't rampant scalping like we see these days. Kids studying over there now wouldn't be able to do that in the current climate lol.

[@madrobot711]

yeah, big things!!

[@justinkruger8787]

HAHHAHAH!!!!!!!!!

[@tylerttinsley]

The weak yen means they make way more selling internationally so I’m not surprised to see stock issues in japan. Even if Bandai puts stock on Japanese shelves it can be bought and resold online. A suru order i just got had a yotabushi camara price tag on it.

[@Gunplameli]

That makes sense!!

[@Matanumi]

Yep..... at least Japan HAS stuff to export. Merch game is massive right now and Japan always rocked it well

[@Matanumi]

Its a shame Japan sellers are coping the west

[@MusicFan752]

Shoot I still need to preorder Gundam breaker 4. Got 2 and 3 and utterly love them, the trailer for 4 is hype.​@@Matanumi

[@Zidbits]

You're missing a key part of Japan selling internationally; China. Chinese "tourists" will come to Japan and grab all sorts of things (collectibles, electronics, clothing, etc) and take them back to China. From here they resell/export them out of China. The shady/sketchy part of this is that China has free shipping. As long as the item is under a certain size/weight, the Chinese government subsidizes the shipping costs if it's for export outside of China. You may pay for shipping on Temu or Aliexpress, but the seller you bought it from is just pocketing that extra money. This subsidization by the People's Republic of China is ridiculously unfair to the rest of the world who do have to pay for shipping because their governments aren't corrupt. China tries to claim that "It's so we can stay competitive against the big bad bullies of the west!" and pretend they're some struggling third world country. They have the second largest economy in the world now, only behind the U.S. Their excuses might have worked 30-40 years ago when they actually were a third world country ...these days they do it to hurt the rest of the world.

[@cloudcloudly]

The gunpla shortage has been ongoing for a little over a year now in Japan. The main reason is because of scalpers who sell locally, and export it (Websites like Buyee). In the US, we don't have that much of an issue because they still send regular exports but a little slowed down with limits per pallet. But most of the time, you'll be pre-ordering months ahead for kits.

[@Matanumi]

Also a weak yen And an influenced scalping west Not good for your average hobbiest

[@ying3966]

No, try 4 years. BUT there were some definitely some kits if your see other streamers 4 years ago. Of course most people don't actually watch every single kind of streamer, not even I do BUT I have watched a variety including JP only talking streamers and they did have stock. It's crazy to once know just 3 years ago, a JP streamer I watch visited a store after traveling in a shinkansen and I randomly saw a MGEX Unicorn for only 25000 yen ($ 160 USD according to google translate?). So my point is this, MGEX unicorn for $160 USD is now $280 USD on the aftermarket in the US storefronts all over. Box is huge and shipping cost can be an extra $60 because I have bought one on almost release date for only $230 USD (36000 yen approximate) before the price hike. According the official retail price, MGEX retails for 23000 yen in Japan, what they do next to the price is up to them. You don't see the MGEX in retail because it's instantly bought botted (new word from me - bought botted) into oblivion because from 23000 yen to 44000 yen is an markup they won't pass up and JP storefronts are constantly backordered into oblivion so you'll never buy it at retail (I got it pretty much retail because I happened to get "lucky" first in line)

[@UltimateGattai]

Gunpla is hard to get in Australia, it's been like that since mid to late 2020, I can't even order from online stores like HLJ because they have no inventory of Gunpla. The selection of in stock items is so minimal in both physical and online stores, I'm barely building anything anymore.

[@MusicFan752]

I think it's just because the demand had honestly spiked even before the pandemic happened. Shoot there was a small hobby store in a mall near me that had a small amount of gunpla, mainly a couple of master grades and real grades. Sadly that stores gone but now our local hobby lobby has a whole shelf of gunpla of high grades real grades and now some master grades. Simply put the supply right now is getting overwhelmed by the demand and while the demand did happen before the pandemic, the pandemic did strengthen it.

[@VolkswagenGamer]

It's crazy when I was there buying hard to find HG kits on average 1700 yen = roughly 10 dollars, meanwhile they are double or more in the United States.

[@pixxellie]

I moved to Japan 6 months ago and I haven't seen any of those bare shelves yet. Crazy! That footage from Gundam base was shocking. I mostly shop at second hand shops though. Akihabara is tough, but Surugaya plastic model hall is AMAZING. Other than that I'd recommend folks try the Yodobashi in Ikebukuro, it's not as touristy. I'd agree with you that Nakano broadway is great!

