MW Bay Area Meet in San Jose Japantown

[UN Spacy]

Hello fellow MW'ers,

I hope everyone had a great time at the SF Japantown meet earlier this month. We've got nowhere else to go but up, as these meets should only get bigger and better. Please feel free to make any suggestions as this is a group effort.

FYI: The first post will constantly be updated with the itinerary and list of attendees.

ITINERARY

1. Nikaku Japanese Arts at 12 pm
615 N 6th St
San Jose, CA 95112
(408) 971-2822
http://www.yelp.com/biz/nikaku-japanese-arts-san-jose

2. Kinokuniya Book Store at *1pm
(or earlier depending how long we're at Nikaku)
685 Saratoga Ave
San Jose, CA 95129
(408) 252-1300
http://www.yelp.com/biz/kinokuniya-book-st...-store-san-jose
FYI: This is about 7 miles away from Nikaku

3a. Tomi Sushi at 1:30pm*
4336 Moorpark Ave
San Jose, CA 95129
(408) 257-4722

OR

3b. Harry's Hofbrau
390 Saratoga Ave
San Jose, CA 95129
(408) 243-0434

STILL DECIDING. Both locations are along Saratoga Avenue (VERY close to Kinokuniya)


The Players (bolded = attending)

Agent One
anime52k8
Baldrick
bluemax151
Britai7018
Chewie
Chuey?
connor99
danth
dax415
duckie81
Einherjar
EganLoo
eugimon
F360°
fansubs2000
Flaming Guantlet
fokker special
Fortress_Maximus
FOKKER007
Garou Kuroyuu
GDomino
gerwalk25?
Ginrai
goldenboy_forever
grapetang
J A Dare
jenius
JoLe727
KingNor
Knight26
mac666er
Majestic
Mercurial Morpheus?
miriya
MyClone
nismoflip
Posse Comitatus
question
rnurmin
rusted180
sharkm
sidearmsalpha
singtao
specr0101
Tekkaman Blade
to177
Torii
UN Spacy
Valkfan
Valkyrie23
Valkyrie Hunter D?
VF-1Guy
yellowlightman

Edited February 24, 2016 by UN Spacy

[eugimon]

I'm in!

[anime52k8]

sounds good, I've never been to J town in San Jose but I had a great time last time.

[bluemax151]

ATM Possibly, I have to see when the monthly airsoft event I attend is happening that month.

[jenius]

I probably won't be able to respond until right before the event... I'm pretty busy with my own move, plus my girlfriend's move, and my brother just bought a house so I'm sure I'll be helping him move. Ugh.. throw keeping up with my website and what is becoming a golf obsession on top of all that and I don't have a lot of free time.

[Chuey]

I'll have to get back to you on this and look at my schedule. I would like to attend and see everyone.

[Mercurial Morpheus]

Nikaku's own website - http://nikaku.com/ It's not updated, but still useful. They also have an ebay presence. It is a great store.

Not suree on this one yet. I'll have to look into it.

[Roy Focker]

If I wasn't on vacation a couple of weeks before that I'd take a day off and swing by.

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

Man, this is rich. I live literally 5 minutes away from Nikaku and I probably won't be able to make it.

Just don't expect a lot from SJ Japantown. Personally, I love living there; it's peaceful, the food's great, and the locals are friendly, but there are not as many merchants as SF Japantown. Nikaku is an awesome shop, I'm always amazed by how much stuff they cram in that small place. There used to be a place called Far Out Toys that was the only place in SJ to find Yamato valks and other imported toys, but they've sadly gone under. If you guys are looking for a place to eat, I highly recommend Sushi maru on Jackson St. And if this goes through, a good place to meet would be Roy's Station, a coffee shop on 5th and Jackson.

Anyways, I hope to make it as I'd to meet some fellow MWers.

[gerwalk25]

For me it's up in the air.

[Torii]

Unless meteors or space aliens invade in the next few weeks, I should be good for this one.

[Mercurial Morpheus]

Man, this is rich. I live literally 5 minutes away from Nikaku and I probably won't be able to make it.

Just don't expect a lot from SJ Japantown. Personally, I love living there; it's peaceful, the food's great, and the locals are friendly, but there are not as many merchants as SF Japantown. Nikaku is an awesome shop, I'm always amazed by how much stuff they cram in that small place. There used to be a place called Far Out Toys that was the only place in SJ to find Yamato valks and other imported toys, but they've sadly gone under. If you guys are looking for a place to eat, I highly recommend Sushi maru on Jackson St. And if this goes through, a good place to meet would be Roy's Station, a coffee shop on 5th and Jackson.

