Hey folks... I'm from Canada, and I'm heading to Manhattan for the week. I was wondering if anyone can tell me where the best spots for toys are in the city. I know there aren't a lot of big stores, though I remember there's a downtown Toys R Us... (address anyone?). I'd love to know of any special boutiques that would have cool stuff, especially neato Japanese robot toys?, but also any notable Chinatown spots to pick up cool KO TFs and such? Thanks for any recommendations! zmog
I was just there for NYCC. Here is where I would recommend. Toy Tokyo (just google it they are easy to get to) When you go, stop by next door to Pomme Frittes. Fantastic Belgian Fries. Order the following: Garlic Rosemary Mayo, Curry Ketchup, and Wasabi mayo. Very tasty. Image Anime (a little on the expensive side but has a lot of imported stuff) Muji (japanese stationary boutique shop) Kinokuniya (japanese book store) Book Off (used japanese book store) Go-Go Curry (if you like Japanese curry GO HERE!!!!!) Kid Robot and Giant Robot if you like urban vinyl.
Thanks! That's a good start. Oddly enough, I'm really looking forward to the Pomme Frittes, even though there are a few places in Montreal that specialize in belgian fries. Or maybe I'm just really hungry right now. zmog
You might want to also ask around in the New York sightings thread. There is bound to be tons of New Yorkers in there... http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-sightings/86058-new-york-transformers-sightings.html
That TRU is in Times Square, by the way. Midtown Comics is a couple blocks away as well, if you're interested.
I'm originally from NYC, but I live in Rochester NY now, so I can think of a few besides those already mentioned. Village comics. 118 W 3rd St, New York, NY 10012 Good Fortune Gifts 32 mott st china town Forbidden Planet 840 Broadway (between 12th St & 13th St) Jim Hanley's Universe Manhattan 4 W 33rd St And the Toys r us flag store 1514 Broadway, Times SQ There are a dozen little shops in China Town I could show you where you could get ko's and other Japanese toys but I cant remember the address. 2 of them are on Mott streat about a block away from Canal street. And if you do go to China town I can give you the name of the best resturant there. I had diner with Jay Leno there once.........and P Diddie I'm planning to go back soon to visit my mother in queens.....how are you going????Driving?????
We're bussing it down from Montreal, staying in Chelsea. I'm there for 5 days, and don't have any plans beyond hitting the major galleries. The Canadian dollar's not very strong on the exchange right now, but I was thinking I might be able to find some cool stuff, if I know where to look. zmog
If you want to go some place famous there is F.A.O Schwartz on Fifth Avenue near East 58th Street. Not sure if they have a good transformers selection though.
Is FAO Schwartz still open? I thought I heard something a while back about them closing their doors? zmog
hahah The FAO in NYC is where i picked up my first Gen 2 toys aalong with some aliens toys like the queen alien.. Midtown comics is a must see.. two stores not far from each other one on 200w 40th street corner of 7th one on 459 lexington Avenue corner of 45th
i've lived in manhattan all my life...i can tell you right now there's a lot of stores that were around 15 years ago that aren't there now. anyway stovokor gave some good suggestions...however the shops on mott in chinatown aren't there anymore, they have been replaced by computer/electronics stores. you can try zakka in DUMBO (brooklyn), i'm a huge godzilla fan and the shop owner used to import vintage stuff form japan for me. There's also a japanese toy shop on st. mark's bet 2nd and 1st, near toy tokyo and pomme frites, not sure if the japanese toy shop is still there though. For vintage g1 try going to Love Saves the Day, it's two doors down from toy tokyo but the prices are not cheap. Image anime is another spot, but again not cheap. There's another anime-related shop near there...can't remember where though. Going back to chinatown, there are toy shops on elizabeth street (next street east after mott). There are also shops in the underground shopping center there...i would go there and ask around where you can find some transformers, as the toy stores in chinatown have been closing down over the past few years.
I think your thinking about "The Wah Kue" which was on Mott and closed down about 2 or 3 years ago. Good Fortune Gifts which is on 32 Mott street is still open and as a matter of fact I just called and confirmed. phone number is 212-962-7981 Ask for Danny And I know at least 1 of the shops I used to get ko's at on Mott is still open.
I've done business with Image Anime in the past throught their website but I know they have a physical store in NYC which looks promising. Their prices seem kinda high though and with the Canadian dollar in the tank right now I would be more inclined to buy closer to home if you can.
Sadly that is no longer possible. When i was there, for the weekend of NYCC, I walked past them on my way to toy tokyo. Love saves the day is closed down. for good.
Hey guys... thanks for all the info! I'm posting from NYC right now... Chinatown was kind of a wash out... I didn't see ANY interesting KO toys... only the same damn remolded Power Rangers 4 pack at every damn store. DVD selections were also pretty weak, especially compared to the asian cinema smorgasbords in Toronto's Chinatown. Good Fortune gifts is good if you're looking for Masterpiece figures or high-end 12 inch action figures. They have a LOT of those, but not much else. I did actually luck out and find the shops on Elizabeth all by myself (including the secret underground mall for asian teenagers ). They had a lot of cool stuff, though not much that I was looking for. Prices were a bit high, especially with the Canadian dollar sucking so bad... we have a great place at home in Montreal for Gundams and other Japanese toys, which I'm realizing has spoiled me a bit. However, I did pick up the new wave of Marvel Crossovers by total luck in Williamsburg... I saw them at insane mark-up prices at a few comic stores around Manhattan, and had pretty much given up on finding a good selection for a good price. Then while I was waiting for my girlfriend outside a trendy vintage boutique, I happened to notice that the pharmacy I was standing right in front of had Universe Cheetor in their window display. I went in and Wham! All of the new wave of Crossovers. How random! So yeah, that was my biggest lucky find. Woot. zmog