[@jamerinunez9819]

I was there in around feb and akihabara Yodabashi cam had only 3 different kits stocked on shelf, only time i saw a lot of choices kits stocked shelves was in fukouka gundam base

[@pixxellie]

@@jamerinunez9819 thats so crazy! I've been meaning to stop buy the gundam base but maybe I'll skip for now

[@user-zo2yu9hi9l]

I love going to surugaya in akihabara, that and amiami was my frequent visits

[@Gunplameli]

Thanks for the tip! I’ll definitely check out surugaya on my next trip

[@doctorx0079]

I would mostly be looking for the old kits and I think you find those at those kind of stores. The newer ones I can often get from the US stores or preorder. The old kits no one wants to stock in the US. I like First Gundam and a lot of subjects from that show only have old kits like Elmeth.

[@KrisHomemadeBaking]

This issue is ongoing in Taiwan too. Before 2020, I never rush and only get a particular kit when I want it, but after 2020 I not only need to preorder but I have to make sure I pick it up in the week they get released because the hobby shops here don't hold your reservations for very long. It gets really hard to budget your spending with this kind of "rushing for kit release" mentality and it's a big reason why I have mostly quit gunpla. That's right, all of those nasty scalpers causing the kit shortage has caused me to quit a hobby that I had been into for 8 years!

[@albertko1]

Right now in Taiwan (at least in Taipei), other than the scalping of hottest, in-demand kits... everything seems to be more back to normal. The new MG VerKas have been OK in 2024 but MGSDs and the MGEX Strike Freedom and popular Witch from Mercury have been offered at "scalper" pricing. However, PBandai is still being cleaned out immediately... not sure if that is due to demand, limited availability to TW, or scalperbots.

[@KrisHomemadeBaking]

@@albertko1 I'm well aware of it as I'm in Taipei myself. The only kits that are guaranteed to be in stock are the new HGs from some snoozefest build fighters/seed spinoffs or movies. I had been trying to get HG Gundam Lfrith (the pink one) for almost an entire year as during the time it released I was not in a very financially stable situation to be buying a gunpla. The anime is not even that old and yet Lfrith are all sold out! It's so annoying!

[@KrisHomemadeBaking]

@@albertko1 and as for the MG ver ka, I've been back and forth about buying it. On the one hand it's been a while, I haven't bought a new kit in six months. On the other hand, can I not just wait a few months later to get it when the time comes that I do actually feel like building it and not because I was just buying it before it goes out of stock?

[@albertko1]

​@@KrisHomemadeBaking I've seen the Narrative C-Packs VerKa for as low as 1600 but even though I'm a fan of the C-packs, my backlog is now taking up too much space. The RG Epyon has actually been in stock now as well. But yeah, the popular GWitch kits have been near impossible to find unless scalper pricing. I don't think Bandai really restocked the Lfrith, Aerial Rebuild, Calibarn, etc more than once in Taiwan. I'm glad they did restock a bunch of PGs as well as the PGU, it's driven pricing back down to normal levels again. I remember it was craazy for the RG God and RG Hi-Nu for a while but it's not remember it was craazy for the RG God and RG Hi-Nu for a while but it's now totally normal again. Considering the MG Zeta VerKa got enough reprints that it's in stock still now... I'm sure you can find the C-Packs VerKa as part of the regular round of reprints next year.

[@UltimateGattai]

Australia has the same issue, not many stores here carry a great deal of kits, I've basically built little to nothing the past 2 or 3 years, it's so hard to get kits now.

[@raystarr4388]

I was shocked to see such bare shelves. Usually, they're fully stocked. I like building the Digimon and MS General series

[@Gunplameli]

I love Digimon!

[@idkwhattohaveasausername5828]

So early that I'm here before the men of culture comments lmao

[@Matanumi]

They'll turn up they always do

[@Matanumi]

But really this is a topic beyond them- This is an issue with Japan and hobby culture- I'm assume become only a place for the rich and regular hobbiests may be kept out due to rising costs

[@cheebc9981]

@@Matanumi I love gunpla as well as boobs

[@DafuqShiit]

I wanna see Meli do Jumping Jacks so bad 🥺

[@leomarlonestrada5954]

@@Matanumi Present!!!!