Anyways, I hope to make it as I'd to meet some fellow MWers.

Yeah, SJ's is smaller and a touch more quaint. I used to live within walking distance of Nikaku. Sad to hear Far Out Toys is gone.

Thanks for the Sushi Maru recommendation. I'm still amused that I lived near Japantown for 19 years, yet didn't like Japanese food as much as I do now to know a good sushi place. My definition of Japanese food was Happi House (which I ate at recently and was pleased to find had returned to their former quality, great place for cheap eats).

[Ginrai]

I'm not shocked to hear Far Out Toys is gone considering how incredibly overpriced they were and considering that the DVDs they sold were all bootlegs. Nikaku always had a much better selection of DVDs and music and it's all legit.

[sidearmsalpha]

Far Out Toys...man, I remember that place. The guy that ran that shop would attend the local toy shows at the Santa Clara Fairgrounds. My friend, fellow MW member vf2ss, bought his first 1/48 VF-1S Roy at his shop. We went to Nikaku about 2 months ago, and I was underwhelmed. That place hasn't changed much since we started going there regularly in the mid-90s. It was like going to Kimono My House after eBay and online import sites took off. It's hard to believe that I have NEVER seen a Yamato Macross toy at Nikaku. Most of the model kits are ancient. They don't seem to be concerned at all with getting with the times.

I hope to make it this time around. Been dealing with some personal stuff involving an ex-girlfriend that's really been taking its toll on me.

[bluemax151]

Things look good as far as my schedule goes. If we go somewhere for grub I recommend we go somewhere it's easy to pay separately as that can be a huge hassle for big groups in my experience.

I go down town to check out Fanime every year but I don't usually go to that area. I usually go to Peggy Sues, La Victoria, Original Joes etc so I don't really have an opinion.

[Ginrai]

Nikaku is not an awesome store for buying toys, it's an awesome store for buying art books and hard to get manga and DVDs.

Edited September 4, 2009 by Ginrai

[UN Spacy]

Does everyone still want to hit up Nikkaku?

I've been looking at the restaurants near Kinokuniya and the selection is much better.

[Dax415]

ugh...got in a car accident and my poor truck got sandwiched pretty good, im still waiting to hear if its totaled or not. Bright side is i'm okay and i'll just have to make sure I can spare the funds to go all the way to San Jose since I"m in between S.F. and Sac .

[F360°]

Man, I can't believe I miss the Meet at SF J town, Looks like you guys had a good time.

I work long hours on weekends so I don't think I will be able to make it on OCT 3rd since it's a Saturday.

-Nick

[UN Spacy]

Sorry you won't be able to make it Nick.

So folks. Do you guys feel like brining more items to share?

[jenius]

I definitely can not make it, I will be in Los Angeles that weekend.

[grapetang]

I should be able to make this one (even if for a brief visit)

Re: Nikaku: Yup, they're good for old art books, magazines,

posters, pencil boards, CDs, DVDs, and maybe some vintage kits

(tiny selection). There's also the video rental shop below the main

one. They did great until anime/manga went mainstream and web

sales ate into their business. It's been tough so it's not surprising

that they kept the bulk of their inventory and haven't updated.

The anime section is tiny, really tiny.

Kimono My House in Emeryville (if they still exist) is/was a better

place for toys & models.

Re: Far Out Toys: How did they actually _stay_ in business?!??

Re: Kinokuniya: I like this store a lot. It's very similar to the SF

one. I just wish I had a budget for all the $30-55 art books.

There's also a small toy shop in Mitsuwa complex in the same lot.

Re: food: SJ Japantown and Mitsuwa both have good places to eat.

SJ Japantown:

• Minato - good place next to Nikaku. Can accomodate groups.
• Gombei- great place but small. CASH ONLY.
• Shuei-Do Manju - dessert only (fresh mochi)
• There're also sushi & ramen places.

Mitsuwa:

• TomiSushi - good place.
• food court inside Mitsuwa.
• Ramen Halu - one of the highest rated ramen in the entire SF bay.

  2 blocks N of Mitsuwa. Small and will be difficult for groups.

  High sodium content (not good for high blood pressure). CASH ONLY.

