When I was in Japan last month, I had the opportunity to visit Hobby Link Japan (HLJ). Thank you Gaijin Gunpla for showing me around!! They are one of the few great hobby vendors around. And I am sure many of us had shopped there before! =)
I was pretty excited the day I was going to HLJ. I woke up early that morning, left my hotel to grab a bite to eat at the local Micky Ds. Then head over to the Shinjuku Station to purchase a bus ticket to travel from Tokyo to Sano. Sano is where HLJ is located (north of Tokyo), and it took 1 1/2 hrs to get there. The bus station in Sano is actually only like 5 mins away from HLJ.... talk about convenience.
The HLJ building is located in the middle of nowhere, thats because HLJ is located in the midst of farmlands. So refreshing beautiful green scenery is the norm there...talk about working in a stress free enviornment.
Once inside... I was mesmerized by the sheer size of the place. Is rows & rows of hobby goodness. GaiGun briefly introduced me to the Boss (Scott Hards), and I saw his boss build 'MG Figurerise Kamen Rider Cyclone Joker' sitting on his desk. What a cool place to work.
GaiGun also shown me around his office area, where his desk is filled with Gunpla & stuff. I won't post a pic of that, cuz that is his personal stuff. But I can tell you that his recent Musha Mk-II Gundam Ver.S2 is as awesome as we had seen in his photo (See HERE). I wish I had his job.... seriously.
We had spend some time to walk around and to see all their latest releases. I'd also saw a lot of nice Kamen Rider figures, which I had recently became a fan of. =)
Once I was done looking around, we went out to have a bowl of Sano's famous ramen. Yes, it was truly good & tasty. And again, I especially enjoyed the local scenery.
One thing I admired about HLJ is their dedication to serving the needs of hobby fans around the world. And it inspired me to have the same dedication when I launch my GG INFINITE webstore next month.
As I was heading back to Tokyo, I enjoyed experiencing the contrast between Sano & Tokyo. Will probably visit this place again next year when I visit next year's Tokyo Toy Show.