[@rhapsodyjose2277]

I went to Japan for the first time in February 2024. I was so excited to visit these very popular gundam stores in Akihibara, Yodabashi included. You can imagine how disappointed I was to see the shelves as 'bare' as you described. I left for home just to realize that my home country hobby stores has more Gunpla kits than Yodabashi. I hope to visit Japan again (it's a very nice country after all) and I hope the next time I go to Akihibara stocks will be much better.

[@patrickr4762]

Went there Mar. 2023, went to the Gundam store in Odaiba and luckily there were no shortage yet. I guess w/ the economy it going to be that way for a while.

[@mankind5709]

I was in Tokyo in 2000 , thought I could find canon cameras there easily . To my surprise there were more here in California. do your research before going any where.

[@ianfleetwood8804]

I was there in Dec 23. Very disappointed in selection. Ended up buying from soft bank and yellow sub.

[@UToobUsername01]

Have you ever thought to try macross? It's better than Gundam.

[@gundamnit3594]

@@UToobUsername01 Unfortunately it's no Gundam.

[@sithphobos]

You should really vlog your trips to Japan I love seeing those

[@Matanumi]

She used too

[@caliwong]

That's crazy! I was just there mid March and it didn't look like this. Hopefully things will get restocked soon

[@antoniobenedicto9001]

A new vid from Meli is always good news!Glad you enjoyed your Japan trip!

[@ssranon]

> “I don’t know how to > describe it, each floor > has a dedicated space > for different things.” A store that has separate departments for things like cameras and toys etc is called a “department store“. We have them in the USA too, e.g., Macy’s, but they usually dedicate their floors to jewelry, women’s clothing, etc. In boomer times, Sears used to sell tools and appliances on some floors. Anyway, same general concept.

[@gherz83]

Welcome back!

[@oneyedthing]

1. They sell more online 2. Some collectibles are reserved to make sure the locals get it 3. Hobby areas in Japan specifically Tokyo and Osaka has joined the tourist trap campaign

[@rjsarmiento5379]

Dayum. I've always wanted to visit Japan soon. Here's to more travels to Japan for you!

[@luckydragonbb]

Yeah you went during the blitz. There was tons of tourists that came to see the retirement of the Gundam in Yokohama and they got wiped out for the time.

[@wordlife25money]

will it be like that when the mighty strike freedom releases? I do have a relative there that is buying for me

[@luckydragonbb]

@@wordlife25money I believe they have recovered already but I don't know since I don't live there.

[@PepinHello]

@@wordlife25money if it's a highly sought model you better preorder it or be at openning time at a store cause it will for sure run out. Is not that there are short initial batches, the thing is gunpla is selling A TON more nowadays.

[@andreap2320]

The online sales abroad and weak yen and scalpers are a marginal part of the market. With Witch of Mercury they overdid it, new style and dozens of models, probably divisive for some, they had tons of unsold kits. The gundam seed kits are meh and nobody I know is buying them

[@maafremsayablong]

I just realized that I love gunpla so much, the gunpla is very beautiful and amazing!!

[@rktech7696]

Had the same experience. Went in late March/early April and my go-to was also Yodabashi. Was looking to find a PG RX-78-2 Unleashed and a PG Exia. Couldn't find them ANYWHERE. All the PG's they had were the older sets, like Astray Red Frame (first gen, no Tactical Arms) and W-Gundam Zeo. Went to Yodobashi, BIC, Mandarake, Surugaya, no luck but I saw a person in Surugaya with the RX-78-2. He told me he found it at AmiAmi. Ran there and grabbed the last one off the shelf. Pretty sure I found the last one in all of Akihabara. Went back later in the week and it wasn't restocked. I had two empty suitcases so grabbed a PG W-Gundam Zero just to make the trip worth it and take advantage of the weak Yen. But yeah...was a sad and unexpected Gunpla stock state.

[@NuTypeNova]

That Gundam Base part has me shocked. I thought that'd be like Gunpla heaven.

[@Igirisujininjapan]

I live in Osaka, and I can’t even find the new SEED kits. I think they sell out very quickly. I really want a HGCE Gelgoog Menace. All I can find lately are Build Fighters and Witch from Mercury kits.

[@nilnitsud12]

Its all in the 2ndhand shops! Big 2nd handshops!

[@AhnkoCheeOutdoors]

Aloha from Hawaii Meli. A new store in my hometown of Kailua opened this month called Tokyo Central, and they have a very nice selection of Gundam Gunpla. Now you have an excuse to visit Hawai'i. I recently returned from 4 weeks in Japan, and LOVED it.

