Hong Kong Loot Run #1: Mong Kok

This is probably the first ’serious’ merchandise search I’ve done since bemoaning my leaving Taipei, which had many high-quality anime/manga/game-dedicated stores.

Browsing several forums told me that there is a small concentration of stores in Mong Kok, Kowloon area that is pretty high up in the “best you can find in Hong Kong” listing.

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It’s about two streets down Exit E2 of Mong Kok Station (zoom in); my plan was to stroll down Sai Yeung Choi St. (a mainly pedestrian road), have lunch, try CTMA Centre first, then swing back to Nathan Centre and Sino Centre on Nathan Rd.

(Most of the malls had a “no photos” policy going, so most of this is going to be in words.)

Ridicule-Preventive Fan Wear

As a mild shut-in who does occasionally walk in the sun, this is, to put it lightly, really awesome.

We need more shirt designs like these.

Okay, that Touhou one not so much, but it’d still look pretty good without drawing strange stares. Or at least less of them.

2007 animu market worth 186.8 billion yen

According to Otaku Times, ANN, and DarkMirage, the research agency Media Create released their annual research on the “Otaku Industry”. The total number of sales amount to about 186.6 billion yen, which translate into about 1.65 billion USD, which is a 2% increase over last year.