Shizuoka Hobby Show 5/16 to 5/17

General Discussion
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I am finally going to the annual Shizuoka Hobby Show, a bucket list destination of mine. My friends and I were all ready with airline tickets and hotel reservations back in 2020, but plans got scuttled because of COVID.

The Shizuoka show is the biggest hobby trade show in Japan, and the model clubs have displays that border on insanity. On top of that, there will be the Modeler’s Flea Market, not at the venue but nearby.

If anyone here on the forum is planning to go, let me know and maybe we can hook up for lunch or something. We will be at the show on Saturday.

One of my friends wanted to go to the Yamato Museum in Kure after the show, as they have just reopened after an extensive renovation.

This is going to be a whirlwind trip, as I want to also see my relatives in Chiba when we return to Tokyo. It’s gonna be crazy, and I’m gonna get in my 20,000+ steps per day!

And yes, I will take photos and file a report.

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Looking forward to the photo report

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Please Post Pics So We Can Live Vicariously Through You!

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I will try to get more comprehensive coverage this time. When I went to the All Japan Model Show in 2024, I just took pics of what I was interested in, missing a large number of new releases.

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Ha ha, MAJOR FAILURE. The Shizuoka show was so crowded that it made it impossible to see the Bandai area. They had their space cordoned off to restrict entry to a single point and were only letting in so many people at a time. The line to get in extended out the building exit and I estimate it would have taken me nearly an hour to get in. And the INSIDE was packed like sardines in a can. The hordes of zombie-like Bandai fans seemed to just stand there and gawk. I took one look at the line and just gave up - I know what I like and know what I will be buying. Still, it would have been nice to see them up close (the Kazuhisa Kondo Gerara Dogas and the weird Gkwaaaax Hambrabi).

I had to console myself by just looking at the paint line that was designed for the Kondo Geara Dogas. Nobody standing around gawking here, blocking the view. Actually, there was little to no traffic at this display.

I only bought a Takom T28 from the Beaver Corporation stand, which had a lot of models on sale. With those stupid tariffs and exorbitant shipping costs, I figured this was the best way to get the bulky beast of a kit. At around $55, it was a good price.

I’ll do a more in-depth writeup when I have rested a bit.

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I am going next year. I heard its crazy busy and to get there very early.

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Jafo, if this is your first time, I suggest NOT getting there early. You will be stuck standing in a long line before the doors open. Wait until an hour or two after opening, when there are no lines to get in. The inside of the place will be jam-packed no matter when you arrive, so that cannot be helped.

The Bandai area is the only place where you have to get in line to see their stuff. The other popular manufacturers are way more accessible by comparison.

If you can, skip the long line for the city bus and catch a taxi. It costs around ¥1,500 ($10) each way, but it is way more comfy than standing jammed into a crowded, lurching bus. The taxi stand is on the opposite side of the train station (the south side). The bus IS cheap at ¥220, but there’s that long line and packed bus. And it is 30 minutes to the show from Shizuoka Station.

I hope you deal with crushing crowds better than me!

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Thanks for the heads up!

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No problemo. Oh, and if you have not been to Japan before, it is critically important to wear your comfy walking shoes! We averaged 14,000 steps on a good day, 22,000 steps on “death march” days. :scream:

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I am a lazy butt, so I cut and pasted this from another forum:

I have been tardy with photos from the show - my apologies! A friend took more photos of the aircraft, armor, auto, and ship stuff, and I will post them when we have had time to merge our pics (we all split up and went different directions after the show).

Shizuoka 2026 Hobby Show | Flickr

I don’t think there were any bombshell announcements. The only really new things I noticed were the Tamiya chrome paints, the Aoshima 1/72 fully transformable VF-11B Thunderbolt from “Macross Plus”, and the Kaiyodo Artpla King Gidorah.

Here is a sampling of the club displays.

Shizuoka 2026 Club Displays | Flickr

I obviously have a thing for the Miyazaki Modeling Club, as they had a bunch of scratchbuilt models from “Nausicaa.” I also spent some time at the Masahiro Doi Tank and Diorama Modeling Work Class, as I was hoping to catch a friend from Mexico, who was recently inducted into the club. The whitewashed Tiger I is his model. Unfortunately, it was around 12:30 pm, so everyone was out to lunch. But we DID run into him at Kure, when we visited the Yamato Museum! Last night, I was watching a video on YouTube of the clubs and know that I missed a LOT of them when I skimmed through the area.

And here are two hobby shops that stood out on my trip.

Japan Trip 2026 Hobby Shops | Flickr

Canary-Ya, located near Shizuoka Station to the north, is arguably the smallest hobby shop on the planet. It is basically the size of the door you enter through. Go in, stop, look forward. See the really old kits piled on the shelves. Look left, see more old kits. Look right and there is a fully stocked rack of wargaming paints. And that’s it. You can’t go into the back because that’s where they make the crepes that they sell out the front window. Yes, it is a hobby shop and a crepe cafe!

Malta Hobby is located in Kure, on the south side of Kure Station. This is an old-fashioned hobby shop, the kind that was common in Japan back in the 1980-1990 era. Model kits are piled on the floor and head for the ceiling. Unfortunately, if something interests you that is on the lowest shelf, you will need to move the kits and cardboard boxes that block it. And if you want that kit at the top of the pile, you will need to ask for assistance in the form of a stepladder. And this is EVERYWHERE in the store. No kidding. The people running the shop are nice, which is never a bad thing. They also have an orange tabby cat who has obviously suffered too much attention from visitors, as he just lies there pretending he is dead, in the hope that the annoying people will just get tired and go away.

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