[@KRGE41]

If you went during the golden week, then it'll be as you describe. Even the Bookoffs are empty during these times.

[@ImThinking3]

I hit up a few stores in Akihabara recently, too. Found a good amount of RG Gundam kits and a few SD Gundams. One store had 3 of the Wing Zero Snow White Prelude Titanium finish model kits. Also splurged on a couple of MH figures and DB figures. Shinjuku had 1 store where I found a few HG model kits but ultimately went for the ZOE Jehuty Re-release kit. Gundam Base still doesn't have much. It was pretty bare when I went there too.

[@VampireDragon86]

This happened to me at acen this year. I got a full burst strike mode for 78 and a W-Gundam zero custom for 130. In past years, those were Hella expensive.

[@superarbychief1]

This is why I’m learning 3D modelling and saving up for a 3D printer, if I can’t find the kits I want I’m just gonna make them myself

[@theboi9382]

great ambitous yet fragile products

[@randomnetizen7065]

OMG!! .. what a HUGE gundam at the back

[@user-te3bt3cx4o]

私は[ 72/1 Mechanical·Model GELUGUGU ]が希望です。

[@Jdj28373]

Subscribed. No idea what a gunpla is

[@jackrobinson2992]

@gunplameli, thanks for mentioning this, that yodobashi camera store was also my go-to spot as well, i was visiting my in-laws this past November and it was freaking sad, and its not that the shelves were bare, it was like they've gotten rid of their entire gunpla area and only just had leftover scraps :( only time ive gone to japan this time and got nothing at yodobashi camera, i did however get myself a 1/100 RF00 at the walking statue, glad i got to see it before they took it down. also the store at the top of Odaiba at the Unicorn display was pretty lacking too.

[@joisenpaii]

I just got back from Tokyo and the Gundam Base was fully stocked

[@Flinegard]

Glad i'm hearing from you again🎉

[@BSGNUT]

I missed the opportunity to go to Nakano Broadway and Mandarake when I was there this past February and, I had purchased a rare Bandai Nasa Space Suit kit that I arranged to pick up from the store in person to save on shipping to the US. But, it was nice that I was able to arrange with them to have it shipped to my hotel in Shinjuku which only cost Y1,100 ($7.00USD) and, I was able to carry it home. So, it still worked out well but, I wish I was able to visit Nakano. Thank you for all your great informative videos!

[@chaeng2x]

Oh no, I'm finally going back to Tokyo this July after my last visit in 2018. Was planning to hunt some rare Gunpla, Zoids, and other plamo. It was really fun just hunting around Akihabara for some cool and rare kits last time. Hopefully it's getting better in a the upcoming months.

[@elnavales]

There's a Suruga-Ya at Akihabara that specializes in just Gunpla. It's on the main street next to Carl's Jr, on the second floor above a Maid Cafe. It has a ton of Gunpla. I love that one because it has a lot of old Master Grades. The prices are inflated but with the current rate to the dollar, it still better than eBay. I've been buying from them every time I go back to Japan. They're doing free Int'l shipping on their website as I'm typing this.

[@PepinHello]

that's cause surugaya is mostly an used goods store so the models there are stuff they are reselling and out of stock. Whenever a new model comes out and they have stock of it, it usually just sells at retail price. So it's not that prices are inflated, it is that that place is not a retailer but a second hand store for the most part.

[@NZDivine]

I went to the Gundam base in Kyoto and it was pretty empty too, then the Shanghai one and it was a bit better but it was mainly the Shanghai Freedom kits, then my friend took me to one of those arcade style shops in Shanghai and omg so many gunpla, heaps of rare ones, metal builds, I had never seen so many. There was 5 stores selling bandai products and they even had Gundam 00 HG kits, p-bandai, they had everything.

[@JONtheULTIMATE]

You gotta check out other places. Theres some places in shibuya, shinjuku, and other places really unknown and they have stacks on stacks of gundams that arent even on shelves in BIC and Yodo.

[@Dornogol]

Yeah, book off Shinjuku and ikebukuro for example ist where I found dozens I wanted

[@bryanpark6162]

Hey Meli, I've been following your channel for about a year now. I just recently visited Japan and did notice the trend at the Gundam base stores. Interesting enough I am seeing the same trend in Korea as well. I was sad but also felt lucky that I got to see the huge Gundam at the Gundam factory before they closed down permanently this year. Best wishes.

