Toy Hunting in Hong Kong Mongkok area

Hi Folks

As promised, heres a short post of some general tips when Toy shopping in Hong Kong.
For this post, theres a map and some details of the shops I went in Mongkok area since that is where i bought most of my stuff. I went to Causeway Bay too but found it rather lacking compared to Mongkok.

I had found a few online guides regarding toy shopping in HK. I found it was tedious to bring along a few printed text descriptions on the places to visit and having to try to correlate some maps of the particular shop to a bigger HK tourist map i had . So it thought fitting everything onto 1 image so that it is easy for you to print out and bring along with you would be good.

Heres a map i created from modifying google maps. Feel free to leave comment to point out other good toy shops/areas in the maps so that I can add it in.


Richmund Commercial Building (B1, Lvl 1 ,2 ,3)
Most PVC figures among other locations.
Shops open rather late. Go after 5pm

CTMA Center (B1, Lvl 1-3)
Good Miz of stuff
B1 only opens after 4pm. Lvl 1-3 slightly earlier
Checkout the HotToys flagship store on Lvl 2

Animate
Right across the street from CTMA Center
on the 2nd floor
Retail store so everything is arranged nicely :)

Sino Center (B2, B1, lvl 1-3, lvl 4, lvl 7, lvl 9)
Largest Concentration of stuff
Some shops are tucked away at the higher floors(lvl 3 and abovce) among normal offices.. so try to explore. Get access to the higher floors via the staircase. I tried the lift when I was there but it was $%^& slow.

Heres a few general tips for toy shopping in HK

1) Remember. The toy shops only open AFTER around 4pm. Go any earlier and you only can stand outside the shops and drool. lolz.
2) Best days to go are WEEKdays. Weekends are damn crowded.. both in terms of toy shops and generally pple on the streets
3) There ARE FAKES in HK. Keep your eye open and check carefully b4 buying.
4) Some of the stuff on display are 2nd hand pieces which people leave with the shops to sell. If the prices seem really good, you can check with the shopkeepers if the item is 2nd hand. These pieces are normally displayed outside the shop in big display cases. Common sight in Richmund Commercial Bldg and CauseWay Bay Center.

Hope this was helpful.

Cheers
Surge