Importers for Japanese model trains?

[Anonymous]

I live in the Seattle area and am absolutely fascinated by Japanese railway systems. Lucky for me, the Japanese are more train-obsessed than Americans are (a best-selling video game over there is "Densha a go," which is basically Microsoft Train Sim - only there's about 18 different versions and you can play it in any arcade).

Unluckily for me, I have not been able to find anyone who imports models of Japanese prototypes. Specifically I'm looking for Kato, Greenmax, and others' models of Tokyo-area commuter trains (of which there are loads - check out http://www.railfan.ne.jp).

Is anyone here aware of a good model importer in the U.S. that either [A] does mail-order or else [B] is within a few hours of the Seattle area? Any help would be much appreciated.

---Abram Bass

[Anonymous]

Hello Abram,

Have you checked Kato's Japanese site at http://www.katomodels.com? However, Kato cautions that not all these models are available in North America.

I'm not aware of anyone in the greater Puget Sound area (I live in Washington) that is a direct importer of Japanese model railroad equipment.

Regards,

Paul Schmidt
Contributing Editor
Trains.com

[Anonymous]

Kato only imports a smattering of their Japanese models; last time I checked, they had Bullet Trains, the Imperial Train, and some pre-war equipment - but none of the delicious models of modern-day passenger trains that are available in Japan.

Anyone else on these forums aware of a U.S. importer specializing in Japanese equipment?

[jsanchez]

Mokei imports of St Louis is the largest importer of Japanese trains, many hobbyshops deal with them for Kato products, they also carry Green Max, Tomix, and a few other lines. E-R models also imports Tomix Japanese trains, Walthers has totaly missed the boat on this one, there is definitely a market for Japanese trains in the USA especialy in N scale.

James

[wesleyp]

A place that has imported models of Japanese trains is Ken's Trains in Sudbury Mass. I haven't been there since moving to Fla. but they always had several of them on display in the cases. Be aware that Ken only stocks N scale. You can look up his address in the hobby shop listing in MR, I checked as I'd forgotten which town he was in.

[Hakuhatsu]

Abe,

What area of Japan are you interested in modeling? Tokyo? Nagoya? Osaka? Some of the more rural areas? Do you want to model JR (or JNR if you wi***o model pre-1987), Odakyu, Kintetsu, Meitetsu... You may be limited in the equipment you can get your hands on.

Still, Japanese trains are deffinately fascinating. I lived there for two years (I went to a school run there by the Minnesota state and Japanese governments, but has since closed) and took the trains all over the place (cheaper and more convenient than flying, even though the domestic airlines were pretty competitive).

Wouldn't mind getting my hands on a model of an E-3-type shinkansen... I rode the "Komachi" from Akita to Tokyo a number of times.

Hope you find a decent importer.
- Hakuhatsu

[Anonymous]

Do they make matching Godzilla figures to sma***hem?

[Anonymous]

Hello, I just joined this forum, I have found many places to get japanese trains, before you go to ebay to get whats out there check out these guys, there international sales.

top noch site about the shinkansen, a guy who lives there runs this sight.
http://www.h2.dion.ne.jp/~dajf/byunbyun/

seller and builder and all around great person to buy from and look at his stuff, I think he is in australia.
http://japanese-trains.com/

I think this supplier is in germany.
http://www.japanmodelrailways.com/

I think this supplier is in england
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/jrmodels/index.html

and there is a guy in new york, with great prices, I just can't find there sight right now.

check out our site, we are developing the japanese rail system, called the J project.
http://www.geocities.com/texasandbeyondmrhs/index.html
J project page will be available soon. We have done a ton of research, currently own over 50+ models of trains, will be building a layout to run them all.

[Anonymous]

To find Japanese N Scale trains check out the Brooklyn Locomotive Works site at www.blwnscale.com . You will find kato trains advertised there and at a good price. I talked with Leon R. Waldack from Kato at the N Scale show in Chantilly, VA last week, He said that if you have a Kato catalog you can order any Japanese train in the catalog from any authorized Kato dealer. Check the Kato website for a dealer near you. He didn't say how long it would take to get it. Phone number is [phone] x211 IF you need to contact him. I have acquired a dozen from various dealers over the year. I don't have a dealer for Tomix.