[@user-mk2rj9mr7c]

I saw exactly the same thing when I went to Yotobashi in Akihabara last week. Also went to BIC Camera and like you said even less. Couldn't find a Rising Freedom HG. Oddly found the Rising Freedom in the Narita airport. =P

[@newqer]

I remember Yodobashi Akiba having basically a full range of gunpla but after covid it was always pretty bare. Last two trips i mostly got limited stuff from the Gundam Base and some random finds of older kits from Surugaya.

[@Matanumi]

That's another thing- covid. AND the plastic issue with Paris accord will slow down production

[@christophersichler98]

The most recent models I built are the HGCE Gundam SEED Freedom Gelgoog Menace Lunamaria Hawke Custom and Black Knight Squad Rud-ro.A Griffin Arbalest Custom and I like them a lot. My favorites are still the RG Gundam Epyon and RG TV Wing Gundam.

[@Salaundre]

That’s crazy. I went in October and there were lots of kits. That’s how I got into Gunpla.

[@ReapaOfSoulz]

In Japan and buying my first gunpla, been to all the gundam bases but going to pick up a kit from side f before I leave (sazabi ff). But damn..your stunning haha.

[@MZGDPRC]

thanks to the scalpers!

[@codak29]

0:46 "Ok, so my favorite store to shop at is Yodobashi (the Japanese version of Best Buy.)" I closed the window. lol

[@Thatsthesecret]

Hello Guys of Gunpla. 🤖 So we meet again.. 😼

[@lanzer22]

When you mentioned 8th floor I immediately remember the sadness I felt during my trip this year when I found out that the dedicated Gundam floor in the Lab1 building at Ikebukuro closed down 2 years ago. That had been my favorite place as the entire floor had a wall to wall display of completed Gunpla, hundreds of them, along with various dedicated displays of new and fancy PG models. You could pretty much find any gundam models there from their huge selection. Meanwhile, my visits to other stores were similar, where there were so few inventories everywhere. I wonder if everyone moved to buying Gunpla online or something. It's just not the same anymore.

[@fattiger6957]

I've heard Bandai is building a new factory, so hopefully that will help with this supply issue.

[@gbear8207]

I'm not sure if this is recent or not, but when I went in December 2023, it was a lot less (-50%) than 2003. This includes other hobby items like plastic model kits too.

[@cowgomoooooo]

i promise im here for the gunpla

[@TRDGE]

I know it takes a lot for these companies to engineer new frames and mobile suits etc... but yeah the costs of all the kits seem to just keep rising. When I pre-ordered my HG Destiny Spec II Zeus Silhouette, it was near $96. However, hopefully online shops can still provide and they usually have discounts.. kits physically in-store like Hobby Lobby either sell at level or over price so that the store can also profit from the sale.

[@justin.channels]

Invite your dad into the videos more! He seemed so nice. I bet he would be very proud and happy to help the channel.

[@MathrosZiveon]

just saw the thumbnail, i don't know who you are, i don't know what you do. But I liked and subscribed.

[@Phlegm_Thrower]

I just went to Gundam Base in Thailand, got me SDCS Nightingale special coating, RG Sazabi FF and Nu Gundam FF. Plenty of stocks there. 😊

[@kirayamato3327]

I went to Tokyo and Kyoto Gundam base during cherry blossom period, and also Akihabara. Gunpla was extremely limited. Mostly Witch from Mercury kits, Build series and random kits from other series

[@skum73]

I went and purchased gundam in osaka today and there were no shortages. Gundam everywhere with no bare shelves. I was in awe at how many there were. For the new release yesterday they had a line around the block but they still had stock in the afternoon.

[@luckydr2623]

Same sentiments, we visited Tokyo March this year. Visited Gundam base Tokyo hoping to get a ver ka of either Nu, Zeta or 2.0/3.0 of Gramps, they got no stock. I came home with the RG 1.0 of Gramps and Zeta plus some tools but the disappointment of not getting the kits you want quite hurt.

[@RL-xz2xe]

The addition of your dad was great! Is he into gunpla? Or just a foodie?

[@gundambassexe31]

Good to see you my fellow coordinator meli! ( gundam seed and seed Destiny reference)

[@birdworldist]

Yesss

[@kreculjkreculj]

Few years back AmiAmi stopped selling Gunpla because of the scalper problem and focusing sales to the national market. So now only HLJ sells Gunpla. Mandarake has kits since they sell preowned stuff.

