SHOPS
Anime? Comics? Video Games? Stuffed African Grey Parrot? 1/48 Yamato VF-1 Valkyrie with FAST Packs? Odds are there's something you want, and odds are you can find it in New York City. Browse through the below list of shops to uncover a thing or two you can't live without. Want to recommend a boutique, bookstore, or vintage bottlecap emporium? Submit a shop here.
Anime and Manga | Books and Comic Books | Clothes and Cosplay | Gadgets and Design | Models and Toys | Video Games
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ANIME CASTLE 77 Searing Ave Mineola, NY 11501 35-32 Union St Flushing, NY 11354 |
Anime Castle has one of the largest selections of anime merchandise in New York City and Long Island. Primarily operating animecastle.com, Anime Castle also maintains two physical stores, a Flushing Store located across from Flushing High School and a Mineola Store that's actually animecastle.com's warehouse -- open to the public and allowing fans to browse their entire online stock. Anime Castle's products run the gamut from anime and manga to cosplay, snacks, and swords. Both stores host various screenings and gaming tournaments. Map 1 | Map 2 | Website |
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BOOK OFF 49 West 45th St New York, NY 10036 |
The NYC outpost of a Japanese used book chain, Book Off buys and sells pre-owned books, comics, games, music, and movies. Manga and CDs start at $1, DVDs at $3, and video games at $5. Book Off offers various complete manga sets as well as numerous rare, weird, and out-of-print products. Note, though, most of the stock is in Japanese only. Map | Website |
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IMAGE ANIME 242 West 30th St New York, NY 10001 |
Selling anime in NYC since 1992, Image Anime stocks a selection of popular anime, as well as both new and old model kits, action figures, capsule toys, and novelties straight from Japan. Customers from around the globe can order online via Image Anime's online store, and, beyond products, this website also features Doujinopolis, an original webseries shot at Image Anime. Map | Website |
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KINOKUNIYA BOOKSTORE 1073 Ave of the Americas New York, NY 10018 |
Kinokuniya is the largest Japanese bookstore in the USA. Its three floors stock Japanese and English manga, anime, magazines, and fiction and non-fiction books. Kinokuniya also sells various toys, stationery, and apparel. It's home to a cafe, hosts author signings and anime gatherings year round, and features an original mural created by manga artist Takehiko Inoue. Part of a Japanese bookstore chain, the first Kinokuniya was founded in 1927 in Shinjuku. Map | Website |
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FORBIDDEN PLANET 840 Broadway New York, NY 10003 |
Forbidden Planet is a UK chain that bills itself as a "cult entertainment megastore". Forbidden Planet's NYC store offers comics and graphic novels as well as various comic book and pop culture collectables. Whether you need Pokemon cards, a Transformers toy, or the new Robert Crumb book, Forbidden Planet will have it. And, as its parent company is British, Forbidden Planet is arguably the best spot in NYC to find Doctor Who toys, too. Map | Website |
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JIM HANLEY'S UNIVERSE 4 West 33rd St New York, NY 10001 299B New Dorp Lane Staten Island, NY 10306 |
Since 1985, Jim Hanley's Universe has been one of America's most progressive comic book stores. Jim Hanley's offers mainstream comics from DC and Marvel as well as kids comics, international comics, manga, graphic novels, and small press, indie, and mini comics. Its stores have an extensive back issue collection and also carry statues, toys, shirts, movies, cards, and more. Jim Hanley's Universe prides itself on having one of the most complete selections of comics on the East Coast and displaying this collection in well-organized, well-lit, and clean shops. Map 1 | Map 2 | Website |
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MIDTOWN COMICS 200 West 40th St New York, NY 10018 459 Lexington Ave New York, NY 10017 64 Fulton St New York, NY 10038 |
Midtown Comics opened its doors in 1997 in New York City and has since become one of the leading retailers of comic books, graphic novels, and related collectables in the USA. Midtown ships around the world via midtowncomics.com and operates in three landmark locations -- Times Square, Grand Central, and the Financial District. From mainstream books including Batman, Captain America, Green Lantern, Iron Man, and Superman, to the best of independent and alternative comics, Midtown has a vast selection all available online and in-store. Additionally, all three Midtown locations regularly host high profile signings with comics creators and entertainment personalities from around the world and midnight openings for the biggest comics premieres throughout the year. Map 1 | Map 2 | Map 3 | Website |
