Shopping Taking a Trip to Japan for Dollies? Info & Advice

That happened to me. My bank called me on my cell phone at 1 am Japan time regarding a large purchase earlier that day. The bank unlocked my card so it wasn't a big deal.

 

DEFINITELY tell your credit card company that you'll be taking a trip abroad! I have a citi card and they always lock my account even when I'm at home (gah!). It's SO annoying. And when you're in a different country and trying to use your card, you really don't want to suddenly find your account locked! (my cel doesn't work in other countries, so it's just a total PAIN getting things corrected.)

I now ALWAYS tell my credit card companies that I'm going to going to another country, etc., and to NOT get all anxious and lock my account.

For money... I'll change at airports. But mainly just go to ATMs. And I'll use my credit card a LOT--for almost everything. In most places around the world, this works just fine.

 

Has anyone gone to the Ikebukuro volks store? how was it like?

 

Are there any doll conventions in Japan other than Volks' Dolpas? I'd like to go to Japan and bring my doll but she's an Iplehouse doll as as far as I'm aware it's Volks only at Dolpas

 

Very small, and very little Super Dollfie stuff. I remember going out with a few gundam markers and Evangelion gashapon miniatures, I didn't find anything SD-related that was that interesting.

 

Also, the Ikebukuro store was a bit difficult to find. Hmmm, actually most Volks stores are tucked away, now that I think of it.
As for other doll conventions in Japan, as far as I know there are no conventions there yet except Volks. That could change in the future, though.

 

There's at least Doll Show. When I was in Tokyo last spring, the Dolpa was on April 30th, and Doll Show 31 was the day after. Doll Show is more than BJDs, but there certainly is a showing of BJD stuff, and stuff for them there.

You can certainly attend the Dolpa - just don't bring your doll out to the show with you. I don't own a single Volks BJD - I just didn't go around announcing that fact.

There are also the iDoll conventions, but I'm not sure when they are. I know they're mentioned earlier in this thread somewhere, since that's where I got info on them. If it's not this thread, it might have been another one in conventions and events where they were mentioned. I'd search for "Dolpa", since I think that was the original topic. It wasn't a huge thread, maybe 2 or 3 pages.

 

Per se, Volks Ikebukuro is a Showroom with No official "Sumika" so if you`re looking for BJD`s it`s probably not the best place as it`s only a small corner with standards and Leftover LE`s + some clothes.

Yes. In Tokyo there is Dollshow, I-doll, a couple of minor ones. The minor ones probably will not have a place for you to play with your doll possibly and some doll items are sold at Comiket, Supacomi, etc. Somewhere in Kansai I think they have I-doll and Doll`s Myth, etc. but I don`t know the full list. Please note do not pull your doll out immediatley after it opens as you will risk breaking your doll with the crazy pushing and shoving as people go in. There will be a photo-space (which can, alas, cost money) at Dollshow and I doll.

 

A Japanese Dolpa (along with Tenshi no Sato, which I also did ^_^) was on my 'bucket list'. But now that I've crossed it off, I really just kind of want to do it again (and I have a sense I totally will :P But not until 2015 at the earliest) Yes, it's an experience I recommend if you can in any way do it.

 

I read somewhere that there is a Dolpha in october, in Kyoto or Osaka, not sure now, anyone know anything about it....?
i'm gonna be there in October so i' looking for doll stuff...

 

Important note... I found out recently that the Volks store in Akihabara has changed locations... so if you are mapping out your shopping schedules for a Japan trip, be careful that you have the new location... I'm not sure where it is, I went when it was in the old Akihabara location,

I went for my honeymoon this past November (I chose November before the leaves are changing, the temperature and weather is perfect, and the tourists aren't flooding in yet) and all told I think it came to $7000 for the both of us (me and my husband). However, we stayed at nice hotels and wanted internet in our room, next time we figure we can probably do it for around $4000, especially if we pick one city and just stay there (we visited several cities this time... though we want to do Hokkaido next... so we might not get off as cheaply as we want next time).