There's lots of room in the Mitsuwa food court seating area.

Hope members are well and that life, work, ex's, schedules, car, moving,

funds, etc. are resolving. Looking forward to meeting everyone!

[bluemax151]

Re: Kinokuniya: I like this store a lot. It's very similar to the SF

one. I just wish I had a budget for all the $30-55 art books.

There's also a small toy shop in Mitsuwa complex in the same lot.

Yeah "Trendy" I go by there every once and a while. They've had a few DYRL revoltechs sitting there forever. Usually don't have anything too interesting to me except maybe the selection of car fresheners. I think I bought an MSIA there once.

Last time I went to the Mitsuwa they had a sign up for a noodle place that was going to be opening inside. Not sure if it's open yet though.

[J A Dare]

Bummed that I missed the last meet in SF. (was in the middle of a move.) Should make this one.

[UN Spacy]

About ONE more week to go folks!

I'll post the meeting time and place later tonight.

[MyClone]

About ONE more week to go folks!

I'll post the meeting time and place later tonight.

Looking forward to it -- I'll be there!

Also, I'm definitely up for trading and/or selling, if anyone else wants to bring their extras.

Thanks,

--Ken (MyClone)

Edited September 27, 2009 by MyClone

[UN Spacy]

Is everyone okay meeting up at Nikkaku at 12 noon?

Afterwards (from 12:30 to 1pm) we can all head to Kinokuniya then grab some food.

FIRST POST UPDATED!!!

Edited September 30, 2009 by UN Spacy

[Fortress_Maximus]

As much I tried to move around my schedule unfortunately I cannot. Everyone have a great time! Looking forward to the updates and pics.

[J A Dare]

Tomi Sushi looks good. It's near by Kinokuniya Book Store.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/tomi-sushi-san-jose

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

I can't make it either. I'm stuck in Sac due to some unfortunate circumstances. Hope you guys have fun!

[Mercurial Morpheus]

Well, I'm in. Bringing Raider3 along again as well. Trying to get Dick Hunter but it seems unlikely. Silicon is this weekend at the Doubletree, and he's helping out over there. I'll be attending it afterwards myself (anyone else interesting in going to a Klingon slave auction?).

Foodwise, well, Yelp isn't always the most trustworthy source in my book. Here in Modesto, Sushi Garden gets the highest praise despite being largely average, with a dependence on the same damn mayo sauce on so many rolls and not exactly the coldest sashimi in town (it was better the last time I ate there though). The better places like Osaka go largely unnoticed. I've also eaten at many negatively on averagely reviewed places that were quite good. It's mostly fanboying or venting 9 times out of 10. Not that I'm saying Tomi wouldn't be good, but I'll trust local word over a bunch of strangers on such a website. ;;

It's been years since I lived in San Jose, so I can't remember off the top of my head what restaurants are there. My mother did remind me of Harry's Hofbrau. http://www.harryshofbrau.com/ I highly recommend it. It's relatively inexpensive, has just about any carving meat you could want (I prefer the corn beef), and is usually quite good for the price range. It's an old standby of mine, and sits a group comfortably as it has many long dining tables. I love sushi and all, but I don't see why we must always eat at such a place just because we're anime fans. Especially if we're leaving Japantown (so soon?). There's also the Country Inn, which is good american fare. Though if anyone prefers eating in Japantown, I still recommend Happi House. One can get coupons for two lunches for 10 bucks from the paper usually. Ironically, I didn't get into sushi until after I moved, so I know few, if any, places in my hometown, and I could walk to Japantown.

[UN Spacy]

I'm also interested in checking out Henry's Hofbrau.

[bluemax151]

I'm also interested in checking out Henry's Hofbrau.

Harry's Hofbrau is really good (I don't get to eat there as much as I'd like) and not far from Kinokuniya really.

I should be able to make it but might be a bit late though as I have something I have to do from like 8am to 12pm. I'll be the guy with the HLJ shirt, I was going to wear a Robotech Battlecry shirt just to be an ahole but I figured you guys might stone me or something

Edited October 2, 2009 by bluemax151

[Mercurial Morpheus]

To be fair, aside from the criminally low ceiling, Battlecry was a great game.

I'm debating bringing my Max costume, but since I can't really wear it, it might seem awkward.

[UN Spacy]

I'll be wearing my Project Supernova shirt.

Remember. If you guys need to contact me my cell number is in the 1st post.