Where to buy company exclusive Plarail trains in Tokyo?

Hi everyone,
In a few months, I'll be taking a week long trip to Japan, specifically Tokyo. I am obviously quite excited about this, and I look forward to finally getting to ride and experience the Japanese trains that have fascinated me for so long, as well as of course to expand my Plarail collection . As of now, I am definitely planning on visiting the Plarail shop at Tokyo Station. However, this shop stocks only the main range of trains. From what I understand, many private railway companies will collaborate with Plarail to release exclusive trains that are not considered part of the normal Plarail range. These models are very pricey online as it seems they can only be purchased directly from the operator at physical stores. I have two main questions regarding these exclusive trains: Where are they available to purchase(I assume at the department stores operated by the rail companies, but what about smaller operators that don't have a department store?), and what models are currently available. I would greatly appreciate if any of the users on here could give me some assistance as I don't really have any idea what to do in order to locate these trains. 
Thanks,
SET

[Super]

Your Tokyo trip sounds exciting SET 😊

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.

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The Plarail Museum’s display of limited edition boxes, with release dates, is here:

https://parlorfleur-pm.com/CompanyLimited.html

[Super]

Thanks Dr Chris for the detailed work you put into this Post. 😊👍

Thanks Chris! Using the Plarail Museum site, I was able to compile a list of all of the currently available trains and where I can pick them up. Should be fun! I'll definitely post what I got once I get back!

Can't Wait!!

Exclusive Plarail trains are sold at the the station. If you visit the official Plarail site, it will tell you where you can purchase them. But bare in mind, the older they are, the harder they are to find.

I buy a lot of exclusive trains and they tend to cost a bit more than standard Plarail. But because the yen is so weak right now, it all works out if you buy it from Amazon Japan. The mark up is not always that bad.

If you visit the official Plarail site, it will tell you where you can purchase them.

This is the link for limited releases on the TakaraTomy webite. But you will quickly see that it's very hit-or-miss, many limited releases never appear here:

https://www.takaratomy.co.jp/products/pl...pecial.htm