I do speak conversational Japanese, but even so, that mostly won't effect how cheap you can get a trip down to, so don't let language barrier scare you into paying more for hotels or tour guides, you'll be ok, I promise, just prepare with phrases and maps. Another key to saving money, especially for people who are scared to get lost where they can't speak the language, is to make sure you map everything you want to do (include landmarks... use google maps), and expect to do a lot of walking, even after you've gotten off the train. The train is easy btw, but if you do need help, locate someone who's not busy looking and offer to pay their ticket (it's like a dollar or two) if they will show you how to get tickets, or you can ask one of the staff. In every station they have the line maps in Japanese and romanized. So make sure you know the location names you want at least in romaji... like Shibuya, Harajuku, Ueno... and so on in you're doing a Tokyo trip. Oh yea, Ueno btw has a large park and several museums, check that out... free and cheap things to experience there.

About food! If you want to save on food, try getting bentou from a conbini or other location instead of eating every meal at a restaurant. We ate out a lot when we went, but I think next time we will do more grazing on cheaper cold foods.

Tokyo is definitely the place for someone first going to Japan, but if you are wanting to travel and take the shinkansen (bullet train) make sure you buy a Rail Pass before you leave for Japan. Tourists to Japan can get special rail passes that make the shinkansen way more affordable, especially if you are planning on more than one or two rides, it also will let you on the other JR lines for free while it's activated (you can buy a one week pass (that starts on whatever day you want... you decide the day when you get to Japan) or more... we did fine with one week, and just made sure our shinkansen rides were done and we were back in tokyo before it was done).

Also, I suggest skipping guided tours, they are mostly pointless and the ones I participated in were too quick, they seemed to rush through everything, and it was very crowded with tourists. I much preferred walking around away from the touristy areas and popular areas, it's much calmer and "real" and you experience things no one else thinks of (and that much is free). My best phots are from the days we "got lost" and walked away from the major areas of the cities. I dunno about others but I go on vacations out of country to get AWAY from my fellow country people and want to experience somewhere else and not have to see typical touristy stuff and people in flip flops and hawaiian shirts lol.

i know I'm late to this thread but I just saw it on top here, and I thought I might as well give my two cents also. ^^

 

Lol Me and the Wife just came back from Japan for our honeymoon last month. The Volks store in Akihabara is in the process of moving locations. At time of our visit. 21st June 2011 the new location was still under construction and the Radio Kaikan store is closed while they take stock and move products.
So while we were there we went to the Ikebokuro, Shinjuku and Harajuku brances instead. Still a fun trip and will defenatly want to make another one some time in the future.

To assist i have placed the new Akiba store location in the map below.
Please note that as i dont read japanese i couldnt figure when their new store will be opening but i was told sometime this month.



The redish area in the map is Akihabara Station. To those unfamiliar i would recomend that you do some research before going as there are TONS of things to do in Akiba Maid cafe and Gundam Cafe included.

 

Volks also has a map of the new location (but no English translation yet):


http://www.volks.co.jp/jp/volks/sr/sr_akiba/index_sr_akiba.aspx#1

Its just going to be on the other side of the train station, with the Tenshi No Sumika and Dollfie Dream section on the third floor. I don't think Volks has an opening date yet as that also depends on when the engineers and inspectors will be able to inspect the new building and the pressure on businesses in Tokyo to limit their energy use.

My favorite of the Tokyo stores is Harajuku. I love their display of limited dolls and the size of their store. They have a whole building to themselves.

 

Yeah, that was my experience, too.

I had a small fridge in the ryokan, so I'd buy a 500ml bottle of milk coffee or milk tea and breakfast on half of it and some pastry from a combini (so it'd be some 150 yen/ breakfast). Apart from bentos and such, you can also try noodle restaurants (some 400 yen/ bowl of soba or udon? Stand-up/ tachikui noodle restaurants are easily found near train stations) or small restaurants with home food like donburi or curry rice (400-600 yen if I recall correctly).

The other advantage of curry rice is that you eat it with a spoon, so people who don't know how to eat with chopsticks will have no difficulty

These small restaurants often have ticket machines at the entrance with the names and prices of the food items (mostly written in katakana, but if you know kana and some kanji you won't have much trouble). You just have to buy a ticket from the machine and give it to the staff. Water from a water cooler was free in the ones I went to.