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MYSTERIOUS BOOKSHOP 58 Warren St New York, NY 10007 |
One of the oldest specialist book stores in America, the Mysterious Bookshop has operated for over 25 years. Previously located in Midtown, the bookshop now calls Tribeca its home. It stocks a wide selection of new mystery, crime, suspense, espionage, and detective hardcovers, paperbacks, and periodicals. The shop also features a collection of signed editions and Sherlockiana. Yes, Sherlockiana. Map | Website |
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ST. MARK'S COMICS 11 St. Mark's Pl New York, NY 10003 148 Montague St Brooklyn, NY 11201 |
Located in the heart of St. Mark's Place, St. Mark's Comics offers (literal) mountains of new and old comics as well as vintage toys. Very different in design from showroom-like retailers including Midtown Comics and Forbidden Planet, St. Mark's Comics has a much older feel, a throwback to the comics stores of yesteryear. The store is home to rows and rows of long boxes, walls cluttered with collectables, and a maze-like area of action figures. For new and younger fans, St. Mark's is not. For a bit of the flavor of oldschool comics fandom, St. Mark's is like a trip in a TARDIS. Map 1 | Map 2 | Website |
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STRAND BOOKS 828 Broadway New York, NY 10003 |
In 1927, Ben Bass opened the Strand Bookstore, named after a famous publishing street in London. Originally on Fourth Avenue, home of New York's legendary Book Row, which ran from Union Square to Astor Place, the Strand was one of 48 bookstores in the area. Today, the Strand is the sole survivor. The store now occupies 55,000 square feet of space and houses over 2.5 million used, new, rare, and discounted books. In the 1970s, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist George F. Will wrote, "the eight miles worth saving in this city are at the corner of Broadway and 12th Street. They are the crammed shelves of the Strand." (The Stand is now home to over 18 miles of books.) Map | Website |
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UNOPPPRESSIVE NON-IMPERIALIST BARGAIN BOOKS 34 Carmine St New York, NY 10014 |
A cramped and curious little shop where books from Joyce to Buddhism to reading the tarot overlap There's a wide number of political and cultural texts spanning Guevara, Chomsky, and Machiavelli, as well as impressive stacks of obscure fiction. Everything at well under market price. Don't, though, head into Unoppressive Non-Imperialist Bargain Books with a specific title in mind. (If there's a definite volume you're after, check with a larger store.) Come, though, with an idea -- ideally one a bit left of the norm -- and you'll find just what you're looking for. Map | Website |
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WESTSIDER RARE & USED BOOKS 2246 Broadway New York, NY 10024 |
Westsider specializes in fiction, modern first editions, art, illustrated books, graphic design books, children's books, architecture books, antiques and collectibles, and Asian, African American, and Rock & Roll LPs and CDs. The shop has everything from $1 books to pricey rare or signed tomes including Illustrations for the Bible by Marc Chagall ($4,500), The Complete Poems of Robert Frost ($1,650), Where The Sidewalk Ends ($2,500), and The Great Gatsby ($1,550). Map | Website |
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GOTHIC RENAISSANCE 108 4th Ave New York, NY 10003 |
Gothic Renaissance imports the latest Gothic trends from designers all over the world, including fashion brands from England, Germany, Spain, and Japan. Its collection includes Steam Punk, Gothic Lolita, Victorian Wear, Cyber Punk, Renaissance, Occult, and Fetish fashion. Gothic Renaissance has been featured in magazines such as Metal Magazine, Hue Magazine, Italian Vogue, and Numero. Map | Website |
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I DO DECLARE Online Only |
I Do Declare is a Lolita clothing brand created by New York-based designer Kelsey Hine. It specializes in hand-made pieces inspired by heraldic imagery and Rococo gowns. Each piece is one-of-a-kind and every piece is designed to specifically cater to American Lolitas, with designs cut to flatter the Western figure. Website |
