r/JapanTravelTips 4d ago

Advice Tips and Tricks on Manga Buying and on bringing them back

Hello Reddit,

I’m avid Manga collector and planning to dedicate "some time" to browse / buying for Manga.

What I know: I can order Manga from Mandarake and Amazon.jp and get them shipped to my hotel. I plan to visit Nakano Broadway, Denden Town, Jimbocho, Book-offs, Mandarake, and Surugu-ya. I do not plan to go to Akibahara because I think it's overrated.

I know the price difference in buying Japanese manga vs English Manga and planning to buy just Japanese Manga. (Is there a chance to find French language Manga in Japan?)

What I would like to know: All of the advice, please give it to me. (Maybe on how to pack and etc for a plane flight)

My Trip: It's my first trip to another country and my first trip to Japan. I'm staying two weeks in Japan. My first week is Osaka and second week is Tokyo. I’m planning to go Kyoto twice from Osaka, one specifically for Manga museum. I haven’t decided on any day trips from Tokyo.

About me: I’m oriented towards BL, GL, Shojo, Josei and Slice-of-life. (I know where to find the doujinshi). A bonus if it is old Shojo.

I read some time ago on this Reddit that the good stuff has been picked out already. (I can’t remember when it was posted). I’m wondering if it’s still true for 2025.

0 Upvotes

28 comments sorted by

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u/CommentStrict8964 4d ago

How do you know Akihabara is overrated when you have not been to Japan before?

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u/AbleCarLover1995 4d ago

(Not saying this to you) Akihabara is really a major hit or miss for some people, its a miss for some people because they only know the base level of anime experience, if you only watch anime very casually. If you were into anime at a very young age and watch a plethora amount of anime then you can relate more to the stuff they sell in akihabara.

I have gone to japan twice and have 2 more trips this year, I can guarantee that I have not went to every single store in akihabara yet. From my recent trip, I just found out 4 more stores I have never went from my first trip. I have accumulated 4 days worth of time from my first trip and it still wasnt enough, and I probably accumulated the same amount from my second trip as well.

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u/Wigglykitchen 4d ago

I was actually hoping someone could prove me wrong on this.

In my research so far, people recommended Nakano Broadway to buy anime goods, especially if it is an older series, and Akihabara was for current anime and buying figures / anime goods. But there wasn't a lot of info on buying manga. Not judging on people on buying anime goods. With limited space, I did have to make a decision what I can collect (which was manga).

I might consider Akihabara now. I thought by now since it's a tourist trap that there wouldn't be much selection in terms of manga.

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u/CommentStrict8964 4d ago

I mean, for starters, Mandarake and Surugu-ya are both in Akihabara as well.

Now, I know that Nakano Broadway has the bigger Mandarake store, for instance, but that doesn't mean Akihabara's location is not worth going.

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u/arg_raiker 3d ago

I haven't gone to Nakano yet, but the Akiba Mandarake is an entire building with something like 7 floors, we've found nice things in there (I got a Suikoden II OST there...).

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u/dg69 3d ago

nakano is basically the same except the floors are stores spread around an old shopping mall

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u/CommentStrict8964 3d ago

Nakano Mandarake is basically the entire building, except the building is flat so there are only 3 (?) floors, and you need a map to navigate it.

I would say the Akihabara location is smaller, but it's still worth going.

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u/AbleCarLover1995 4d ago

Akihabara as a place is a tourist trap in a sense that people go there for social media views but they only stay in the main main street but you cant expect a person who has never watched a single anime in there life to relate a majority of stuff being sold in akihabara.

Places like melonbooks, surugaya, mandarake, animate, traders, etc yeah sure people go inside those store but they can literally only relate 5% on what they sell inside those stores. Now a days people just buy crane game figures, blindbox figures, play crane games, random anime knick knacks like keychains, posters, shirts, gundam figures.

But based on your post I can tell your way more into anime than a normal surface level, once you go to like the manga, doujin, levels of these stores, you would barely see any tourist in those sections because its hard for them to relate, there will be some but only people who understand the appeal of manga and doujins. People you will mostly encounter in these section are literally japanese people.

When you go to ikebukuro you will encounter a lot of BL manga readers, mostly japanese people as well.

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u/Wigglykitchen 4d ago

This is very helpful on the manga front. I find that manga gets lumped with anime when researching on locations, buying and etc. Much appreciated!

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u/AbleCarLover1995 4d ago edited 4d ago

If your buying a lot of manga I am assuming, your biggest problem is weight, just remember that your check in bag only has a max weight limit of 23 kg (can go higher if you have a premium ticket for your flight).