 

Actually, that is one reason I like the Ikebukuro branch. Because it's not a Sumika, I've often found sold out LE outfits available there which you can't find at other branches.

iDoll has an event a few times a year in Osaka. (and I think somewhere else too) I've gone a few times. It's much smaller than their Tokyo event, and is a mix of dolls, but had one of the largest selections of non-Volks BJDs I've ever seen at a Japanese event. I haven't been to a Tokyo iDoll. Doll Show was always my favorite of Dolpa, Doll Show and iDoll. I never pay close attention to a photo space because I tend to not bring a doll with me. I don't really want to carry any around or worry about something happening, I want to shop.

I've seen BJD stuff at SCC and most Comic Cities along with the Comikets. Not a lot, but if you are going to one of those events any way there is something.

Japanican is a helpful place for finding hotels and I've used a few other websites as well. I don't want to stay in the most expensive hotels, but I don't want to stay in a dive and I want someplace convenient. They also sometimes have great specials. I once booked a superior double at the Sunshine 60 prince for 11,000 yen a night. So sharing it with a friend it was 5,500 yen a night for a huge room with a great view. Internet was an additional 1000 yen.

 

Went to a Tokyo Onsen today - Spa La Qua - and got kicked out because of my (band-aid covered)tattoos. Booo! Anyone know the name of a tattoo friendly onsen in Tokyo?

 

I'm planning a tripp to Tokyo end December 2011, and was wondering what are the doll shops worth checking out now?

I know k-books dolls closed, and the mainstream ones like the volks shop in radio kaikan whcih i always visit are still there, but I'm looking for anything that's more obscure, or even second hand shops, besides mandarake.

 

Wow... I've been there so many times so I feel a bit emotional about that. It was a pretty old building though so can't be too surprised.

 

Well its gonna be rebuilt with 2 extra stories. This is the new location for now:

http://www.volks.co.jp/en/volks/nest/akihabara.html

 

i'm going there in 2 weeks! can't wait!, and i found out there is a Azone store in Akihabara too.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chelseacandy/6135457969/in/faves-cacauflower/

 

If you are in Tokyo, you should check out the Closet Child store in Ikebukuro. They sometimes have amazing doll deals there.

 

Oooooooh I love Azone! Their 60cm stuff fits my skinny Shinydoll perfectly

 

Did I miss something - when did the K-Books Doll in Ikebukuro close? I was there this past January and was hoping to check it out next month when I'm in Tokyo.

 

K-Dolls closed but I'm not sure when that happened~ ^^; I was pretty bummed since I didn't get a chance to see it~ ;o;
The Doll store in the Ikebukuro Closet Child is a Dollteria ;D
Link!
It's definitely my favorite used store in Japan! I bought myself a BTSSB JSK for only 5800¥ and my resin children loads of eyes at 600¥ a set! XD
The store doesn't really have thaaat much by way of BJD things (mostly Pullip etc) but you can come across seriously amazing deals!! I went with justkatie179 this summer and she bought a SD16 girl body for 30000¥! A year ago sailorlimabean picked up a discontinued white skin FCS MSD 03 for only 10000¥~! *o*!

 

Hello everyone,

It's been a while since I've posted, but I'm getting ready to do 2 weeks in Tokyo, and could use some help finding the best spots to find Dollie related stuff, Museums, stores, whatever.....
Anyone recommend some good spots?
I'll be taking plenty of Cirquemom's books to pass out to interested parties over there.
Can hardly wait to spread the gospel!
Thanks so much,
Cheers and love to you all,
Chris.

 

As someone who lives in Japan, these are the stores I check frequently regarding BJD`s.

1> Nakano Mandarake 4th Floor Plastic-kan (Used Dolls -the place it is located is awesome if you like toys of any sorts. 2~3rd floor has rements)
2> Nakano Milk Crown Cafe (A cafe, but has their own "dolly-only day" and events of sorts)
2> Akihabara Dolk. (Carrier of Non-Japan BJD`s. Carries a lot of dollheart clothes and crobi-doll wigs)
3> Akihabara Dollce (Carrier of Wigs.)
4> Akihabara Mandarake (Can`t beat Nakano`s in size, but has their own goodies.)
5> Volks Stores. (Shinjuku Alta Sumika, Ikebukuro SR, Akihabara Sumika...) Photospace for Volks-dolls Only
6> Dollyteria (Ikebukuro / Yokohama) Their doll selection at this time is rather low in Ikebukuro

I do not know the exact dates you are coming to Tokyo, but if you do time it right you may be able to go to doll-events such as I-doll, which carries a variety of BJD clothing and some dolls.