[@zodiark93]

It's a bit of time, probably 2 or 3 months, since when I went to Gundam Base in Fukuoka. However, in that shop, there was still a very good selection. And just some days ago I gifted myself a very beautiful MG 00 Raiser XN from Mandarake. Oh, I can't describe how much I'm waiting and hoping for a new 00 Raiser model release T_T

[@oscarcollazo4402]

I know people aren’t a fan of them but I find the SD EX Standard to be perfect to practice hand painting on. They’re low quality and have hollow pieces but the fact they’re so cheap means I don’t stress about screwing up a paint job. They also look so cute!

[@xenogunner]

It is the same for Tamashii Nations when I visited Osaka recently. Very limited selection, it looks like the tried to stock the shelves with older line up.

[@thefourthchairman4151]

ahh YESSS... meli is in the house yo😍

[@Crosszero1]

With the situation with Japan, Im having a hard time finding kits to buy because the resellers are selling it for double or more. I check Surugaya every week because of their free shipping campaign and the kit prices feel like more than twice the original price, even mix/max base price they still feel expensive. I've check Mandarake over and over too and the shipping cost is huge since I can only use EMS, getting a single RG costs 2900 yen to ship. HLJ never really has anything in stock so I cant rely on them for kits.

[@ArielMorales-ig9vk]

I was there right before you and I saw the same thing. I was shocked. I even went to Yokohama Base and it was EMPTY!! i also went with the mentality to treat myself..

[@stryderprime]

The gunpla market has been going wacky these past few year now. You will see the most current kits out like witch and freedom but the one that we remember like MG zakus and some older kits that we remember are hard to find and they are not in production. There is also those who buy a ton of kits at bulk in japan and try to sell them online for a quick profit. Fortunately the stores that sell them are cracking down on them so that everyone can get theirs but I can image its a hassle. Its very shocking to see this. This may be a phase that is happening now and hopefully that can start up gunpla production on kits that I hope everyone can get. I got that SD kit from P-bandai and lately I have a feeling Bandai is focusing on PB kits more then regular kits. We will have to wait till the fall to see what comes out and get the gundam train rolling. You should go to gundam planet here in NJ. You will not be disappointed!

[@joeyangelo25]

I went to the Gundam Base in Odaiba last March and it was almost the same back then, very limited selections. None even at least one from my HG list to buy is available… I ended up buying simply a Infinite Justice Type II cutting mat… I bought most of my Gundam stuffs, Unicorn Gundam acrylic stand, towel, desk mat, pen in the Gundam Base store just beside where the Unicorn Gundam is standing. Kinda disappointing not to be able to take home a single HG kit (that I want) at least on my very first Japan trip but hopefully next time, there will be more out there… Nevertheless, it was a dream come true for me to see the Unicorn Gundam upfront in the Gundam Base 😄

[@Dornogol]

Sad for you, and especially shocked to see your videos from Gundam Base Tokyo, I am in Tokyo right now and can say, while not all, but almost all of the shelves of Gundam Base yre stocked fully, so you may have caught a very bad time to travel there. HOWEVER that does not mean the selection is too big, there is an abundance of some kits, like hundreds of the same, but the good stuff all gone. Only RX78 1/60 for examole while akk the other displayed ones were out of stock, i will go to akihabara next week so gonna see how it looks at yodabashi there etc. But most kits I bought so far came from Mandarake (although they are a bit expensive for my taste, only got 2 kits there) and especially different BookOffs, which had very good prices on many unopened Boxes. Hobby shops like Yellow Submarine also have a decent selection atm, although yes, you can modtly find newer kits in thestores and older ones in the secondhand stores only, even most of Witch from Mercury I only got through Book Off, Gundam Base for example had only like 3 different kits. The Gundam Base Exclusivesfor example are all stocked there though.

[@zulleali1597]

Same here

[@aaaaaaaaooooooo]

It’s been this way here forever (a few years), but I hadn't checked recently (I've been away from Gunpla for a while) and thought things were getting better. I didn't know even Gundam Base had so many empty shelves.

[@halozidia]

Was in Japan last October and had the same experience, went to so many Yodobashis in both Tokyo and Osaka, as well as Bic Cameras, Mandarakes, and many smaller shops and the situation was dire... Practically the same few kits in all of them.

