JE related shops in Kansai area!?

[daichi369.livejournal.com]

JE Fans I really need your help! Please come and save me >"<



I will be doing an exchange program in Osaka soon! I'm desperately doing some JE related research right now about the Kansai area because I haven't been there before =[

I was wondering if Osaka or the other Kansai cities have the idol shops similar to the ones on Takeshita-dori?! (sells unofficial photos.. idol goods and the most important CONCERT TICKETS!!?)

I have been to unofficial idol shops, ticket stores, JE family club and the official JE store, BUT they were all in Tokyo T^T I was wondering if Kansai have anything like that? I'm sure people living all around Japan loves JE too... they are not only located in Tokyo right?! T_T

Also, I read from somewhere that there is an Arashi store in the Kansai area?! Does anyone know about this? Does it still exist?! *0* I would LOVE to pay a visit to that store and get my money robbed from that store~ Would totally stay in there for hours admiring things...

Please, can anyone give me some directions as I am very clueless right now >< I only know that there is a Johnny's shop in Osaka...nothing else T^T
Onegaishimasu!!! m(_ _)m

Also, if there is any fans that lives in Kansai area or even Kanto area and don't mind being friends with me ♥ I love to chat about everything, and believe me, LOL when its related to JE and arashi my tension gets really hyper! XD

This is my first time posting... I hope I tagged this post right! If I did anything wrong please let me know! >"<

Comments

[hontowa.livejournal.com]

I don't usually shop at unofficial stores, so I couldn't tell you about those, but the official JE store is pretty big and not too hard to get to.

Take the Midousuji subway line (御堂筋線) to Shinsaibashi (心斎橋). Go out of Exit #8. When you come out of the station, you'll be in front of a hotel with Daimaru department store across the street from you. Start walking to the left until you come to the very first street (it's a small allyway) and take a left on it. Follow that street until you see the JE store on the right. It should only take a couple of minutes to get there.

[ugoku-shiro.livejournal.com]

Hey! I'll be studying abroad in Osaka next semester too. I'm really curious about this.

I do remember seeing unofficial idol shops the last time I was in the Kansai area, but it was so long ago that for the life of me I can't remember exactly where.

[spurious.livejournal.com]

Other than the official JE shop, they have some JE goods (and doujinshi) at the Mandarake nearby the JE shop (about a 10-15 minute walk away, if I remember right).

I'm excited to see the other answers to this question! :D

[fallen-shadow68.livejournal.com]

I went to an unofficial shop selling goods and photos in Namba called Art Box . I don't remember exactly how to get there (I went on my first day in Osaka), but if you wander around the Namba area (not inside the department stores, but the long streets with a bunch of small shops along the sides and a ceiling overheard... I'm sorry, this is an awful description. If it helps, the bag from the store says "Osaka Bic Camera Namba 1F" and has a phone number: (06) 6632-8525.

That store had a TON of Arashi photos in various sizes, posters, uchiwa, clear files, etc. Some of the photos don't have the greatest quality, but they are cheap.

I saw another store somewhere between that Bic Camera area and Dotonbori, but again, don't know exactly where. x__x

Also, if you're in Kyoto and go to Kiyomizu-dera, before getting to the temple at the top of the hill, there's a fork in the road... if you go on the street on the left, you'll pass a bunch of souvenir shops, but there's one tiny idol store on the left. They had a good deal of clear file/button/photo for 1000 yen but I'd already blown so much money in Namba and at the Johnny's store that I passed it up. :P

This was an essay, but I hope it helped!

[shouri-yumi.livejournal.com]

Ano, what can we find at Osaka Johnny's shop?

[hontowa.livejournal.com]

Same things that are sold at all other official Johnny's stores - the official photos. They sell some other goods for other artists, but for Arashi they only carry photos.

[shouri-yumi.livejournal.com]

I see. Thanks for your information :D

[daichi369.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for your reply!
Really?! I heard that the Osaka JE store isn't that big, but it is defiantly not as crowded as the Harajuku one =)

Thanks for the detailed directions!

