About Us

Backstory:

Neo-Kobe Imports is a self-run business which started in February of 2024, though our history with vintage items goes much further back than that.

I have always had a love for all things vintage and retro, most of the toys and games I would get as a kid would all come from thrift stores or hand-me-downs from relatives. There are certain design philosophies that are unique to items made in the 80's to early 2000's. Characters could look quite off-model, giving them a charm that can't be replicated by the hyper-accurate figures made today. On top of that, figures and plushies of video game characters/franchises were a lot less common when I was growing up, which is where my main interests are.

I accumulated a lot of knowledge over the years, sifting through forum posts and eBay listings to learn about various sets and releases, specifically the ones from my favourite video game franchises/publishers that we never got in the west (Nintendo, SEGA, Capcom, Konami, etc). To think that there was this whole other world filled with plushies, figures, keychains, and games that we were missing out on, it fascinated me. 

Fast forward a few years, after working with a Japanese arcade distributor and moving to the UK, I was on holiday in Singapore. It was there that I saw what true passion for vintage Japanese figures looked like, specifically for video game merchandise. Their small but passionate scene was something that really inspired me, I knew this scene existed in the UK, but I couldn't find anybody bringing it together in a presentable way.

So, I decided to open Neo-Kobe Imports, and the rest is history!