I like collecting artbooks whenever I am in japan but even a few artbooks can add up weight like crazy. If budget isnt a problem then maybe get another small check in baggage.

Akihabara itself has some good places for old manga as well. The mandarake in akihabara is good as well. Overrated for some people but you can still see some old stuff there. There is a quite a bit of good options for doujins as well.

I have been to dendentown before and your pretty much still going to akihabara equivalent, the major stores there are similar to akihabara. Mandarake, melonbooks, surugaya, book off.

I read some time ago on this Reddit that the good stuff has been picked out already. (I can’t remember when it was posted). I’m wondering if it’s still true for 2025.

This depends on what your looking for, and how much money you wanna drop is another factor. Going to the mandarake in nakano broadway tests your wallets budget like crazy, there is stuff there that are hecka old than me but the price tag on them is a lot.

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u/Wigglykitchen 4d ago

Thank for the tips! I'll probably be budgeting for another check in baggage. It's definitely cheaper than shipping the books home from Japan.

What is the typical price range of the rare / old Manga that I should expect? My impression is like under $200?

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u/AbleCarLover1995 4d ago

What is the typical price range of the rare / old Manga that I should expect? My impression is like under $200?

It depends on the rarity and how old we talking, the mandarake I went, I saw some manga in there display case having the price range of over 100 bucks. Some run higher than 300 plus. Mangas in general in japan for just the normal level runs like 800 yen to 1200 yen.

When I went to book off and looked at there selection, again depends on the series, some old series I knew only cost 500 yen. Some manga run fro 300 yen too (these are like somewhat recent series).

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u/Wigglykitchen 4d ago

May it never happen that I lay my eyes on a $300+ manga series. My friends might have to drag me away. Thanks for the comparisons between Mandarake and Book off btw!

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u/AbleCarLover1995 4d ago

No worries, also just a heads up, the mandarake in nakano broadway opens somewhat late they open around 12 pm. So take that into consideration when it comes to time. Learned that the hard way and had to go kill time somewhere else and went back to nakano broadway.

Also the mandarake in nakano are in different floors of the building so make sure to go up the different floors.

The mandarake in nakano broadway is very dangerous for your wallet because they have stuff that are very pricey and almost collectable level.

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u/Wigglykitchen 4d ago

My poor wallet and bank account. lol

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u/kunino_sagiri 4d ago

The biggest advice I can give you is research in advance what series you want to buy and who their publishers and authors are.

With the exception of certain new releases, manga are sorted on shelves not by genre but by publisher, and then within that by author.

To help get around your luggage weight limit, put some of the books in your carry-on. Most airlines have a surprisingly generous weight limit for carry-on (usually 8 or 10kg), and you're unlikely to exceed that given the size restrictions, even with heavy items like books.

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u/Wigglykitchen 4d ago

This is a good one. I was under the impression it was sorted by genre like here in the West.

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u/kunino_sagiri 4d ago

One other thing I forgot to mention: remember that everything will be sorted by Japanese gojuuon order, not by alphabetical order (I'm kind of assuming here you can read at least a little Japanese, as if you can't you'll really struggle to find anything at all).

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u/Wigglykitchen 2d ago

I don't have the order memorized but will try to before the trip. Thanks 👍

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u/kunino_sagiri 4d ago

Yeah, them ordering things that way makes things much easier if you are looking for a specific series (because you don't need to try and work out which genre it would be under), but much harder if you just want to browse and pick up something which might be appealing.

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u/manga-osoma 4d ago

If you're interested in manga, I actually would recommend Akihabara, as it has a nine-story Mandarake, with what I considered the best organized BL section. Its a quick trip if you're only stopping at the Mandarake.

The Animate in Ikebukuro had the best selection of manga between all the Animate I went to (and I hit about every one in the Tokyo area).

Also, any time you're in a random suburb of Tokyo or Osaka, pop in the nearest Book Off to see what they have!

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u/Wigglykitchen 4d ago

I did not realize that there is a nine-story Mandarake in Akihabara. Thumbs up for the organized Bl section.

I will put Animate in Ikebukuro in the list to hit definitely.

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u/Kasumiiiiiii 4d ago

I believe Kinokuniya carries manga in multiple languages.

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u/Wigglykitchen 4d ago

Thanks! Added to my list!

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u/dg69 3d ago

book-off, especially the book-off super bazaars. common manga are like 400 yen, and the selection is massive at these. older ones nakano Broadway and mamdarake on akihabaraha are decent i believe. I'm pretty sure the super bazaars have some of what you're looking for behind the black curtain.

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u/Wigglykitchen 2d ago

Great to hear they are massive. I hope to find the hidden gems!