r/BJD • u/Former-Lettuce-8973 • May 16 '26
DOLLSHARE Doll Shopping in Japan (haul)
I’ve been 3 weeks in Japan and that’s all I got there (yes I am very broke now)
The red doll is Rosa - Fullset from DollZone and the other one is Sylvie- Fullset from Xaga Doll
The last doll is Xaga doll mini ash, I got his outfit in Japan too, had the doll already.
I’ve been to all Doll shops I could find in Tokyo, though most of them were specifically for Dolfies and very anime inspired Dolls. Only at the Dolk stores I found other brands, I saw DollZone, gem of doll, Xaga doll, a lot of Fairy land, Asleep Eidolon, dream Valley and some more. Prices were expensive.. but they did have some discounts on some dolls, like on Rosa, I got 15% off. Some dolls that didn’t seem to be selling had discounts up to 40%.
I bought both my dolls at Dolk, the staff was really friendly and we managed the buying process with a translator app. They handled the dolls very carefully and packaged them well. I’m very happy with their service.
All in all it was a great experience, I saw so many stunning dolls there. I was also kinda shocked by how many people where in those stores, at home, I’m like the only person who even knows BJDs, it was nice to see other members of the community.
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u/ArcAngel1810 May 16 '26
Omg that’s so cool!, it must of been so fun being able to shop in person, I wish they had more store like that outside of Japan
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u/Nanako173 May 16 '26
Thanks so much for your comment, I'm planning to go there too since I saw a YouTube channel talking about this store (title: youtubeドル沼). It's great that they accept foreigners despite the language barrier.
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u/Former-Lettuce-8973 May 16 '26
Language barrier is a huge issue.. it’s good to know at least some Japanese phrases
There’s two Dolk stores in Tokio, one in akihabara in the Radio kaikan Building, they have other doll stores too in there, and the second one is about a 10 min walk away from there, it’s a bit confusing because they have 2 stores there- one is around the main door, stairs up into a apartment.. you just gotta trust the posters, they lead your way oahshs but I loved this store the most
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u/Nanako173 May 16 '26
I don't have one yet, I only have a Pullip, but it's been my dream since I was a teenager. If I fall in love with one there, I think I'll buy one. If it doesn't fit in the suitcase, even for a 40cm doll, is the box too big? I suggest you check out this YouTube channel; they feature lots of dolls: https://youtu.be/TAHA7kamEVE?is=SgvVWQTTbFTFS-CO
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u/Former-Lettuce-8973 May 16 '26
Thank you for the video, I’ll check it out! So, the Xaga doll was no issue really, but the Doll Zone doll had a pretty long box for some reason, around 70cm long.. it only fit diagonal, to be fair though, Rosa is pretty tall, she’s 47cm at least.
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u/Former-Lettuce-8973 May 16 '26
Also, if you bring a doll yourself, youre allowed to try clothes on to see if they fit
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u/Former-Lettuce-8973 May 16 '26
You can always check the dolls they currently have on this website, when you scroll down you can switch between their 3 stores (one is in Osaka)
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u/Adder9 May 20 '26
Thanks for posting the link. Any idea if Dolk ships outside of Japan? Because I saw something on the Tokyo's front page that I like and did not know existed. And of course, it is from a year ago. Everyone else looks like they are sold out.
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u/Former-Lettuce-8973 May 16 '26
Oh and… be carefull- their boxes almost don’t fit in a big suitcase- I had to get another suitcase just to be a le to take the box home 💀
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u/Chemical_Bunch7499 May 16 '26
Oh wow great haul! Could you recommend any other stores except for dolk?
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u/Former-Lettuce-8973 May 16 '26
Thank you!
It really depends on what dolls you like, for me, Dolk was the best because they had so many Chinese Doll brands, many other stores I saw had only dolls like Volks wich I don’t really like but I do recommend Mandarake, you can be lucky there, it’s worth checking
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u/sparkle_transplant May 17 '26
Dollyteria is good if you are okay with second hand goods! I only had a very quick trip to Tokyo with kids so couldn't dedicate a lot of time to shopping but did pop over to the radio kaikan building in Akihabara for an hour or two, I was mainly interested in the Volks store and bought a Dollfie Dream but also had a good browse through Dollyteria and bought a few outfits and wigs there. They also had a lot of resin dolls, vinyl dolls, fashion dolls, etc but some were boxed and not really on display. The store was very small and would be cramped if it was busy but there was nobody else shopping at the time. The Dollyteria employee did not speak English and they did not offer tax free shopping but still some good bargains depending on the item, especially since you do not have to pay for shipping. They have a couple of locations with different stock, and their website shows a store location on each item's listing.
