Tin Toy Museum Yokohama

[Sefton]

Spin off time: In the Observation Bar there is a great thread called 'Your Favorite Toys as a kid' with some good stuff going on. Maj.Nick Danger mentions the Osaka Tin Toy Museum so I'd like to post some pics from the Yokohama Tin Toy Museum. I was there in Dec. '05 and took many pics (too many to post here). The following are some of my favorites. If you love tin toys this place is like heaven...the museum is a small building that looks rather like a victorian style house. Inside is packed with the most amazing collection of tin toys you are likely to ever see in one place! A priceless collection that was assembled by one man (It's his personal toy box that he shares with the world!). Enjoy!

Robby The Robot!

Classic Pan Am airplane. About 15" long

A shelf full of very expensive Batman toys!

Astro Boy and friends!

Mr.Atomic! One of the most rare of tin toys..

San Francisco Cable Car!

Cute critters!

Popeye!

Penguins!

Japan Air Lines classic passenger plane about 3 feet long!

If you ever visit Japan and you're an old toy collector or just like to look at some examples of brilliant and beautiful toys visit the museum. It's a bit out of the way...the walk was long but you'll see some sites along the way...for me it was like a pilgrimage. Thanks for looking! Sefton

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Ya gotta love that!

Arigato Gozaimasu, Sefton for the info! Probably more tin Batmans under one roof than anyone ever knew existed! (And did I see a couple of Astro Boys in one of the pics?!) They just don't make them like that anymore,....not for the prices we payed back then anyway. Kanpai!

 

[John in Covina]

Tin Cap Guns

In my home town of Copiague, when I was little, on Great Neck Road south of Oak Street on the East side there was a Five & Dime store whose name escapes me. They had tin toys from Japan mostly cars and tanks and these small cap guns all stamped out of metal. They usually came apart after being dropped enough times or accidently stepped on as kids usually do. What was wild was the metal was recycled! It often was tuna cans with Japanese writing all over it. Now it may not have been used cans or maybe it was, or maybe scrap from a tin can run, but I was always captivated by these tuna cans.

 

[Sefton]

An interesting fact about the world of Japanese tin toys is that the industry really got started because of the U.S. Occupational govt. They saw it as a way to help kick start the Japanese economy. I guess it worked!

I haven't seen any of those recycled toys yet...that's interesting! thanks for the info.