Tag Archives: tomica

Inside the world of Kimono My House, one of the oldest Japanese hobby shops in the US

Before anime and Japanese sci-fi became mainstream on US shores, a small hobby shop in Emeryville, California filled that niche for those in the know. Kimono My House is probably the oldest Japanese toy store in the United States, its … Continue reading

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MINICARS: The classic Tomica Building playset updated and re-released for 50th anniversary

Originally released in 1971, the Tomica Building was one of the most popular and iconic playsets from the diecast company’s early years. The palm-sized diecast cars that had debuted in 1970 had turned out to be a big success, so … Continue reading

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50 YEAR CLUB: Tomica

Fifty years ago today, car culture in Japan was forever changed with the introduction of Tomica, the country’s first authentic diecast miniature cars in the 3-inch range. Launched on August 18, 1970, they quickly became the most popular diecast toys … Continue reading

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MINICARS: Diecast Racing League is the best sport to watch during quarantine

Actual motorsports might be on hiatus while the coronavirus quarantine is in effect, but that doesn’t mean all auto racing has to grind to a halt. Turns out, there’s a thriving community of drivers who compete in diecast cars. The … Continue reading

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Civic Type R’s chief engineer’s love for cars began with a toy Toyota Celica

Last week Tomica announced for its 50th anniversary that it would be collaborating with several Japanese carmakers for special edition toy cars. One of them was Honda, represented by the new FK8 Civic Type R. At the press conference Hideki … Continue reading

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MINICARS: Stay in this Tomica-themed hotel room in Japan

To coincide with 50th anniversary of Japan’s favorite toy cars, a hotel in Tokyo has created a Tomica-themed room that kids (and presumably adults, too) can stay in. The hotel is the Maihama First Resort overlooking Tokyo Bay and is … Continue reading

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MINICARS: Tomica collaborates with carmakers for 50th anniversary

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Tomica, Japan’s favorite diecast metal cars. The childhood toy of almost every car aficionado in Japan, they are as imprinted onto the minds of enthusiasts there as Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars are … Continue reading

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MINICARS: Tomica is coming to Walmart

There’s some great news for fans of Japanese diecast. Tomica cars will soon be available in the United States, at Walmart stores. “Having sold more than a half a billion units around the world, Tomica is known for luxury premium … Continue reading

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Happy Independence Day from JNC

Released in 2017, the US-flag Tomica Toyota 2000GT was part of a special edition Flags of the World series that decked out Japan’s O.G. supercar with — you guessed it — flags of the world. In fact, it is the second … Continue reading

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MINICARS: Tomica Limited Vintage made an FD3S Mazda RX-7 and it looks amazing

We haven’t written about Tomica Limited Vintage in a while, but the collectors’ offshoot of Japan’s most popular diecast cars has been quietly churning out excellent 1:64-scale models of classics for a while. The latest, however, is sure to make … Continue reading

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Tokyo Motor Show: The State of Cars in Japan

By now you have seen plenty of car magazine and social media channels declare the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show as being a disappointment. Leading up to the show, there were whispers of some tasty production cars being revealed: a Fairlady Z … Continue reading

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MINICARS: Amazing miniature kaido racer models at the Tokyo Auto Salon

One of the coolest and most popular displays at this year’s Tokyo Auto Salon wasn’t from an automaker, tuning house, or aftermarket parts company. In fact, it didn’t feature real cars at all. Instead, it was a lineup of miniature kaido … Continue reading

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PIXELATED: Toyota C-HR ad stars cast of Street Fighter game

The car may not be nostalgic, but the game certainly is. Toyota has enlisted the help of the Street Fighter II cast to promote the new C-HR. In the new ad, Ryu drives the car around the world through some familiar … Continue reading

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MINICARS: Have some chocolate cars for Valentine’s Day

Tomica is back with a line of chocolate minicars for this Valentine’s Day. The Japanese diecast carmaker is giving us six cars to drool over, with modern version of two sports car icons — the Nissan GT-R and Fairlady Z — … Continue reading

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MINICARS: New Japanese classics in Tomica line, sort of

Japanese diecast manufacturer Tomica is about to release its first Japanese classics into their main line since, well, since most similar classics were still new cars. The cars in question are an Isuzu 117 and Bellett, but there’s a catch. Both … Continue reading

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MILESTONES: Neoclassic Magazine celebrates 50 volumes

Our friends at Kousoku Yuen magazine in Japan recently published their 50th volume. The bimonthly publication, whom some of you may know as NeoClassic, specializes in Japanese cars, but you’ll rarely see a 2000GT or Hakosuka GT-R on the cover. Instead, you’re more likely … Continue reading

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Tokyo Motor Show: The wild and wonderful Big Sights

Though the exciting debuts of the Tokyo Motor Show have been covered, you didn’t think we’d go all the way to Tokyo and and not show you around, did you? Here’s what it’s like to attend the press days of the maddest Motor … Continue reading

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MINICARS: Happy Valentine’s Day from JNC

It’s become a tradition for Tomica to release a series of chocolate cars every year, just in time for Valentine’s Day. In years past we’ve seen chocolate classics like the Toyota 2000GT, S30 Nissan Fairlady Z, hakosuka GT-R, TE72 Corolla Levin, and … Continue reading

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Happy Valentine’s Day from JNC

Valentine’s Day. Unavoidable and yet oh-so-little to do with cars. That is, unless you’re lucky enough to receive one of these kyuusha-shaped Tomica chocolates. For 2014, they’ve added an adorable cocoa Subaru 360 to the set. How cute is that? I … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Tokyo Motor Show, Day 02

On Day One of the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show we saw one of the most significant concepts to come out of Japan since the FT-86. With that excitement out of the way, we spent Day Two seeing what Nissan’s major … Continue reading

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