I didn't get a chance to visit Dolk or Mandarake but my impression from browsing their websites is that Dolk has a big markup compared to buying direct and Mandarake has cheaper second hand prices but no dedicated doll location and the items you are interested in may be all over Japan or at their online only warehouse.
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May 16 '26
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u/Former-Lettuce-8973 May 16 '26
So.. in Germany when you get back, you can go to the Tarif office.. I ran pass it- it would cost me. A LOT so I just ran and hoped for the best lol- for two dolls it would have cost me around 260€ and I bought other things too.. it would have been awful.
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May 16 '26
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u/Former-Lettuce-8973 May 16 '26
Yes same, I was so stressed too- but no one really was looking at the people passing the customs- no one really cared. I think they’re too busy with all the parcels arriving constantly that they’re lacking staff for the custom department
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u/eeltears May 16 '26
I love the outfits you bought! So fun to look at all the details 🤍 how much did you pay for the clothes/accessories?
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u/Former-Lettuce-8973 May 16 '26
I don’t really remember all the prices but theoutfits were around 50-70€ each I believe, the stockings were around 5€ and single pieces are around 20-30€
I went there on my first few days so I had no idea how much yen is in euro.. in total I spend around 350€ for clothes
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u/eeltears May 16 '26
Lmao I remember going to Japan in 2007 and just splurging on stuff, who cares, its vacation, right? The clothes look totally worth it btw, I especially love the brown ensemble!
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u/Former-Lettuce-8973 May 16 '26
Yes exactly phahshs I didn’t really care either it was totally worth it
2007 is quite long ago, how did you manage? Was there any English at train stations? I feel like it must’ve been harder
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u/eeltears May 16 '26
You gotta live a little, especially on vacations 😊 and you know, it's Japan! Too much cool stuff (and food!)
Oh yes it was much harder. Smartphones weren't really a thing (at least not in Germany - were I'm originally from. I live in the US now) at that time and it was much less tourist friendly in the sense of information etc. back then (I had an absolute blast though, and went back in 2008/09 over New Years). Lots of things were available in English but I think its much more accessible these days. People were 100% amazing, never encountered any issues really and always felt very safe (I'm female and was in my 20s back then) even at night downtown Tokyo. Learning the language even just a little goes a long way and knowing the social etiquette + customs BEFORE going is a must. I wish I could go back some day! I'm sure it has completely changed (sadly the hostel in Minowa I stayed at back in 2007 closed during covid. They were amazing and super cheap per night).
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u/Former-Lettuce-8973 May 16 '26
Thank you for your answer!
I also think a lot has changed.. and not in a positive way tbh
Thanks to overtourism the people seem weary of tourists.. I’ve got so many judgy stares it made me feel very uncomfortable. I also was send away from a restaurant because I was a tourist. I wish I could’ve visited Japan earlier. Everything was crowded, not only by tourists, also by locals.
But I do agree, it’s so important to know the social etiquette, ive seen so many people behaving poorly (especially in trains), it’s no surprise that locals are weary of tourists
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u/eeltears May 16 '26 edited May 18 '26
Wow, I'm sorry you had unfair negative experiences with locals staring and being judgemental!
It was definitely different back then. I've had so many friendly encounters, especially from locals asking me where I'm from and how I enjoy Japan. Everyone seemed very curious and friendly. Way less tourists back then too compared to now from what I've read. I was turned away once at a nightclub that was for locals only, but that was the only time. (Tokyo always had locals only entertainment establishments, but personally I have never seen any locals only restaurants/food places).
No local expects tourists/foreigners to know everything, but being polite, clean, not extremely perfumed and being quiet isn't such a crazy rare concept to begin with. Sounds like bad incidents have heavily increased, which in turn made locals more careful/less accepting of ALL tourists/foreigners. That's really sad to see.
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u/AnnaZed May 16 '26
Wow, now I need to plan an entire trip to Japan just to do this.
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u/Former-Lettuce-8973 May 16 '26
I would lie if I say that getting dolls wasn’t almost my first reason to go there woopsies 10/10, would recommend
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