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16Apr/1056

Holiday in HK: Bargain-hunting for ABJDs!

One of the reasons why shopaholics flock to Hong Kong is that you’re sure to find the best deals in practically everything – even ABJD merchandise.

For people who are not used to shopping for Asian Ball-Jointed Dolls, the prices of our tiny merchandise can be quite a shocker. We are discriminating customers, never settling for the childish clothes worn by ordinary dolls. ABJD clothes are meticulously tailored to fit, with diminutive buttons and zippers. Our shoes are miniaturized replicas of real ones, complete with tiny buckles and detailed stitching. Exquisitely handmade by craftsmen who oftentimes have ABJDs of their own, these items can cost a small fortune. An outfit designed especially for Volks Super Dollfie by famous Japanese fashion designer H. Naoto costs 31,500 yen (roughly 15,000 pesos), and usually fetches a higher price on the secondary market.


Image courtesy of Volks Japan

Not all ABJD owners indulge their dolls with designer threads. Our Joey, for one, cheapskate that she is, asserts that I should never own clothes more expensive than hers, and insists on looking for bargains. As usual, Hong Kong never fails the bargain-hunter. In Mong Kok, our tour guide, Nat, led us to Sai Yeung Choi Street, where she said the ABJD merchandise is varied and relatively cheaper. We took the elevator down to the Ginza Plaza basement and found rows of shops selling all sorts of things for doll collectors.

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JR Toys, which originally caters to Blythe collectors, now offers ABJD products. They have clothes, wigs, shoes, accessories and the cutest Yo-SD shoes. Our hitchhiker Duende bagged three pairs at 150 HK dollars each. I also chanced upon their last pair of imitation TUK Creepers, which I got for only 200 HK dollars.

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And look what else we found:

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Volks LE Yo-SD Sweet Dreams Piccolo and Joey’s favorite, Volks LE Yo-SD Chinatsu!

Aside from a huge range of Blythe, Pinky Street, Pullip, Momoko and other collectible dolls, JR Toys had Volks Super Dollfie on their shelves. For those who missed the chance to buy these limited edition models at the Volks Dolpa lotteries, you know where to find them now!

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If you’re interested in the larger dolls, take a few steps away from JR Toys and you’ll find Dollfie World. Originally catering to collectors of Volks Dollfies, the vinyl, Barbie-sized predecessors of Super Dollfies, Dollfie World now offers their larger counterparts.

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Marvel at this:

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The much-coveted Volks LE SD13 Kurumi, in all her H. Naoto glory.

Unfortunately, Kurumi is not for sale. We did find the Volks Super Dollfie standard models Rinon and Kanata. They also had a few limited editions, like Volks LE SD16 Ami Ayase, Volks LE SDGr Ryoya Konoe and Volks LE SD13 Isao Nanjou. The prices for the limited editions vary, ranging from 11,000 to 21,800 HK dollars.

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They also had the rare Sweet Dreams Schoolhead A, which is normally only sold to those who join the Volks Painting Classes.

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Rey ogled at this Volks Dollfie Dream, lounging seductively at the Dollfie World display window.

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Dollfie World also has Volks limited outfits on sale (on Joey’s left) and an assortment of Momoko dolls.

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Because a lot of owners like to match their dolls, some shops sell Japanese-inspired ensemble for humans.

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Much to Almark’s disappointment, some of the shops which sold the ruffly outfits he favored were closed. Joey, on the other hand, was relieved she didn’t have to be tempted to buy anything more.

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Tiny anthropomorphic dolls, which are all the rage among doll collectors now, on display and in ruffles.

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Joey did stop to buy a wig at this shop, right across JR Toys.

Making sure we had pasalubong for the resin crew back home, we left Ginza Plaza and said goodbye to Almark, who was leaving for Singapore that very night. Thanks to Nat, we had a good haul and a good look at the ABJD shops in Mong Kok. (You rock, Nat.)

HOW TO GET THERE: Take the MTR to Mong Kok (if you’re not already there) and head to Sai Yeung Choi Street South. You can begin doll shopping at Dundas Street in Yau Ma Tei. Make CTMA your landmark; its flashy sign is hard to miss. CTMA is an entire building of toys and various geekery, and the noodle shop right in front is worth sampling. A few steps away from CTMA is Dundas Square, and on the 8th floor is Dollheart.

