AmiAmi

Quick Facts

Last checked against official information: 2026-11-12.

What it is

AmiAmi (あみあみ), operated by Oh-ami Inc. （大網株式会社） of Bunkyo City, Tokyo, is one of Japan's largest character and hobby mail-order stores — and first and foremost an online shop. Mail order began in 1999, an English storefront (amiami.com) followed in 2009, and most collectors know it for online figure pre-orders. This guide covers the part you can walk into: its physical stores in Akihabara, where the catalogue becomes shelves you can browse and carry home today.

Two full stores sit minutes apart. The AmiAmi Akihabara Radio Kaikan Store occupies 4F of Akihabara Radio Kaikan, the landmark hobby building directly in front of JR Akihabara Station's Electric Town Exit — the generalist, with over 100,000 items per the building's own shop guide. The AmiAmi Akihabara Figure Tower, opened in 2024 on Chuo-dori, is the specialist: an entire 8-floor building devoted to figures. A much smaller Ikebukuro Goods Store sells fair goods. Note the operator's warning on the official store site: the physical stores are run separately from the online shop, with different stock and different prices.

How to shop

1. Pick Your Store (Radio Kaikan vs. Figure Tower):
   • Radio Kaikan Store (4F, Akihabara Radio Kaikan): 0 minutes from the Electric Town Exit — inside the building as you leave the station. One large floor: figures, character goods, plastic models, trading cards, food toys, lottery-prize goods, tools and craft kits, books, games, media, plus fair- and event-limited goods. Open 11:00–20:00 daily.
   • Figure Tower (1-15-3 Sotokanda): 2 minutes from the Electric Town Exit. All 8 floors are figure-focused, open later at 10:00–21:00 daily — best for evenings or figure-only sessions.
2. Browse New and Pre-Owned Shelves:
   • New releases sit alongside a pre-owned (中古) section: pre-owned buying and selling is officially listed among the Radio Kaikan Store's services, and both stores run buyback counters (reception 11:30–18:30), so traded-in figures constantly refresh the used shelves — check condition and box state carefully before buying.
3. Reservations Are a Separate System:
   • The Radio Kaikan Store accepts in-store reservations （予約受付）, but online pre-orders are a different operation. An item pre-ordered on amiami.com or amiami.jp will not be waiting at the store, and staff cannot answer questions about online orders (official notice).
4. Checkout (Standard or Tax-Free):
   • Pay at the register — cash and major credit cards are accepted.
   • Both Akihabara stores are listed in Japan's tax-free shop directory. If your purchases at one store on one day total ¥5,000 or more before tax, tell the staff before paying and present your original physical passport: you pay the tax-included price, the purchase is registered for tax-free, and the tax is refunded after Customs confirms the export when you leave Japan — see "Tax-free — refund method" below.

Services & options

1. New-Release Scale Figures （完成品フィギュア）: AmiAmi's core strength, online and off. Fresh stock from the major makers lines both stores; the Figure Tower is eight floors of exactly this.
2. Pre-Owned Figures （中古フィギュア）: The Radio Kaikan Store officially buys and sells pre-owned stock, so sold-out figures resurface here at condition-based prices — the shelf online shoppers cannot browse.
3. Nendoroid & figma （ねんどろいど／figma): Chibi and articulated figures that pack flat and survive suitcases — a reliable first buy when luggage space is tight.
4. Plastic Models & Hobby Tools （プラモデル／工具・材料）: The Radio Kaikan Store carries kits plus tools and materials — the full hobby, not just the finished figure.
5. Trading Cards & Event-Limited Goods （トレカ／限定グッズ）: An official Radio Kaikan category; both stores also run series fairs with limited goods.

Payment & practical info

Prices and details checked: November 2026.

• Payment Accepted: Cash, Visa, Mastercard, JCB, American Express, Diners Club, and UnionPay, per the stores' tax-free shop directory listings. IC/e-money acceptance is unpublished — carry cash as backup.
• Hours: Radio Kaikan Store 11:00–20:00 daily; Figure Tower 10:00–21:00 daily; no regular closing days. Buyback counters receive items 11:30–18:30. Hours can change — check the stores' official SNS.
• Tax-free — refund method (checked 2026-11-11): Both Akihabara stores are listed as tax-free shops in the TAXFREESHOPS.JP directory — but AmiAmi publishes no tax-free page, refund operator, or fee, so confirm the refund method at the register when you buy. How Japan's refund system works (since 1 November 2026): you pay the tax-included price and register the purchase with your physical passport; eligible purchases at one store on one day must total ¥5,000 or more before tax. At departure, complete Customs' export confirmation at a tax-free procedure terminal before checking your baggage, within 90 days of purchase (show the goods only if flagged). The store or its designated refund operator then refunds the consumption tax by the method registered at purchase; Customs confirms exports but does not pay refunds. For eligible purchases from participating stores, cash collection at designated airport refund terminals may be available, but it does not cover every tax-free purchase. Confirmation is per tax-free purchase record: every tax-free item on the record must be taken out of Japan. Consumables must not be consumed in Japan — if one is consumed, that record cannot be confirmed and receives no refund — while non-consumables may be used in Japan as long as you export them. The old sealed-packaging rule and the ¥500,000 cap no longer apply.
• Tax-Free Status: Available at both stores on same-day purchases of ¥5,000+ before tax (refund system; see above).

Good to know / Common mistakes

• Online Pre-Order ≠ In-Store Stock: The most common AmiAmi misunderstanding. Stores and online shop are separate operations with different stock and prices (stated on the official store site). Web pre-orders are shipped, never held at the counter, and store staff cannot help with them.
• The Building Opens Before the Store: Radio Kaikan itself opens at 10:00, but AmiAmi's store opens at 11:00. Arrive at 10:00 and you browse other floors for an hour — or walk two minutes to the Figure Tower.
• Buyback Counters Close Early: Selling figures back? The counters stop receiving items at 18:30, well before closing, at both stores.
• Bring the Physical Passport: Tax-free registration needs the original passport; copies and phone photos will not do.

Sources

• AmiAmi Akihabara Radio Kaikan Store (Verified: 2026-11-11)
• AmiAmi Akihabara Figure Tower (Verified: 2026-11-11)
• AmiAmi Physical Stores (English) (Verified: 2026-11-11)
• Radio Kaikan Store — TAXFREESHOPS.JP (Verified: 2026-11-11)
• Figure Tower Store — TAXFREESHOPS.JP (Verified: 2026-11-11)