 

Thank you so much KimaLucifer! This is enough info to keep my hunting for days! I'm headed to Tokyo Oct 18 and staying through Nov 3. Hope to hit lots of great Music gigs and Halloween events. The Midnight Mess in Shinjuku sounds like it will be a real hoot!
Cheers to you..........
Chris.

 

Thanks KimaLucifer l was wondering how many Bjd shop were in Tokyo japan. Is there a obitsu shop as well?

 

I know there's a Parabox store in the Nakano Broadway that sells Obitsu parts.

 

There is no direct Obitsu store to my knowledge. There are two stores, like Edtel said, one in Nakano called Parabox (which does carry some pre-painted heads also), and another located in Akihabara called Azone which carries Obitsu.

I have also failed to note the following:
Kotobuki-ya in Akihabara (Haven`t confirmed after it moved but carried DIM + dollheart)
Little World in Akihabara　(Clothes)
Frickart (Some Blue Fairy)
Sora* Iro (Blue Fairy)

 

Thanks to the above person. As for me l want to go in 20012 but l'm not sure when would the best time to go is kind of thing. I know that l would be using a travle agant (not sure what they are called) also l heard that when a person gos to japan they have to have a Visa card is this true.

 

@Captain Janeway

Japan is run differently from North America, where using a card for everything isin`t common. We are a cash-based country where we tend to hold on to lots of money in the wallet. Of course, if you are uncomfortable with that, then you`d use the card, but note that many places won`t accept cards unless you eat somewhere fancy, and shop in major stores.
The Visa-story perhaps applies if you MUST use your card. The most well-accepted card is the Visa.

 

@Captainjaneway

It's not true that you have to have a Visa card - As long as you've got a lot of cash on you. The cash machines in 7-11s will accept Visa and Mastercard, as well as cards from Japanese banks. Most shops either don't take card at all, or have to do it so rarely that they'll just give you blank looks when you get one out.

Unless, of course, you're talking about an actual VISA, as in something to get into the country. If you're planning to stay for less than 90 days, you can just use a tourist visa - You book your trip as normal, get on the plane, then the stewardess comes down the aisle just before you land and gives you a slip of paper to fill out with your details and things. If you're going for longer than that, look into working holiday visas, work sponsorship, or self-certification.

K-Books Dolls closed in July this year, with a massive going out of business sale. It was a real shame, the girl who works there got really emotional about it.

The Closet Child in Ikebukuro is amazing - The doll section fills a space the size of a small bathroom, and they've generally got some nice dolls in there for cheap (I picked up a Volks MSD for 8000 yen, which is something like 90 dollars, complete with original wig and eyes) and a fairish selection of clothes. It's moved from its original location, and is now above a Starbucks. To get there, roughly speaking; If you're walking down Sunshine Street, away from the train station and towards Tokyu Hands, you'll see a large car park on your left, about halfway down it, opposite a near-empty dark-brown brick building, with a Wendy's and a Wara Wara in itr. Turn left between these two, and walk down until you see the Starbucks, on the right hand side, on a crossroad with an ABC Mart. The Closet Child is on the second floor (American third floor) above that. Don't take the lift, it's wobbly and claustrophobic!

 

Thanks the both of you for anwearing my questions. It was a friend of mine that said just to be in japan that what you need need a visa just to say there for 2 weeks and he got mad becuase l didn't belive him. I will use the ATM thingie when and if l go due to l don't like caring alot of money on me.

 

Some ATMs accept foreign credit cards and some do not. And sometimes your foreign credit card will be fine and sometimes it will not be, there is no consistency. I've even had the same machine reject my card for one amount of money but accept it for another. The ATMs tend to have limits on foreign transactions and during certain times of the year (holiday periods) that can be reached fairly often. I've personally never had good luck with ATMs in combini.

I tend to never carry cash in the US, but in Japan it is necessary. However, while store clerks might give you a blank look I've also encountered quite a few stores that you can pay with a Visa credit card. These include: Volks, Mandarake, and Closet Child. Volks and Mandarake no one has ever even blinked and I don't remember Closet Child being phased. I've also paid at Animate with a credit card and a host of other places.

