Kicks Hobby Japan

Kicks Hobby Japan is a Seattle shop at 543 NE Northgate Way, Suite L, that imports model kits, robot figures and character toys directly from Japan. It suits builders and collectors of mecha and anime merchandise first; the Dragon Ball Super Card Game is the card line on its shelves, and there is no weekly tournament schedule to plan around.

What's on the shelves

The core of the store is Japanese robot and figure merchandise. Gundam is the deepest line, with plastic kits in scales from 1/144 up through 1/100 Master Grade and the large 1/60 range, along with Real Grade, Mega Size and super-deformed SD Gundam kits. Transformers are stocked too, including the Alternity car-mode figures and Masterpiece pieces, as are Revoltech, Macross, Soul of Chogokin, Armored Core, Godzilla, Sentai and Power Rangers, and Kamen Rider.

Beyond the robots there are plush toys, including Nintendo characters, along with zipper pulls and Final Fantasy and Naruto figures. Dragon Ball Super Card Game product is the card offering, and Dragon Ball merchandise has a dedicated shop of its own, SuperSaiyan-Shop.com, which ships free worldwide.

Pre-orders are available for both robots and figures, which matters for limited kits and new Japanese releases.

Building the kits

For newcomers, the Japanese instructions are not a barrier: the manuals are step-by-step picture diagrams, with parts referred to by letter and number, so no Japanese is needed. Most kits need no paint and include stickers and decals. The main exception is Hasegawa, whose kits often require paint to finish as designed.

Store policies

Unopened merchandise can be returned for store credit within 30 days of the invoice date, and a 15% restocking fee applies to every return for store credit. Defective items can be exchanged for the exact same item within 14 days of the invoice date. Shipping charges are non-refundable and the customer pays return shipping. For most products, technical support comes from the original manufacturer rather than the store.

Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express are accepted, and customers who choose in-store pickup can pay when they collect the order.

Shipping

The store ships everything by UPS. Within the United States the options are Ground, 2nd Day Air and Next Day Air, and international orders go by UPS Standard Global Shipping. Orders take about 1 to 2 business days to process before they ship, and tracking numbers go out by email.

Getting there

The shop is at 543 NE Northgate Way, Suite L, Seattle, WA 98125.

History

The store has long worked the convention circuit as well as its Seattle storefront. In November 2009 it set up a booth at Aki-Con, the anime convention in Everett, and closed the Seattle location from November 5 through November 9, reopening on November 10. Its 2009 holiday schedule included Christmas Eve hours of 11 AM to 6 PM and a closure on Christmas Day.

The local scene

Several other game and hobby shops sit close by: Game Over Videogames is 0.2 miles away, Math 'n' Stuff - Puzzles, Toys, And Games is 1 mile, Game Gurus is 1.2 miles, Card Exchange is 1.9 miles and Bucephalus Games is 2 miles. For a card show, the Gold Star Card Show (Halloween Show!) is 8 miles away and next starts on October 31, 2026. The Twin Oaks Sports Cards and Collectible Shows run is 27.3 miles away and also begins October 31, and the Twin Oaks Card Show follows on November 8.