From Dundas, walk the length of Sai Yeung Choi Street South and look for Ginza Plaza for more affordable finds. Take the escalator down and you’ll find the doll shops at the basement. Happy doll-shopping! :-D

UP NEXT: Eating Sh*t at Modern Toilet

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Posted by Uno

Filed under: 4. Out of the Box Leave a comment
Comments (56) Trackbacks (0)
  1. Nix
    April 17th, 2010 - 01:10

    Gahhhhh do want to go!! (_ _) Someday, Hong Kong, someday!

    ( REPLY )
  2. Teru
    April 17th, 2010 - 01:44

    That is so very cool~

    Oh, if I ever go to Hong Kong… *__*

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    • Joey
      April 17th, 2010 - 01:56

      …You’re sure to find a lot of wonderful stuff – not just for your dolls, but for yourself as well! :-D

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      • Teru
        April 17th, 2010 - 14:01

        I’m sure. ^^

        Gosh, it sounds so amazing…! *__*

        And the Dolpa?! Eee, I can’t imagine ever going to one of THOSE, but, OH would I love to!

        ( REPLY )
        • Uno
          April 18th, 2010 - 23:58

          Where do you live, if you don’t mind me asking?

          If only Rey was as interested in doll things, we would’ve gone to the Dolpa already. I definitely would love for both Rey and Joey to go there, at the Dolpa and Tenshi no Sato, just so I can show them around the place where I was born. :)

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  4. Bullet
    April 17th, 2010 - 04:51

    This is helpful as I am off to HK tomorrow. :)

    ( REPLY )
  5. Asuka
    April 17th, 2010 - 10:28

    If I remember, JR Toys also had Yo-SD Girl Hina Ichigo, a few heads, DIM headphones, and Rei and Asuka from NGE. :) I think the School Head A was already gone when I got there. :( It would’ve been better if a C Head was available for Tin.

    Did you get to go to KiraKira? It was closed when we were there. I would’ve loved to buy some of their stuff! Now because of this, mom says I should only buy dolls now when we’re in Hong Kong. =__=”"

    ( REPLY )
    • Uno
      April 19th, 2010 - 00:02

      We didn’t see Hina Ichigo. There was no Schoolhead C, either. Then again, Joey was too distracted by the Yo-SD shoes to notice the rest of the display. She didn’t even know there was Schoolhead A on the shelves until she saw the shots Rey took around the shop. :|

      KiraKira was closed! Does it ever open? As for buying dolls, I would think it’s still cheaper to buy straight from the manufacturers as the dolls I saw there were priced significantly higher.

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  6. Lauren
    April 17th, 2010 - 12:01

    *___*

    …I think I might be going to Hong Kong for Christmas now.

    ( REPLY )
  7. Julie and Mikey
    April 17th, 2010 - 12:07

    Ahhhh, Kurumi, good thing I can’t go there, it would be tough!
    As for not buying clothing that costs more than mine, well…seeing that I almost live 100% in h.NAOTO, that kind of kills that as a reason.

    Does look like it was a lot of fun. Lots of limited stuff would be tempting!

    ( REPLY )
    • Uno
      April 19th, 2010 - 00:35

      How I envy you! I can’t afford designer items, not with the money I earn working in an indie band. I knew I should’ve joined a boy band! :(

      ( REPLY )
  8. nelze
    April 17th, 2010 - 21:06

    There’s also dream doll department (or something like that) in Richmond Commercial Building at the very end of Argyle street, corner Sai Yeung Choi I think. It’s around the 2nd or 3rd floor and they also sell a lot of wigs / clothes there :D

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  9. anime girl
    April 18th, 2010 - 10:26

    oh!!! someday i want to go there too!!! I must save money!!!(of course, I should first save for a doll)
    JR toys have a ebay account, don’t they??

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  10. Mina
    April 18th, 2010 - 10:31

    Love that place.

    I went there few months back. I dunno, but those places are waaaaaaaaaaay cheaper than DollHeart..I mean if you’re looking for basic stuff.

    Love JRToys. That’s where Christopher got both his shoes. And one of the very few people downstairs who could speak English. One store had to call their owner to talk to me…and it was very awkward.

    CTMA has some doll stuff too..just one or two places though.

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    • Joey
      April 19th, 2010 - 00:38

      Nat is friends with the owner of JR Toys so he let us rummage through his stuff. He had the cutest shoes for Yo-SDs! The prices were quite reasonable, too.

      That’s weird. All of the people we talked to in Ginza Plaza spoke pretty good English. The only time Nat had to be an interpreter was when we were shopping for our own clothes in another mall.

