That’s quite a hard question to answer without writing a dissertation on the subject, but I can give you a few pointers. Fortunately you have a few months to do your research.
You will need to learn how to do online translation of Japanese websites for a start, I suggest using either google translate or safari’s built-in translator if you’re a Mac user.
First thing to do is visit the release chronology page at the Plarail Museum website. Look here:
https://parlorfleur-pm.com/syaryou_tanpi...4_Now.html
The third column will tell you whether an item is a current product, the ninth column tells you when it’s a limited edition, and the last column gives some indication about where the product is sold.
Pretty much all private railway limited edition trains are sold at stations on that railway or in stores on the station site. If you’re not going to be travelling outside the Tokyo area then obviously you’re going to be limited to Tokyo area private railways, but there are plenty to choose from.
Also you can search Blue Plastic Tracks, specifically the Plarail New Releases thread, where in many cases you will find links to press releases or specific company websites that give full details of where you can buy them.
Another tactic is to google the Japanese name of the product plus the characters for Plarail. So for the recent limited edition Hanshin 1000 series I would google 阪神電車1000系 and プラレール and look for results from Hanshin.co.jp. The fourth returned result (for me) is the one we want.
You need to be aware that some of these trains are released in limited quantities, like for example 1000, 3000, and so on, and may well be sold out. Others seem to be re-printed for as long as there is a demand.
I’ll try to answer any further questions if I can.
The Plarail Museum’s display of limited edition boxes, with release dates, is here:
https://parlorfleur-pm.com/CompanyLimited.html
(This post was last modified: 08-31-2024, 07:18 PM by chrisjo.)
You will need to learn how to do online translation of Japanese websites for a start, I suggest using either google translate or safari’s built-in translator if you’re a Mac user.
First thing to do is visit the release chronology page at the Plarail Museum website. Look here:
https://parlorfleur-pm.com/syaryou_tanpi...4_Now.html
The third column will tell you whether an item is a current product, the ninth column tells you when it’s a limited edition, and the last column gives some indication about where the product is sold.
Pretty much all private railway limited edition trains are sold at stations on that railway or in stores on the station site. If you’re not going to be travelling outside the Tokyo area then obviously you’re going to be limited to Tokyo area private railways, but there are plenty to choose from.
Also you can search Blue Plastic Tracks, specifically the Plarail New Releases thread, where in many cases you will find links to press releases or specific company websites that give full details of where you can buy them.
Another tactic is to google the Japanese name of the product plus the characters for Plarail. So for the recent limited edition Hanshin 1000 series I would google 阪神電車1000系 and プラレール and look for results from Hanshin.co.jp. The fourth returned result (for me) is the one we want.
You need to be aware that some of these trains are released in limited quantities, like for example 1000, 3000, and so on, and may well be sold out. Others seem to be re-printed for as long as there is a demand.
I’ll try to answer any further questions if I can.
The Plarail Museum’s display of limited edition boxes, with release dates, is here:
https://parlorfleur-pm.com/CompanyLimited.html
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