Saturday 28 May 2011

Games Workshop Japan- Jinbōchō, Tokyo

Earlier this week I visited my new local GW store. It's one of several around Tokyo, and I believe it's the biggest.
Finding the place was a little daunting the first time. Tokyo can be a bit difficult to navigate at times (They have no street signs, I can't read Japanese yet and don't have access to anything like google maps on the move anymore), so I thought I'd write up a simple guide to getting to the store for any western gamers who are visiting Japan and want to roll some dice.


GW Jinbōchō

Firstly, you want to get yourself to the Jinboucho station. There are a few ways to do this, the easiest being from Shibuya station. It's worth noting that the Jinboucho stop isn't actually on the JR line. While you can still use your rail card to get there, this means the platform isn't grouped with all the other JR line platforms, so that's something to watch out for. The line you want is called the Hanzomon line, and is colour coded purple. If you're in Shibuya near the Hachiko exit you should be able to spot the signs for it. It's a few stops away and cost me about ¥150. I believe you can also get to Jinboucho from Shinjuku, but I came at it from Shibuya.


Who says the Japanese subway is complicated?


Anyway, somehow you make it to Jinboucho. You want to take exit A5. There will be a map somewhere on the platform showing you which way to go to get out of exit A5. Once you're out on the street, there should be large crossing directly to your right, and a family mart over the road from you.


The crossing



The family Mart


Cross the road towards the family mart, turn left, and GW should be a few paces in front of you. In fact you should be able to spot it from the subway exit.


The map showing the exit you should come out on. Note all the other exits on the map, so if you come out a different one you should be able to find your way there. The store is basically under the S 06 green circle on the map.


I'll leave you with a couple of shots of the inside of the store. If you're not planning on visiting Tokyo any time soon this is probably a bit of a useless post, but don't worry! I'll update part two of my trip soon, which will be all the figures from the store. Lots to look at!


6 comments:

Javier said...

Hi Rob, I am Javier and I am living in Sendai, I play 40K, Monster Apocalypse and Warmachine. I would like to go to Tokyo and play some games. Do you have a wargamming group? this is my mail yarrick60@hotmail.com

Rob said...

Hello!
Hope everything is ok in Sendai.
I've not had any games since coming to Japan, and not found a gaming group yet either.
I'd love a game some time though!
I'll send you an email :)

Javier said...

Maybe we can play in the Games Wokshop store, I don`t know the politic here in Japan of the stores, so we can try a 1500 battle there?

AesSedai said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
AesSedai said...

Hey Rob,

Welcome to the neighborhood!

Always nice to have another DE player within walking distance O.O!

Umm, I found this blog today and suffice it to say that I'd like you to get in contact with me. Since you're just starting out in Japan, I'm sure I can be a valuable resource for you and your girlfriend. Jobs, housing, entertainment, everything! I know Setagaya-Ku fairly well too. Don't hesitate to email...my girlfriend is Japanese, so if you need language assistance (and you will) no problem.

Unknown said...

Hey Rob,
Are you still in Tokyo?
I've been here about 11 years and haven't done any mini gaming since coming. Work, family, blah blah blah.
My son recently expressed interest in learning Necromunda (one of the few games I still have anything left for as I sold off/gave away almost all my minis before moving here...). So now I'm hoping to get back into it. First ill need to get my necro gangs operational, then I may start building a new 40k force (ugh... Starting over from scratch...).
Anyhow, if you're still in town, send me a mail!
Jamey_fukunaga@yahoo.com

Jamey