However when paying with credit cards be aware that there is a 3% or so foreign currency transaction fee (there is also frequently a fee with ATMs when getting out cash and there are very high fees/credit charges for cash advances on Visa/Mastercard.) Some credit cards also get persniketty with "weird" foreign transactions and sometimes deny them. It helps to have a way to contact your credit card should you get denied (aka a cell phone that works in Japan.)

 

Canadians most certainly do not need a Visa to go to Japan. Some other countries, yes. But not Japan. Even if you did, it wouldn't be a big deal to get one - you just contact the country's closest embassy, pay a fee, and they'll get you one.

Yeah, I've never had a hard time using my Visa at larger 'chain' type stores in Japan or any place that sells higher ticket items (like Volks and such). I remember using it in Closet Child and Volks, along with non-doll places like Tokyu Hands (that place is evil for the wallet!) and my business hotel took it with no problem (they have incentives in place if you use cash, though). I also used it at a Dolpa event with no issues at all. But I usually reserve it for higher ticket items and use cash for everything else.

And I think I mentioned it in this thread, but I second having a way to contact your bank or Visa in the case they deny a transaction or decide to cut off your accounts entirely. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. I didn't have a cell phone, though. I had to use Skype (I have an account that lets me call regular phones). But it wasn't a disaster - just time consuming.

 

I think this thread is most useful ^^ It has a link to a Google map with placemarks of store in Tokyo and various cities around the world.

 

Volks has relocated their showroom to Hobby Tengoku. It's practically around the corner, though.

http://www.volks.co.jp/jp/hobbytengoku/access.html

I went to Japan this October and Volks was selling buttons with different versions of Komame at each showroom -- I got four different ones The Akihabara Komame has a meido headdress, the Harajuku one is dressed in lolita style, and so on. Very cute.

The Akihabara Mandarake is also pretty interesting, it has one floor for bjds and cosplay clothes. They also sell in-stock Himekazura wigs, but they don't always have all styles/colors/sizes at hand.

 

Akihabara has several bjd related stores, some already listed (Mandarake, Volks), but there is also Dolk(Dollheart, clothes, korean BJD`s) and Dollce(Wig store), if you are lucky enough Liberty will have some bjd things.

Don`t know when exactly you are heading into Japan, but you should also check out dolly events if you are there at the time one is occuring.

 

I don't have much to add, but I visited the Volks Shinjuku store in the Studio Alta building. It was smaller than the US store (just one floor, about the size of a mall shop) but they had a lot of things that I didn't see in the US store or even online.

I also visited a Mandarake but the one I went to didn't have much in terms of doll stuff. There was a smattering of Volks dolls and clothes/wigs/eyes for sale.

It would be helpful to know which district you will be staying in. Tokyo is huge!

 

I believe the Harajuku SR is also being moved and is closing on the 25th temporarily while they move.

At 12/4 they have stopped their DD items, moving them over to Akihabara.

 

Does that mean only the part of the building with the DDs is moving and the Dollfies are staying put on the other side? Or are both sides being moved?

 

Hi Everyone,

Wasn't sure where this post belonged so I'm sorry if its in the wrong place.
Im travelling to Japan in Oct/November this year with my other half, and my mother came up with a great idea of buying a BJD while I'm out there, in person. And I wondered where on earth I can go to do so? Even if I can't buy a doll particularly, knowing where I can buy accessories etc would be useful?
I know about the Volks factory where you can stay etc, but I am not very fond of Volks to be honest, I was hoping for somewhere else?

Any help is appreciated

Thanks!

 

there's also the Sora*Iro store from what I know. They sell Bluefairy and Minoru World dolls. c:
I wish I could give you exact directions...

 

DOLK sells some brand-new Korean BJD`s in-store. It also has many accessories/clothing for dolls to purchase. Dolk Tokyo will have Dollheart Clothes and crobidoll wigs on the first floor, the second floor having Leekeworld wigs and other clothing.

As someone mentioned, Mandarake is also another option. Mandarake will have brand-new Obitsu`s sometimes, but usually they sell used bjd`s. Mandarake with BJD`s in the Tokyo Area are Shibuya, Akihabara, Nakano. Nakano having the biggest selection imho. There are quite a number of doll stores in Nakano, not all are BJD`s though.

Sora*Iro is located in the Middle of Nowhere almost, you may not find much to look at near the station.

