LEGOLAND Japan

[Japanbuilder]

Finally! LEGOLAND Japan is nearly completed and is slated to open on April 1st 2017. https://www.legoland.jp/en/

Having never visited one before I am hoping I can get to go sometime during opening week. It will have many more features than the few other official stores so I am curious about all of that. 

My one fear is that it will be super crowded wall-to-wall people similar to Disney Sea (24/7/365 wall-to-wall people). But I guess that just comes with the territory here =) Just happy to finally have a HUGE LEGO facility finally in Japan. I also wonder how the prices at the shops will compare to the usual outlets here in the country. Though recently for many sets I have been noticing an effort to at the very least match U.S. Pricing on some sets(perhaps due to the opening of the Chinese factory recently?). 

[VaderFan2187]

April 1st?  that's a strange opening date...

3 hours ago, Japanbuilder said:

I also wonder how the prices at the shops will compare to the usual outlets here in the country. Though recently for many sets I have been noticing an effort to at the very least match U.S. Pricing on some sets(perhaps due to the opening of the Chinese factory recently?). 

Lucky you, prices are 2x US prices down here 

[Japanbuilder]

54 minutes ago, VaderFan2187 said:

April 1st?  that's a strange opening date...

Lucky you, prices are 2x US prices down here 

Yes, April 1st struck me as odd too, but in Japan it has no culturally significant association. All I know is I got 21 days to save some cash =)

I wish I could feel lucky about pricing most times. Scalping is a huge issue for folks not close to major retail outlets. Sets vanish once in stock (unless they're shelf warmers) and it is really hard to track down a decent price for the most desired sets, even when they're in stock (also there are rarely ever any sales). 

[BubbaFit45531]

I watched a YouTube video by LoreZyra(?) of LEGOLAND at Odaiba and it was interesting. He slowly shows what's on the shelves, the displays, etc.

Also, recently I saw on Amazon Japan, under a search for Lego, they had these cheap sets where the boxes mimicked real Lego boxes and even used "Creator" on the box. I wonder if that was made in Japan or China. The prices for legit Lego seemed about the same as here.

Edited March 10, 2017 by BubbaFit45531

[AmperZand]

12 hours ago, Japanbuilder said:

Finally! LEGOLAND Japan is nearly completed and is slated to open on April 1st 2017. https://www.legoland.jp/en/

Having never visited one before I am hoping I can get to go sometime during opening week. It will have many more features than the few other official stores so I am curious about all of that. 

My one fear is that it will be super crowded wall-to-wall people...

My recommendation based on my experience of visiting LEGOLAND Billund last year is not to go during school holidays, after school breaks up for the day or at weekends. All schools follow the same holiday schedule and school times set out by Monbusho, so it should be pretty straightforward to avoid the hordes of kids and their parents. The truancy rate is low in Japan, so you won't get many kids there who are playing hooky.

And based on the crazy queues in Shinjuku for the first Krispy Kreme store in Japan, I would delay going to LEGOLAND Japan for its first few weeks.  

   

Edited March 10, 2017 by AmperZand

[Japanbuilder]

10 hours ago, AmperZand said:

My recommendation based on my experience of visiting LEGOLAND Billund last year is not to go during school holidays, after school breaks up for the day or at weekends. All schools follow the same holiday schedule and school times set out by Monbusho, so it should be pretty straightforward to avoid the hordes of kids and their parents. The truancy rate is low in Japan, so you won't get many kids there who are playing hooky.

And based on the crazy queues in Shinjuku for the first Krispy Kreme store in Japan, I would delay going to LEGOLAND Japan for its first few weeks.  

   

This I know all too well, the problem is everyone is on a similar schedule. My kids would only be free during a holiday or weekend themselves making it always likely that it will be crowded whenever we go ; ; I'll see what I can arrange though =)