[@alyssum28]

Also recently came back from trip and had the same reaction when visiting Yodobashi Akiba and Gundam Base Tokyo. Luckily I was in Sendai earlier on the itinerary and their Gundam Base branch had a lot more stock, managed to get one.

[@BurpleRX7]

It was the same in January, even at the base. I think they are trying to clear old stock ready for the new releases coming up

[@UnOrigionalOne]

The Yen conversion rate has everything to do with it. Lots of tourists picking the shelves clean of old stock. Also lots of business motivation to ship more units over seas.

[@ginsu85]

From what I heard from my local store they're gearing up to release more kits that are compatable with each other so that it's easier to swap pieces between kits since they're working on Gunpla Battle VR. I'm not sure if that has to do with why Gundam Base doesn't have a lot of kits right now but it could be one of many.

[@ISuckAtAirbrushing]

The same problem was happening in Korea. My favorite hobby store used to be mainly gunpla. Now it’s a tiny section. The gundam base was also empty. Luckily the last time I went to the GB it was fully stocked. Hopefully when I visit Japan it won’t be that empty.

[@gundamfiloz586]

I had the same experience last July 2023 , empty shelves in Gundam Base , Mandarake etc, really was disappointed , Hopefully this October trip will be different

[@omegashenron8]

I wondered why second hand web stores I usually shop at Iike mandarake seemed to be having much less stock than compared to a couple of years ago and stuff I used to be able to come across easily have gotten harder to come by. I guess this explains why..

[@raulfernandogarzagomez6102]

I'm not really into model kits (i own some dragon ball and gundam ones) but next time you should try EDION, I went last month to the store in Kyoto and it was full of gundam kits and also tons of dragon ball kits, I bought there perfect cell and android 18 model kits. There is one in Tokyo in Akihabara, so next time maybe try there too.

[@carloscarbajal5755]

I was there last month, guess I got lucky getting the 3 models I need. I did buy one in DenDen town.

[@frigger8816]

I went to Osaka on 16 May - 21 May 2024 with the purpose of buying the gunpla in mind (especially the PG Unicorn / Banshee and MGEX Strike freedom). But when I was there I barely saw gunpla on the shelves. At first I thought may be I went to the wrong place. However after so may store visited (Yodobashi, Madarake, Jungle, Joshin Super Kids Land, Edion, Volks, BIC Camera, Yamada Denki LABI1). I realized that they barely have gunpla in their shelves !!!. I even hardly found PG on the shelves. The only PG that I found are Zeta and Strike Rouge. At the end of the day my only choice was buying some P-Bandai with the resales price or I won't get anything at all. Madarake and Jungle are the only places that I found some interesting P-Bandai kit.

[@aaaaaaaaooooooo]

I wish Bandai could run some kind of web site similar to P-Bandai where registered users can order at least one copy of every release or re-release. They would keep printing batches until every order is served. You would pick up the kits you ordered in registered model kit shops so that it would help the local shops as well.

[@MasqueradePW]

I'm amazed that gunpla is getting harder and harder to find nowadays; even huge US retailers struggle to stock MGs especially. Not to mention that the EU marketplace is dry as a bone! You're lucky to find HGUC kits at all in some places. I'm hoping this is just Bandai trying to phase out older kits with polycaps and replace them with newer, polycap-free kits but who knows?

[@cake756]

The low stock situation has been like that for a while. I was in Tokyo in May 2023 and it was already like that. And that wasn't just Gunpla. Even military kits were like that too.

[@user-zh9oy2sq2z]

来年は大阪に来てくださいね😊在庫の状況も変わってると思います✨いろいろ案内してあげたいですね😊

[@ZAKU-GD]

It could be possible that since the U.S. dollar is doing actually quite well in Japan atm something around 154.70 to 1 U.S dollar Exchange rate that maaayybe some of the wealthy locals and or tourists were taking advantage of this Economic spike?

[@CombatChanSgt]

Dam, Tokyo Gundam Base last year was still pack. This year I went to specialty hobby store to look around and surprisingly they have rare and limited edition gunpla's. Kyoto Gundam base is smaller than the one in Tokyo, so limited selection.

[@WilliamPena-dp4cv]

Hi Meli welcome back. I just got to Jacksonville a couple of months ago. What is your local store to get kits? I have been looking for one around. Also, I should be in Japan around November, hope everything is back in stoke then.

