Jigsaw puzzles from Japan

Titles in stock:
1316
Around 2500 by special order

Welcome to the Imaginatorium Shop, now in our twenty-second year!

From our base in Japan (see the map!), 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
  • 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!

(Puzzle of the month suspended)

2024 is the Year of the Dragon

The next symbol in the twelve-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac (see Wikipedia article)...

Latest additions

Chit-chat

Brian Chandler

—November—

November 2023: progress at last!

This "blog" has been grossly neglected, so the "November" just replaced was from 2022. Anyway, there is some progress: we have finally reached 1300 titles in stock, if only momentarily!

Good news and mixed news

The good news is that things are finally beginning to return to normal. Officially in Japan, the Covid pandemic has ended. We have survived record summer temperatures, and seem to have lurched suddenly into the beginning of winter.

The mixed news: well, first, some services have returned at last, in particular the airmail "small packet" service to USA, Canada, and the UK. (But with warnings for Canada in particular of extra delay because of reduced capacity. And for the US, record drought may delay services through the Panama Canal.)

Then at the beginning of October, with no prior warning to us, the Post Office announced another set of rate increases. At least these are fairly minor, and the continuing fall of the yen at least offers better exchange rates.

Other issues

The Special orders page includes a guide to each of the manufacturers' websites, and we try to keep these regularly updated. From time to time, of course, the website change format, and we have to rewrite the software that gets the relevant information. This time it is the Ensky (Artbox) site that has radically changed. The display in a browser looks more or less the same, but they have changed the way data gets sent, creating a minor headache for us. I will be working on it.

Then Tenyo: there has been a regular flow of new puzzles recently, which inevitably means older titles getting discontinued. But unlike other manufacturers they do not give us any definitive information on puzzle status – will there be more stock, and when? So many linger with the "Resupply date uncertain" label... this is unhelpful, I know, but I'm afraid there is nothing we can do about it. There is also a curious current problem, with codes in the TD10-800 range. It turns out that (again, unlike other manufacturers!) Tenyo codes get recycled. So we already have database entries for many of these new puzzles, but relating to identical product codes from many years ago. The practical effect is that we may fail to recognise new puzzles, since we already have the same code. Well, we have a workaround, but it sometimes causes delays.

Read more of these blog entries

Mural

  • 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.
  • We also sell glue! Yanoman puzzle glue (100 g), 180 yen
    (Standard PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) puzzle glue - almost all puzzles include glue, but when you need extra, one of these bottles should be enough for two 1000-piece puzzles. Note that this will not work for the "Crystal" translucent puzzles made of plastic, which need no glue.)
  • Manufacturer details: Apollo - Appleone - Artbox/Ensky - Beverly - Cuties - 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. The new checkout (at imaginatorium.com) should be self-explanatory, but please read the FAQ for more details. 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.

PayPal (verified member) The total for all PayPal payments is in yen, but you will be charged in your 'home currency', and you will be able to check the final amount before confirming payment.

Credit cardseChecks
You can pay by major credit card, eCheck in the US,
and bank transfer in many countries.

Finally...

Imaginatorium Shop started in 2002 as a part of my website at imaginatorium.org; it's still there - the Imaginatorium