[daichi369.livejournal.com]

Really?! OMG we should meet up and do some fan-girling together XD watch concerts etc! hahaha I saw that Arashi will have 2 concerts beginning of Jan.. ahh I wanna go =( But its gonna be super hard to get tickets eh.. I hope we can both go watch the shows together ;)

I'm actually in a city close to Osaka :D Are you there starting from Sept as well?!

[daichi369.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for your reply! =)
Seems like there are many doujinshi goods around in Osaka XD

[daichi369.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for your essay ;) It is VERY helpful! Thanks a lot for the detailed info! ^^

haha so i guessed the one in Namba has a lot of goods! Since you have blown so much money in it! hahaha!
I look forward in going to that store too :D and of course JE store too <3

Thanks so much :D

[hontowa.livejournal.com]

Well, I wouldn't say that's entirely true. The Harajuku one used to seem a lot larger because of having two floors and carrying more merchandise. The groups were split between the two floors and the extra goods (everything other than photos) were all on the main floor. Now the basement floor is just some lame purikura thing (I think its junior related but I can't remember). All photos are on the main floor along with the much smaller selection of other goods. The Osaka shop only has one floor but all you're missing is the purikura thing. Otherwise they have the same selection of photos as the harajuku store. Other shops, like the ones in Fukuoka and Nagoya are much smaller and are slower to get the latest selection of photos.

The Osaka store can get very crowded - if you go during a holiday or while a JE group is in the middle of a tour you'll run into lines just like the harajuku store. I suggest going on a weekday during the daytime while students are in school if you can. :)

[daichi369.livejournal.com]

Ohhh i see, I actually didn't get a chance to go downstairs when I was at the Harajuku store =( but seems like i didn't miss a lot... hahaha if its just purikura =] Its weird that they have purikura there.. thought it will be more JE goods! well Jr...

ohh I will go during the weekdays during school time XD thanks for the tips! :D

[ugoku-shiro.livejournal.com]

That sounds like fun! I have one Arashi friend in Kyoto, but no friends in Osaka yet to fangirl with. :P

Which uni are you studying abroad at? I'll be at Kansai University (in the suburb of Suita) starting from September.

[daichi369.livejournal.com]

Aww that's great! you already found an Arashi friend to fangirl with! XD
I'm going to be studying in Kwansei Gakusin University, its in Nishinomiya

We aren't that far apart =) Can fangirl sometimes! =P

[ugoku-shiro.livejournal.com]

I added you as a friend; hope you don't mind! :DDD

[daichi369.livejournal.com]

Hahahaha! of course I don't mind :D

[kanaala.livejournal.com]

good question, I was interested in knowing about that as well because I'm gonna be studying in Kyôto starting next semester! so this is quite a help for me too =)

[kanaala.livejournal.com]

why is everyone studying in Ôsaka.. I have a feeling I'm gonna have a hard time finding international Arashi fans in Kyôto next semester =D

[ugoku-shiro.livejournal.com]

Kyoto and Osaka are only about half an hour away by train. There's a Johnny's Shop in Kyoto too!

[kanaala.livejournal.com]

I just hope it's not so expensive to go to Ôsaka because I guess I will go there quite often^^.
Oh, do you happen to know more about the whereabouts of that shop in Kyôto?

[ugoku-shiro.livejournal.com]

Oh no! I went to look up the address and I found out that the Kyoto shop closed down in December 2007. Sorry for the misinformation!

According to Norikae, it's about 540yen one way on the Tokaido Sanyo Rapid line. Not too bad!

[daichi369.livejournal.com]

hahaha im actually not located in Osaka as well, but its not that far for me to travel, just around 30ish min to get there so its reasonable :D

nooo you wont have a hard time finding international Arashi fans~ we are actually all located really closely XD
Can meet up sometimes in Osaka/ kyoto if you don't mind being friends with me :3

[daichi369.livejournal.com]

haha glad that this post is helpful :D
I'm so happy for everyone's help T_T such friendly replies!

there seems to be a lot of international fans studying abroad in the Kansai region this coming semester! *0* we should do a meet up once we settle in :D since we are all new to the place~it would be nice to make some friends first =) I wonder if anyone will join...

[kanaala.livejournal.com]

Ah, okay. What a pity.. haha =D

Thanks for the information! That's rather cheap indeed.