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MORRIGAN NYC Online Only |
Morrigan NYC is a Lolita clothing label which infuses classical and gothic styles with themes from 19th century literature, art, and politics, creating clothes which are elegant, sophisticated, and unique. One of a very few Western Lolita brands to professionally manufacture clothing in a factory setting, all of Morrigan's pieces are proudly sewn in local New York factories. Website |
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NEW YORK COSTUMES 104 4th Ave New York, NY 10003 |
New York Costumes in NYC's biggest costume store. Spanning an entire block just below Union Square, it features two floors of spooky and seasonal costumes as well as deluxe rentals and numerous accessories and props. Map | Website |
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SANRIO STORE 233 West 42nd St New York, NY 10036 |
Hello Kitty, My Melody, Keroppi, Tuxedo Sam, Badtz-Maru, Tenorikuma, Usahana, Pochacco, Chococat, and Cinnamoroll have a home in Times Square inside Sanrio's official NYC store. Selling clothes, stationery, school supplies, gifts, and accessories from the company's most popular characters, the store's offerings range from items imported from Japan to exclusive products only available at the Times Square location. Map | Website |
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TOKIDOKI 176 Spring St New York, NY 10012 |
Tokidoki is a Japanese-inspired fashion brand created by Italian artist Simone Legno. Its designs have appeared on items ranging from shirts, shoes, purses, watches, and jewelry to skateboards, speakers, and various toys. Tokidoki's most popular characters include The Cactus Friends (dogs in cactus suits), The Moofia (gangster-themed milk products), Adios (a pint-sized Grim Reaper), and Captain Coco (a militant monkey). Tokidoki means "sometimes" in Japanese. Map | Website |
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TOKYO REBEL 170 Avenue B New York, NY 10009 |
Tokyo Rebel is run by a husband and wife team originally from New York and Tokyo. The store is an authorized retailer for fashion brands including Sex Pot Revenge, Algonquins, Atelier-Pierrot, Victorian Maiden, Innocent World, Putumayo, Maxicimam, and Angelic Pretty. Tokyo Rebel stocks exclusively brand name Japanese street apparel. The store does not carry Western or non-Japanese Asian labels. Map | Website |
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UNIQLO 546 Broadway New York, NY 10012 |
Uniqlo is one of Japan's most popular apparel retailers. Its NYC store is the chain's global flagship and Uniqlo's largest retail store anywhere in the world. The store features casual, everyday clothing similar to what can be found in chains like H&M and The Gap -- as well as distinctly Japanese products including high-tech summer garments that whisk away moisture and ultra-thin winter apparel designed with trap in heat. Uniqlo's first floor is also home to a collection of T-Shirt collaborations with Japanese brands ranging from Gundam to Metal Gear. Uniqlo is a combination of the words "unique" and "clothing". Map | Website |
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AC GEARS 69 East 8th St New York, NY 10003 106 Greenwich Ave New York, NY 10011 |
AC Gears handpicks some of the most interesting electronics from around the world. From top shelf headphones and speakers, to unique watches, cameras, computer accessories, and toys, AC Gears offers an array of products for serious trendsetters and technophiles. The "AC" in AC Gears stands for "AudioCubes". AudioCubes.com is AC Gears's sister company, an online store dedicated to high tech Japanese toys and gizmos. The team behind AC Gears and AudioCubes.com also run the online magazine GEDDEM.com, similarly focused on the forefront of lifestyle technologies. Map 1 | Map 2 | Website |
| APPLE STORE 767 5th Ave New York, NY 10153 103 Prince St New York, NY 10012 401 West 14th St New York, NY 10014 1981 Broadway New York, NY 10023 Staten Island Mall 2655 Richmond Ave Staten Island, NY 10314 |
