Welcome to the Imaginatorium Shop, now in our tenth year!
From our base in Japan (here!), we send jigsaw puzzles anywhere in the world. Most of the hundreds of puzzles we have in stock feature oriental themes, but the high quality of Japanese-made puzzles (exquisite printing, really solid card stock, and clean cutting) also makes "reverse imports" highly desirable — puzzles of Peanuts, Disney, and lots of other Western characters popular in Japan. In general, if a puzzle is available in Japan, we can get it for you within a week or so - see the special orders page.
- Contents page - full shop guide, including navigation links at the top of each page
- Bargains! - reduced prices on selected puzzles
- Top ten - best-selling puzzles
- Last chance! - only one left of each of these puzzles...
- Artists - a complete list
- Special orders - when you can't find the puzzle you are looking for
- Missing pieces - help when you have the puzzle but can't find a piece!
- Forum ... share comments and ideas
Feature of the month for January: flowers in the landscape
An extra 15% off all of these scenic puzzles throughout January (except the Himeji castle pictures, which were part of October's feature).
See all special offers.
(All special offers subject to current stock availability)
10% discount on all orders
We have been struggling with high yen exchange rates since the crash at the end of 2008, but however convincing it might be that this will only last a few more months, the yen simply keeps going up — this means that in just about all of the currencies our customers use, puzzle prices have kept rising. The graph on the right shows the trends, taking the rates before the crash as a base of 100.
We normally give 5% discount on an order total of 2000+ pieces, and 10% discount for 4000+ pieces, but this is not an easy time to say "Make a big order!" So at least while the yen is at current levels, we will give 10% discount on all orders. This applies on top of special offer discounts.
And more bargains!
Over the years we've accumulated a collection of puzzles that have been lingering in stock for too long, so we are offering at least 50% off (and as always a further 10% reduction)... here are just some of the puzzles:
...and more, in the bargain sale.
Latest additions
New Totoro puzzles: 500 pieces, new and old designs. The Totoro puzzles are now on a separate page from the other Ghibli animations, and we will have more soon...
Something different from Hokusai, the master of Ukiyo-e famed for his landscapes ... ghost pictures in Tenyo 1000 tiny piece puzzles!
New artist: Shinji Yamamoto, children's illustrator, brings us fun-filled puzzles...
And more...
Chit-chat
—August—
We often get questions like "Do you have a store?" To which the simple answer is "No", since we are an online operation — but anyone intrepid enough to make their way here would be welcome to browse catalogs, and inspect stock. And we'd be delighted to provide a cup of tea. Intrepid? Well, we are in Sano, two or three hours from Tokyo by train.
So where else could I look at puzzles? Are there any specialist puzzle stores in Tokyo? I don't know of a specialist store in Tokyo, but the following two are both interesting, in an old-fashioned way — you can spend an hour there, buy nothing, and feel the time was well-spent.
Hahuhinkan Toy Park: in central Tokyo, near Shinbashi station, this is a wonderland of toys, games, and puzzles.
Website
Location on Google maps
Tokyu Hands: in Shibuya, with a huge range of craft materials and hobbies. Website
Location on Google maps
If you are in Nagoya there is the delightfully named Jiyuukan (時遊館) — to a Japanese speaker this sounds like something to do with "freedom" (jiyuu), but is actually written as "Time-play-hall". Well, "hall" doesn't really have the right ring, but it's the same as the -kan which is the last character in our Japanese name: Souzoukan (想像館) or "Imaginatorium". Anyway, this is a jigsaw specialist shop: their website is Japanese only, and not particularly easy to navigate, but I am sure the store itself would be worth a visit. Here's the location: Google maps
Read more of these blog entries
- Best-selling puzzles: Top ten.
- Browse the complete list of artists.
- How to display puzzles on the wall without needing to buy a frame: Murals!
- Despite the FAQ, we can supply frames by special order: more information.
- Yes, we sell glue! Yanoman puzzle glue (200 g), 350 yen Add to basket (Standard PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) puzzle glue - every puzzle that we sell includes a small packet, but when you need extra, one of these bottles should be enough for around six 1000-piece puzzles.)
- Manufacturer details:
Apollo -
Appleone -
Artbox -
Beverly -
Epoch -
Road -
Tenyo -
Yanoman -
more historical info
- Any other problems or just questions - please ask!
About ordering
The details under each puzzle show the price, with approximate equivalents in US dollars, euros, and pounds sterling.
Click "Buy this puzzle" to go straight to the checkout with a single puzzle, or "Add to basket" to carry on shopping. At the checkout, you can select the shipping method, then choose how you are going to buy the puzzle(s). If you have any questions or problems, just use the forms provided to ask, and we'll get back to you. Once we receive confirmation of a payment, we aim to despatch puzzles by the next working day.
The most convenient way to pay in yen (charged in your 'home currency')
Purchase from 2checkout.com: by credit card worldwide - no signup required
You can pay by major credit card, eCheck in the US,
and bank transfer in many countries.
As you can see in the pile of puzzles on the left, most of the writing on the box is in Japanese, so we also include printed details with each shipment. Click these thumbnails for descriptions...
(Sorry! You can't see the "pile of boxes", because your browser does not support the functions necessary.)
Other items from Imaginatorium Shop
Français - Deutsch - Italiano - Español
If you're an enthusiast who would like to share in marketing in other languages, please contact me.
Finally...
The Shop is only part of my website, the Imaginatorium - I hope you will have time to explore some of the other pages!
