Guide to Toy Shops in Hong Kong

Being the weirdos that we are, my husband and I prioritized the most important activity when we went abroad last year—toy shopping in Hong Kong.

I know that this is a long overdue post, but it was the first time we ever went toy hunting in Hong Kong so we kind of panicked like little kids set loose in a candy store when we got there. I would have liked to take more pictures of the shops and the actual toys available there, but all thoughts of snapping photos were thrown out the window the moment we set foot inside the toy stores in Hong Kong. So. I’ll have this list updated with more photos soon when we do come back for more, but for now, I hope some descriptions will do.

1. In’s Point - 530-538 Nathan Rd, near Yau Ma Tei MTR Station

This is pretty much every toy collector’s haven. Be prepared to squeeze your way through the narrow hallways when you arrive during peak hours after work. Think Greenhills tiangge but purely for toys—it’s basically an even bigger and way better Shoppesville Plus. There are two floors filled with all kinds of collectibles from Hot Toys to lose Gashapon capsule toys. You can also find a lot of anime goodies here (Sailor Moon is still a popular bet), along with DC Comics and Marvel figures as well. While it used to be packed with action figures in years past, it’s now steadily becoming more of a Lego hub, as most minifigs, playsets, and loose bricks can be bought at an extremely cheaper price than here in the Philippines. I got myself a couple of Tsum Tsum collectibles (there’s one stall dedicated entirely to official Tsum Tsum merchandise straight from Japan!), while the hubby scored some Lego sets for himself.

Photo from Google Maps

Since the stuff here at In’s Point are more our cup of tea, I think this is probably the best toy shop in Hong Kong for us, so much so that we went back twice and still weren’t able to buy everything we wanted. This is because most of the stalls here are owned by students or employees who aren’t around during school days/office hours, so some of the shops only open on certain hours during the weekend or at night during weekdays. Not all the shops open at the same time, either, because as mentioned, the store hours depend on the store owner’s free time. One trip to In’s Point is definitely not enough as you might not be able to catch the store you’re eyeing open in time. The hubby and I ended up pressing our noses up the glass display of some of the stalls that were closed because we wanted to buy some stuff inside but couldn’t to our dismay. It’s best to ask around about the schedule of the stall you want to buy from, which usually opens from 3pm onwards or after office hours on weekdays.

It’s also a good idea to jot down prices from different stalls as you search for the cheapest find. If you’re the type without a sense of direction like me, then it’s best to mark down the location of the stall you want to return to after scouting the whole area. I sometimes get lost wanting to go back to a stall I’ve visited. It’s like effing Narnia in there, or the moving staircases at Hogwarts—at least for poor, directionless me.

A note to the ladies: there are bathrooms on every floor, but for some reason when we went to visit, they were all closed or under maintenance. Not to worry though—you can take a pee break on the top floor of the building where a fancy Chinese restaurant is located.

2. Richmond Arcade - 109 Argyle St, Mong Kok

What shoppers often forget when arriving here is that there is a basement floor where you can find scale models, Gundam kits, Playarts, and anime figures. Of course, the top floors are filled with so much more, including vintage collectibles and a surprising number of Ultraman figures. Be prepared to hoard, so it’s best if you have some ecobags handy so that you can just keep stuffing all your rare finds in there. Like I said, we weren’t able to take a lot of pictures, so for now, at least before we go back next time, here’s a walkthrough video from WalkThroughHK:

3. CTMA Center - 1N Sai Yeung Choi Street, Mong Kok

This one is pretty huge and has a wider selection of goods compared to In’s Point, mainly because it’s not just for toys. The CTMA Center also has clothes and bargain goods similar to Greenhills’ actual tiangge, depending on the section or floor you’re on. Unfortunately, this also means that some of the stuff here are bootleg versions just like in our actual tiangges, so just be aware of what’s original and what’s not.

Still, if you’re a big Hot Toys fan, CTMA Center is probably the best toy store in Hong Kong for you because there’s this shop called Toy Hunters where you can pre-order and pick up some Hot Toys. Not really our thing, but it’s heaven for most collectors. You can also visit Superman Toys for a wide variety of collectibles that include Pixar toys (yay!).

4. AA Place - 9/F Lee Theatre Plaza, Causeway Bay

Just like most of the toy shops in Hong Kong, AA Place closes really late at 10pm. This is the place to be for every Lego fanatic—they’ve even got a Lego minifigure museum where you can salivate over the rare minifigs and curse the heavens because you know you can never afford all of them. Kids can build the day away over at the free play area, while bored adults can sip some coffee at the AA Place café. The highlight of the shop for my hubby is the rows and rows of Lego bricks in every shape, size, and color imaginable. He spent a good two hours or so in there looking for the perfect pieces for his particular brick projects.

5. Toys R Us - 7/F, Windsor House, Causeway Bay ; Shop OTG23, G/F, Ocean Terminal, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon

No Hong Kong toy run would be complete without a trip to at least one Toys R Us branch. Sadly, I noticed that there aren’t a lot of Funko Pop figures in Hong Kong, so if you’re a Funko fan like me, Greenhills is still the best place to shop for Pops (Big Boys Toys and Kramer, for instance). Still, we got a lot of Kinder Joy Egg Surprises here for our nephews and nieces (there’s Sophia The First, Planes, Cars, Avengers, Minions, Disney Princesses, Frozen, and Big Hero 6).

When you visit, be on the lookout for tourist promos because they’ve got a lot of those to promote tourism (which is really something we oughta learn here in the Philippines). For example, when we visited, we got freebies simply by presenting our passports as tourists. Here’s what we got:

6. Mall Pop-Up Stores

I’m not sure if it’s just because of the sale season when we visited towards the end of July, but almost all of the malls had exhibits and pop-up stores that sold toys and collectibles for a limited period of time. We were fortunate enough to catch a few of them:

Sanrio pop-up store at Windsor House, Causeway Bay

Mazinger Z exhibit at The One Mall, 100 Nathan Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui

Minions exhibit and pop-up store at MOKO Mall, 193 Prince Edward Road West, Mong Kok

Gundam exhibit at Time Square Mall, 1 Matheson St, Causeway Bay

7. Charlie Brown Café - 58-60 Cameron Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui

Okay, so this one is just for Snoopy fans, but in light of the upcoming Peanuts movie this January 8^th, the Charlie Brown Café is the perfect place to soak in all the Peanuts atmosphere. From good food to one-of-a-kind merchandise, the place is a must-see especially when you’re in TST. Just look at the amazing interior design!

Hopefully, we'll be back in Hong Kong soon for more updates, but for now, more toy runs in other Asian countries await (woot!).