Apple's Retail Stores are the official place to test-drive and explore Apple products and the best place to find everything Apple -- including some of the world's most knowledgeable Apple people. The stores' Apple Specialists can help you get to know Apple tech, and their Apple Geniuses provide hands-on technical support and repairs. Additionally, the Apple Stores offer workshops -- free classes on topics for both Apple beginners and pros -- on topics ranging from getting started on a Mac to digital photography, music, and moviemaking. Sometimes, just sometimes, special guests drop by, too. Especially at the SoHo store, guests including Sonic Youth, Baz Luhrmann, and Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, and Steven Moffat of Doctor Who have stopped in to speak about their projects and somehow shoehorn in what Apple means to them. Apple's flagship store is its 5th Avenue location, a subterranean store located beneath an iconic, mammoth, glass cube. The cube was designed by Peter Bohlin of design firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. Other buildings conceived by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson include Pixar Animation's Headquarters, Seattle City Hall, Philadelphia's Liberty Bell Center, and international Apple Stores in cities including Sydney, London, Paris, and Tokyo. Back in NYC, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson have also designed Apple's other Manhattan shops, with the Upper West Side store featuring a similar glass design. Apple's SoHo store, meanwhile, was built inside an old post office, and its 14th Street store is an open, three-level loft. Map 1 | Map 2 | Map 3 | Map 4 | Map 5 | Website |
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EVOLUTION 120 Spring St New York, NY 10012 |
Located in Manhattan's SoHo district since 1993, Evolution sells unique natural history collectables. Its curiosities include insects, fossils, seashells, skeletons, medical models, and tribal art. The store's clients include universities, museums, nature enthusiasts, decorators, set designers, photographers, and private collectors. Map | Website |
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MUJI 620 8th Ave New York, NY 10018 16 West 19th St New York, NY 10011 455 Broadway New York, NY 10013 JFK International Airport Terminal 5 |
A Japanese design store which offers streamlined household products and apparel with a smart, minimalist sense of design, one that closely marries both form and function. Socks, scissors, towels, candles, chairs, sweaters, and shelves are among the 7,000 products Muji has redesigned with a sense of simplicity. Expanding beyond the products themselves, Muji's designs all have a straightforward, lean approach of packaging. And, both the packaging and the actual products are constructed of materials that have been conscientious sourced from around the world. Marketing, too, for Muji is austere, with little money spent on classical advertisements -- the brand's growth attributed to word-of-mouth. Muji began life as an exclusive brand inside the Japanese supermarket chain The Seiyu in 1980. Starting as "Mujirushi Ryohin" or "No Brand Quality Goods", it offered high quality products at discount prices due to the cost savings around their simple designs and packaging. The first dedicated Muji store opened shortly after in 1983. Today, Muji operates stores outside of Japan in countries including England, Italy, Germany, Norway, Spain, Singapore, and Thailand. Map 1 | Map 2 | Map 3 | Map 4 | Website |
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SONY STYLE 550 Madison Ave New York, NY 10022 |
All Sony. All the time. The Sony Style store in NYC encourages consumers to test-drive a variety of Sony devices and experience firsthand their latest consumer technology. The store features HDTVs, Blu-ray players, camcorders, photo printers, and digital still cameras as well as VAIO PCs. The store also features movies from Sony Pictures Entertainment and PS3 and PSP games. Map | Website |
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TEKSERVE 119 West 23rd St New York, NY 10011 |
Tekserve is an independent, authorized Apple reseller and service provider, serving creative professionals at all levels, from individual customers to Fortune 100 companies. Tekserve was founded in 1987 to provide service for Apple computer repairs and has since grown to Apple sales, consulting, design, and hardware and software configuration. Map | Website |
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ELIZABETH CENTER 13 Elizabeth St New York, NY 10013 |
The basement floor of this small mall houses a variety of anime and manga toy and collectable shops. Elizabeth Center's merchants stock a wide selection of Japanese curiosities and novelties, including a store dedicated to nothing but Gundam model kits. Be wary, though, as you shop in Elizabeth Center as there are plenty of bootlegs alongside the legitimate items. Map |
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KIDROBOT 118 Prince St New York, NY 10012 |
Founded in 2002 by designer Paul Budnitz, Kidrobot is one of the world's most renowned creators of limited-edition art toys and apparel. Artists which have worked with Kidrobot include Frank Kozik, Tim Biskup, Huck Gee, Joe Ledbetter, Tristan Eaton, and Tara McPherson. A blend of sculpture and popular art, Kidrobot's exclusive toys retail anywhere from $5 to $25,000. Map | Website |
