Jigsaw puzzles from Japan
Welcome to the Imaginatorium Shop, now in our twenty-first 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.
We are operating!
We still struggle with various shipping problems, and now the shipping rates for parcels and EMS have been updated. Generally this means a small increase, but there are a few cases in which costs are actally reduced. The yen is currently at a long-time low against major currencies, so overall there are bargains to be had.
Update 1st July
Apologies! I carefully copied the updated shipping rates from a Japan Post publication dated 1st June, but later discovered a different publication from the same date which adds a "supplementary charge" to the EMS and air parcel rates for zones 3 and 4 only. I have corrected this, resulting in an increase for these zones.
Then the next news is of price increases: we have received warnings from Tenyo and Beverly of increases later in the year. The yen continues to slide down, so this is perhaps inevitable. Updates will follow.
Bit of good news at last: airmail services are resuming to a number of countries, mostly in Europe. I will update these within a day or so.
- 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)
Latest additions
Spirited Away (Ghibli) new puzzles
Retro kimono style
One Piece
Classic Mucha paintings
Fun collections by Naoki Tanaka
At last: Demon Slayer selection!
Latest Horaguchi fun...
2022: year of the tiger
Cute fantasy from Kayomi...
Scenic puzzles from around the world
Detective Conan
(Case Closed)
Latest Peanuts
Chit-chat
—April—
It seems incredible, but this is our twentieth anniversary: Imaginatorium Shop first opened its virtual doors in April 2002. Many thanks to our customers over the years who have made this possible.
Sadly, this is a low point, not a high one. The appalling invasion of Ukraine by Putin drags on, at horrendous cost in human life and happiness, making it sometimes difficult to concentrate on the everyday business of puzzles.
And Covid has not gone away. Postal services are still varyingly disrupted by Covid-related restrictions and to Europe in particular by effects of the war in Ukraine. There is no consistent pattern: for example, Australia has suspended airmail, leaving surface operating, and New Zealand exactly the opposite.
The yen has fallen against major currencies by something like 20%, which of course makes the cost of our puzzles less in dollar or euro terms, but now we are faced with price increases in shipping costs (Post Office from June), and also miscellaneous costs such as packaging materials. We will keep any increases strictly to the extra amounts for shipping.
Finally a bright spot! The new site at imaginatorium.com is fully operational, and I am at last working on redirecting all old shop pages to the corresponding new ones. With the move, we will also switch to using the new mail address shop@imaginatorium.com. Please make sure you are able to receive emails from this address; recently we have had many problems with our mails apparently caught in errant mail filtering systems.
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.
- 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.
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.
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
