Nakano Broadway Guide: 5 Min from Shinjuku, Dozens of Mandarake Shops (by Floor)
5 minutes by train from Shinjuku, then a 5-minute walk: Nakano Broadway's dozens of Mandarake shops and vintage stores, floor by floor, most open 12:00–20:00 — the retro-and-rare alternative to Akihabara.
Why Nakano Broadway
Nakano Broadway is a 1966 shopping complex that became the collector's counterpart to Akihabara. Where Akihabara skews new and electric, Nakano skews vintage, rare and deep: floor after floor of niche specialty shops, much of it the many genre-split branches of Mandarake. If you hunt out-of-print figures, vintage manga, cels, sofubi, idol/tokusatsu goods or dolls, this is the place.
Getting there
From Nakano Station (JR Chuo Line / Tokyo Metro Tozai Line), take the North Exit and walk straight through the Nakano Sun Mall covered arcade — Nakano Broadway is at the end, about 5 minutes. It's an easy ~5-minute train ride from Shinjuku.
What's inside
- Mandarake Nakano is the star — not one store but dozens of specialized shops scattered across floors 1F–4F: main stores, a card shop, a film-poster shop, a cosplay shop, doll specialists, an anime shop and many numbered 'Special' shops. Open 12:00–20:00 with no regular closed day (except Nakano Broadway's building closure days); tax-free and overseas shipping available.
- Beyond Mandarake there are watch dealers, idol-goods shops, retro toy stores, galleries and the famous oversized soft-serve at Daily Chiko on B1.
- See the building overview at Nakano Broadway.
Floor by floor: which floor do you actually want?
Nakano Broadway is five commercial floors (B1–4F) — and, importantly, 5F and above are private residences, not shops. Visitors regularly wander up and find apartment doors; the shopping stops at 4F.
Mandarake is not one store here but dozens of genre-split specialty shops scattered across floors 1F–4F, all open 12:00–20:00 with no regular closed day apart from the building's own closure days. That layout is the single most confusing thing about the building, so use this as a lookup rather than walking every floor:
| What you're after | Floor | Shop |
|---|---|---|
| Manga, books, general stock | 3F | Main Store (本店) & Main Store 2 |
| Trading cards | 2F | Card Hall (カード館) |
| Film posters, scripts, film books & pro-baseball goods | 2F | Katsudo Shashin-kan (活動写真館) |
| Cosplay costumes & accessories | 2F | Cosplay Hall (コスプレ館) |
| Retro video games | 2F | Galaxy (ギャラクシー) |
| Small & micro collectibles | 2F | Micro Hall (ミクロ館) |
| PVC, trading & prize figures, gachapon | 2F | Special 4 (スペシャル4) |
| Non-Gundam robot toys & model kits — Soul of Chogokin, Robot Damashii, Macross, Evangelion | 4F | Special 6 (スペシャル6) |
| Vintage toys — tin, chogokin, kaiju sofubi, old novelty goods | 4F | Henya (変や) |
| Dolls, doll wigs & doll books (incl. Sanrio, Monster High) | 4F | Plastic (ぷらすちっく) — not figures, despite the name |
| Anime cels, scripts & settei (production art) | 4F | Anime Hall (アニメ館) |
| Subculture books, art photo books & juvenile fiction | 4F | Kaiba (海馬) |
| Vintage manga, magazines & deep/niche collectibles | 2F & 4F | Mania Hall (マニア館, 4F), DEEP-kan (2F) and the numbered "Special" shops |
| Selling or valuing something | 3F | Buyback counter (買取処) — reception closes 19:30 |
| Just arrived, want an overview | 1F | Gate (門) |
The numbered "Special" shops are spread deliberately — Special 1, 4, 4.1, 5 and 7 on 2F; Special 2, 3, 8 and 9 on 3F; Special 6 on 4F — so if you're hunting one specific category, check the shop name rather than assuming a floor is exhausted.
B1 is not otaku retail: it's everyday shops and food, including the famous oversized soft-serve at Daily Chiko. Worth the stop, but don't go looking for figures there.
Floor allocations and what each shop sells were re-verified against Mandarake's official Nakano store directory (mandarake.co.jp/dir/nkn/) and the Nakano Broadway official shop pages (nakano-broadway.com) on 2026-10-11 (2026-10-11 確認). Hours are set shop by shop, and the building has its own closure days (中野ブロードウェイ休館日): the official shop pages list even Mandarake as "no regular holiday (except Nakano Broadway closure days)", so check the dates on nakano-broadway.com before you go. Individual shops move within the building from time to time — the directory at the entrance is the live version.
Tips
- Most shops open around midday (12:00), so come in the afternoon — mornings are quiet.
- Prices range from cheap used manga to very high-end collectibles; condition is graded, so inspect and compare.
- Cash is handy, though Mandarake takes cards. Combine with Akihabara on a 'two temples of otaku' day.
FAQ
- How is Nakano Broadway different from Akihabara?
- Akihabara is bigger, newer and more electric (new goods, electronics, maid cafés, arcades). Nakano Broadway is smaller, denser and more collector-focused — vintage, rare and out-of-print items, dominated by Mandarake's many specialty shops, which all open at 12:00 rather than mid-morning. Hunters and serious collectors often prefer Nakano; first-timers wanting new merch usually prefer Akihabara.
- How do I get to Nakano Broadway?
- From Nakano Station (JR Chuo / Tokyo Metro Tozai), take the North Exit and walk straight through the Nakano Sun Mall arcade — about 5 minutes. It's roughly 5 minutes by train from Shinjuku.
- What time does Nakano Broadway open, and is there a closed day?
- Each shop sets its own hours. Mandarake's Nakano shops are listed as 12:00–20:00, open every day, with buyback reception until 19:30 (Mandarake official, checked 2026-10-11). The exception is the building's own closure days: Nakano Broadway's official shop pages read "no regular holiday (except Nakano Broadway closure days)", so check the dates at nakano-broadway.com before you go.
- Which floor of Nakano Broadway is Mandarake on?
- Floors 1F–4F, in pieces (none on B1) — Mandarake is dozens of genre-split specialty shops rather than one store. Manga and the main stores (Honten 1 & 2) are on 3F; trading cards, cosplay, retro games, micro collectibles, film posters (Katsudo Shashin-kan) and PVC/prize figures (Special 4) are on 2F; non-Gundam robot toys and model kits (Special 6), vintage toys (Henya), dolls (Plastic), anime cels, scripts and settei (Anime-kan) and subculture and art photo books (Kaiba) are on 4F; the buyback counter is on 3F. All open 12:00–20:00, every day except the building's closure days (Mandarake and Nakano Broadway official, checked 2026-10-11). Check the shop name rather than assuming a floor is finished, because the numbered 'Special' shops are spread across 2F, 3F and 4F.
- How many floors does Nakano Broadway have, and can I go to the top?
- The shopping is B1 to 4F only. 5F and above are private residences, not shops - visitors regularly go up and find apartment doors. B1 is everyday shops and food rather than otaku retail, though it does have the famous oversized soft-serve at Daily Chiko.
- Which floor has figures, model kits and retro toys?
- Not 'Plastic' — despite the name, Mandarake Plastic (4F) sells dolls. PVC, trading and prize figures plus gachapon are at Special 4 on 2F; non-Gundam robot toys and model kits (Soul of Chogokin, Robot Damashii, Macross, Evangelion) are at Special 6 on 4F; vintage tin toys, chogokin and kaiju sofubi are at Henya on 4F; used game software and hardware are at Galaxy on 2F (Mandarake and Nakano Broadway official shop pages, checked 2026-10-11).