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LEGO STORE Rockefeller Plaza 620 Fifth Ave New York, NY 10020 Queens Center 90-15 Queens Blvd Elmhurst, NY 11373 |
LEGO's NYC stores house over 300 sets for sale, ranging from the newest and hottest to exclusives you can't find anywhere else. In the opposite direction than full sets, too, visitors can handpick select pieces from the stores' "Pick A Brick" walls, letting LEGO builders individually select missing, broken, or hard-to-find pieces. The Pick A Brick walls also contain various minifigure elements, allowing customers to build custom LEGO counterparts, too. During its Grand Opening, the Queens Center LEGO Store constructed an eight-foot R2-D2 built of nothing but LEGO bricks. The Rockefeller Center store, meanwhile, featured a 15-foot apple jointly built by LEGO master builders and customers. While these centerpieces are now gone, others remain. Exclusively in the Rockefeller Center store, don't miss 50 NYC citylife dioramas, from ticker tape parades to Central Park carriage rides, all rendered in LEGO bricks. Map 1 | Map 2 | Website |
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TOY TOKYO 91 2nd Ave New York, NY 10003 |
Since opening in 2000, Toy Tokyo has gained a reputation of having one of NYC's most unique and expansive inventories of geeky toys. Toy Tokyo carries items directly from Hong Kong and Japan as well as domestic, designer, rare, and vintage toys. From promotional toys from the 1950s, to a mint in box Yoroiden Samurai Troopers Seiji No Kourin, to walls of Star Wars and Transformers figures, it's all at Toy Tokyo. Map | Website |
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8 BIT AND UP 35 St. Mark's Pl 2nd Floor New York, NY 10003 |
8 Bit and Up is an indie gaming store located in St. Mark's. About games and community, it hosts regular tournaments, allows gamers to try titles before they buy, and hosts private parties and leagues. 8 Bit and Up also repairs discs and consoles, and -- as the store's name implies -- it stocks a wide selection of 8 bit games. The shop carries a number of older titles for the Atari, TurboGrafix, N64, NES, SNES, Sega, Gameboy, and PS1. Map | Website |
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CHINATOWN FAIR 8 Mott St New York, NY 10013 |
A video arcade is a venue where people come together and pay to play video games. Video arcades started springing up in the late 1970s, with popular games from the golden area of arcades including Pac-Man, Spade Invaders, and Donkey Kong. Arcades have become all but extinct with the advent of PC gaming and modern consoles. Yet Chinatown Fair remains. Chinatown Fair is an arcade. Chinatown Fair is a real arcade. Really. Map |
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J&L GAME TRADING 28 Elizabeth St New York, NY 10013 |
A Chinatown video game store offering a wide selection of imported and pre-owned games and consoles. You'll find titles at J&L shortly after they're released in Japan. Just be wary that J&L can land you a game well before its US release, but it won't be cheap. Be wary, too, of the store's bootleg anime. Map | Website |
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NINTENDO WORLD 10 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10020 |
Nintendo World offers over 10,000 square feet of Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon. The store features the latest Wii and DS games, exclusive launch parties, apparel, collectables, and a museum dedicated to Nintendo's past. The store was originally opened as a Pokemon Center in 2001, but it expanded into its present form in 2005. Map | Website |
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PLAY N TRADE 137 East 13th St New York, NY 10003 |
Play N Trade stocks games for current generation consoles as well as older systems including the Atari, TurboGrafix, NES, SNES, and Genesis. Additionally, the store hosts a number of tournaments and is one of the few retailers that repairs both games and consoles. Map | Website |
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VIDEOGAMESNEWYORK 202 East 6th St New York, NY 10003 |
VideoGamesNewYork -- of course -- stocks games for the PS3, 360, and Wii, but the store specializes in older, niche, and import titles. Want Soul Eater: Monotone Princess? Looking for a copy of Final Fantasy VII or Xenogears? Need something for the Odyssey, Atari, Intellivision, Colecovision, or Commodore 64? VideoGamesNewYork. Map | Website |