Street Portrait

Purim 2011. A prayer for the Lottery (orange/ blue booth). Bnei Brak: is a city located just east of Tel Aviv, Israel. It is a center of ultra-orthodox Jewish culture and one of the poorest and most densely populated cities in Israel. Taken by Flavio

the Alps

The magnificent 3 peaks of, Jungfrau, Mönch and the Eiger (from right to left).
this picture was taken from Sulssee (lake) (1940 m), during my Bällenhöchst hiking trip (from Saxten to Isenfluh) near Interlaken in Switzerland. Taken by farid samara 89

Laundry Lines

There is always freshly washed laundry hanging outside. People in Cuba wear nice clean clothes, are well groomed and woman have their hair and make-up done when they leave the house. Taken by StellaBlu

Kona

"Kona, Sierra Madre, CA". Taken by greenelent

Contemplating

"Thinking about what ??
Taiwan". Taken by Squitten

Kukje Electronics Center

"The Kukje Electronics Center" is the place to go to for figures in Seoul. For those familiar with Seoul, it's like the "Yongsan" of anime figures. Well, at least a very mini version of that in any case. It's about half a floor of various retailers and flea markets located inside a high rise department store type building. Probably the only one of its kind here and it's a welcome sight. I was quite overwhelmed by it all.

The main store is called NonNo21 (www.nonno21.com) and they have the best selection. The other retailers also have good selections and definitely well worth the visit, too. I looked at all the stores and got lost a bit after several turns. I didn't want to leave. The collection of stores here compares very favorably to the Taiwan underground shopping mall with its selection of anime figures stores, probably even a bit better here. Pricing is better than the Hobby Square stores. Selection is obviously better, too.

This shopping complex is "THE" place to go for anime related figures and other items in Seoul.

The Pix:

All pix are of the NonNo21 store. I only shot just a partial selection of everything they have. Permission was granted by the store to take these pix. Thank you for that (if you happen to be reading this blog).

Location:

The "Kukje Electronics Center" is located at Nambu Bus Terminal subway station via exit number 3. Just keep walking straight as you exit the top of the stairs and it is immediately to your right. The "Character Goods" floor is where all the figures are located; the floor you want is the 9th floor. Here's the address in Korean for those actually looking for it: 서울 서초구 서초1동 1445-1 국제전자센터 9층 21호.

Hobby Square

I guess I'm quite fortunate here for figures because, after some extensive research, I turned up at least three locations for authentic figures in Seoul. Some of these places rival those I found in Taiwan. Of course, Tokyo and Hong Kong undoubtedly have better ones. But, I was not into figures at that time. Next year, though.

Anyways, Hobby Square has two locations here in Seoul, South Korea; one directly inside Seoul Main Station subway station, and the other only two subway stops south at Yongsan subway station. The pix above are of the Seoul Main Station store, but the Yongsan store looks pretty much the same. The Seoul Main Station location is on the very top floor in the Galleria. I think it's either the third, or forth floor. I don't really know how they count the floors there. In any case, the store has an entrance right in front of the main escalators leading to the very top. Hard to miss.

Both these locations have limited selections of figures as about 99% of their inventory are Gundams, Mechs and other action figures with some cars and airplanes thrown in for good measure. There's also a Hello Kitty section at the Seoul Main Station location, too. Anime figures are sparse to say the least. But, they do have some that are worth the price of admission, though. Pricing is about the same as in Taiwan, give or take a bit.

Note:

Permission was granted by the store for me to take these pix. Thank you for that (if you happen to be reading this post).

The Yongsan location of Hobby Square, which is inside the I-Park Department Store shopping mall, on the 7th floor and inside the big book store(!), has a bigger selection of figures and is the better choice to go to for anime figures. The anime figure stock is NOT the same at the two stores, though. Similar pricing applies. It seems only places outside of Asia have the high prices associated with these figures. Good thing, too. Well, for me anyways, not for those of you living outside of Asia. Sorry.

Anyways, next up; "The" place to go for figures in Seoul.

At Hakoya Again

Adventures In Eating Out With Kids

I was sitting at a Japanese restaurant in Gangnam on Saturday enjoying a bite to eat with a friend. Mio was singing us a little song to entertain us while we ate.

Off to one side, Mugi was also enjoying the song. But, unknown to her, a little purple haired cutie had other plans.

"Plop!"

Of course, Mugi didn't like that at all and quickly gave the purple haired little cutie a taste of her own medicine.

By this time, I didn't know who was enjoying the "beating" more. But, I certainly was as I watched them go at it.

Mio finally had enough of the antics of those two and left. She didn't like being disturbed while singing. I don't blame her. A moment later, Yui wanders over and cheers Mugi on. I just continue to eat my food at this point and let the kids do what they want. No point in getting involved now!