      I think Sugar Mag Doll (Amelie Taylor) is in CTMA. We didn’t get to go there because Rey got obsessed with the sneaker shops in Fa Yuen Street. :???:

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      • Asuka
        April 19th, 2010 - 10:15

        Actually, when we reached Sugar Mag Doll, there were no more MSD clothes! I couldn’t believe it! Out of stock! :( I tried to blame it being Christmas but still~!

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        • Joey
          April 19th, 2010 - 21:20

          Aw, too bad! Amelie Taylor has a lot of nice, reasonably-priced clothes. Duende owns a lot of their outfits! We were hoping to visit the shop but we ran out of time.

          Rey is going back to HK this May. We’ll send him a shopping list. ;)

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  11. trixia
    April 18th, 2010 - 17:40

    can i buy a BJD there???

    …

    ( REPLY )
  12. Anj
    April 18th, 2010 - 23:01

    Last time I went was around Christmas.
    There are a few familiar shops in the pictures, and I’m surprised that even if I’d visited three times in three days, I was still unable to see some shops actually OPEN.

    There is one more great place I visited (courtesy of Tinnee), at the Richmond Shopping Center (Address: 111 Argyle Street, cor. Sai Yee Street.)
    If I’m not mistaken, it’s got a huge 111 sign and a Mcdonald’s right beside it.

    There you will find DDD and Mimiwoo. (The elevators are small and take forever to come up though!)

    Thanks for this compilation. It seems much easier when I read it from you!
    We’ll be going to HK around May 13-16. ^_^

    ( REPLY )
    • Uno
      April 19th, 2010 - 00:47

      We weren’t able to go to Richmond Shopping Center. We just blindly followed Nat to the shops she walked into! The next time we find ourselves in HK, we’ll seek it out. Thanks for the tip!

      Have fun in HK, Anj! :D

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      • Anj
        May 30th, 2010 - 07:26

        DDD has a pretty Reisner and Williams on display. :3
        I went to oggle them for a bit again this time around.

        It was nice seeing them again.
        Do tell Joey to check them out and visit.
        You might meet a friend or two. ^_^

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  13. coffeebugg
    April 19th, 2010 - 13:48

    Ah.. Ginza plus indeed is a haven for Doll afficionados. You’d might want to Visit Dollfieworld’s website. http://dollfieworld.com/ I’ve already ordered some stuff online from them and they ship to the Philippines with out any trouble.

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  14. D. Fatale
    April 21st, 2010 - 14:33

    Bargain shopping is alot more……appealing to me than buying designer outfits in real life, and I’m so happy that we get to apply the same outlook with bjd clothes! I’m so tempted to create the said shopping list……. X3X3X3

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    • Joey
      April 21st, 2010 - 21:44

      I will only buy designer outfits if they’re they’re on sale! :D

      As for BJDs, if they can look good in rags, why bother buying them designer outfits? :P

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  15. Manylyn
    April 22nd, 2010 - 09:45

    Love it. but quite expensive, will go there when i go to Hongkong

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  16. saintaya
    May 6th, 2010 - 23:28

    hello there,

    I found think link in one of my BJD forums. I will going to HK next month June. I wanted to know from stanford hotel to ginza plaza… how long the walking to there? do let me know and is there any more shops there that sell volks doll? Can you guide me the area and their shop time and all. I will be there for 4 days. xD you may email me at my emails ruruo_85@yahoo.com. Thank you… xD

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    • Uno
      May 7th, 2010 - 19:51

      Hello there! All the information we gathered from our trip is already posted here. We are not Hong Kong residents and we unfortunately don’t have the answers to your questions. It’s best that you get in touch with a BJD owner who lives in Hong Kong. I’m sure you’ll find one on Den of Angels. :)

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  17. Yumiko Natsume
    May 9th, 2010 - 13:57

    Sweet! Yay for retail therapy! Although thing is, Zetto would probably be more dangerous in there than me. He’s such a diva.

    ( REPLY )
  18. Gail
    June 19th, 2010 - 23:42

    Super great info! Thanks for sharing! Me loves you! <3

    ( REPLY )
  19. rjhay
    January 23rd, 2011 - 18:12

    Hi, I’m about to go to HK for the fist time and I was wondering if there selling actual bjd dolls there coz I’m panning to but my first one :D and they are how much would one cost in pesos? preferably the 70cm one

    thank you :D

    ( REPLY )

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Uno: Ball-jointed blogger, traveler, casual observer, bassist and frontman of the world's first band of its kind, MISTULA

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