[@Gunplameli]

Orlando photo and hobby

[@joshuahensley9395]

I stopped building for a couple years, go the MG verka zeta and loved it. Oh man what other cool MGs has bandia made since I've been gone?! Oh this one and the narrative ver ka..... Well I guess I'll just step away for 2 more years and check back...

[@PepinHello]

Not many restock of older products lately, that's what happening. There's a wider series of products as of late so restocking is mostly the latest things as they are selling super fast. There are also way more figurise models nowadays than a couple years ago. Last but not least, the SD frame series seems to have been discontinued as there hasn't been a single new release in almost a year at least that I can remember.

[@sebreno2064]

I was in Japan 5y ago and Yodobashi akiba was full of gunpla kits I brought back models within 2 dedicated suitcases, enough to fill up my car trunk. I was there a year ago and... Exactly as you described. Shelves empty, very few models and mainly the lastest ones. Instead many new macross models were out and I happily bought macross and ghibli models instead but it was very weird to not have this whole section of gunpla available but replaced. It was not empty it was just... not sold anymore. yodobashi has terminated the gunpla hype, why I dont know but it is a fact.

[@mdsupa]

On March 22nd I was at Odaiba and the shelves were exactly just like on your vid (not sure when you film yours). This was my first trip to Japan and I was disappointed. (Yokohama last days were empty as well). Mandarake and Yodobashi were disappointment when I was there too. I wonder why.

[@cameroncorrosive925]

the kits on HLJ have been this way for months as well. i guess over the past few weeks it has been better but the kits coming in are a little lackluster.

[@taloscurze5826]

I know the feeling. Sometimes, I buy something just because I'm there and hate being empty-handed. Guess it's time to customize more.

[@Tazer_Silverscar]

Based on HLJ, I've noticed the CSSDs have been out of stock since about November of last year. They also do not stock the frames either. You might have had better success looking somewhere like Mandarake (since they do second hand stuff that's usually in very good nick), but I'm not sure. Akihabara is I think one of the places that you'd have to be really lucky because well, it's the main place geeks tend to go to for this kind of thing. Odaiba's a bit of a trek, but it might have been worth looking there too. Okay, you went to Gundam Base ^^; Holy sh- I have NEVER seen this so empty. Goddamn... Okay, you went to Mandarake too X'D I think it depends on the location though, there's Mandarakes in numerous locations, I think you were just out of luck with that one. Sadly I'm fairly sure BB Senshi are not compatible with CS :( That last store is I think one of those collectors specialist places, they're always marked up :( The display cases are all second hand stuff, you'll see they also have prices on them, and they're usually on the high end even if they don't have a box. The clothes are always limited time things, you'll find they are stupidly hard to get unless you're really lucky and willing to blow A LOT of money.

[@oshaemurray]

My 1st vid and taking bucket list notes for when I make it to Japan.

[@Alte.Kameraden]

I heard financially the Gundam franchise hasn't actually been that profitable. Even with Gunpla propping it up. Gundam Unicorn was a big success so they invested a lot into films/OVA series which are expensive to produce. So i'm curious whether they were not 'as' successful as they wanted them to be. I know I'm not a big fan of The Origins, Hathaway's Flash or NT. Let alone Witch from Mercury, which felt like Harry Potter Gundam. That and you also have to remember that Bandai-Namco is likely in the same boat as well. It's had a lot of flops including Gundam games like Gundam Evolution which was shut down not that long ago and it was only on the market for what 1 year? Gundam Battle Operations 2 is also a mess. With both Playstation and PC players complaining about it's serious issues including stability/connection issues. Basically Bandai-Namco sucks at making games still... even for IPs that should be profitable. You know it's bad gaming wise when most people say the only real good Gundam games are on the Playstation 2 and how old is the Playstation 2? Basically Gundam is having a lot of the same issues Star Wars is having. Just Gundam fans I don't think are as openly vocal about their criticisms of the products. As many are desperate to take what they can get, and if they don't like it they just don't buy it.

[@chamamemestre]

00:48 I wouldn't say giant, but well packed for sure ^.^

[@drift180x]

Similar supply issues have been happening with retro games and retro sports cars in Japan. I think due to it being easier than ever to export, and lots of new export services, and people being more aware, it’s drying up all supply locally (in Japan). Also the weaker yen in exchange has given more incentive to buy. I’ve also noticed things are going for more money due to increased demand.