Then there`s Closet Child`s Dollyteria, located in Ikebukuro for the Tokyo area and Yokohama for the Kanagawa area. This is also a used store. Most of their dolls are priced fairly low, but they also don`t have the best selection.

 

If you're going to be in Osaka, the Grandchaos Mandarake location has a selection of used doll clothes, and might even have a doll or two in stock.

 

I just got back from japan, was there for all of december. Most of the Mandarakes have a selection of doll items. I picked up stuff at both Osaka stores (there is 2 of them) there is also a volks store in Den den town. On the same street there is a store called Jungle that has some hard to find dolls. I bought Suiseiseki there at the start of December. Not far from Kyoto is Arashaiyama which of course has the Tenshi-no-Sato which i absolutely reccommend, it was gorgeous!!! In Tokyo as everyone mentioned Nakano Mandarake is good, but often overlooked are the Akihabara and Shibuya Mandarakes. I picked up some really good volks shoes, wigs and a Sd boy Kimono there for good prices. There are volks stores all over the place in Tokyo as well as some smaller stores such as Little World and Azone that are also good to check out. The best finds are found were in Gachapon machines and random stores, there is heaps of perfectly sized mini tems. I picked up some playstation and nintendo controllers, cameras and heaps of food items.

 

There was a shop in Radio Kaikan that sold Bluefairy dolls - I think it was Kotobukiya. Does anyone know if it moved to the Hobby Tengoku building too? I couldn't find any BJD stuff at the stand-alone Kotobukiya in Akiba.

For those after Obitsu parts, Parabox has a shop in Nakano Broadway. They also sell clothes, shoes and wigs sized for 60cm Obitsu which fit most SD dolls.

 

Hobby Tengoku is pretty small and there's only Volks there. The different temporary buildings are listed at http://www.radiokaikan.jp/shop/index.html but I'm afraid I don't see any Kotobukiya there.

Bluefairy had this announcement, if it helps: http://www.bluefairyint.com/board/view.php?board_name=DREAMBOARD4&ID=36

 

Kotobukiya has moved to the opposite side of the major street (+ one alley) and now has it`s own building. It contains a few dolls on their 3rd floor.

In regards of Bluefairy, your best choice is to go to Sora*Iro.

 

If anyone is thinking about doing this and wants a travel agent, I can't recommend http://www.pacsettours.com/ enough. They do 'Otaku tours' so they won't look at you funny if you say you want a tour that includes hitting lots of doll spots.

 

I'm going to Japan in March with a small college group and I would like to know which Volks showrooms in Tokyo are still open. I found a list somewhere, but some showrooms had closed down after they posted about it.

 

Myself and another member have been creating a google map of as many of the physical BJD shops around the world here:
http://www.denofangels.com/forums/s...mprehensive-Google-Map-Dollie-BJD-Shop-Guide)
It contains GPS coordinates for as accurate as possible locations of shops, along with addresses and contact details on the shops.
(Some of our links we have on the volks shops are not up to date because Volks updated their website a few months ago, but all other information should still be accurate).

 

Volks sells primarily modelling stuff: robot kits, figures and such. At one side of this hobby store type floorplan (or a different floor) you'll find the dollfie dream and super dollfie stuff. This is what they call showrooms and sumikas.

Apart from Tenshi no Sato (and the merchandise for sale: standard models, option parts, clothes, wigs, painting tools, and so on), most sumikas have a corner with a couple of doll-sized sofas so you can take pictures and some stuff for exposition (two or three dolls or something like that), but that's all. Sato has a garden and a nice hall with props where you can take pictures, a cafe, museums of past limited dolls and a showroom in the basement floor.

Anyway, if you're going to Tokyo you can visit Tenshi no Mado ("Angel's Window") in Harajuku. It's a sort of Sato in Tokyo that they've opened a few months ago.

http://www.volks.co.jp/jp/tenshinomado/

Harajuku is half an hour from Akihabara or ten minutes from Shinjuku via the Yamanote line (Tokyo travel tip: get familiar with the Yamanote line )

 

Thank you for the info and link, sukeban! I'll definitely have to check Tenchi-no-Mado out!

 

Did anyone mention the Parabox shop yet?

 

Just going to drop in here that Volks no longer does email confirmations for reservations at Tenshi no Sato. You just sign up for the site, pick your day, and then you bring your passport to identify yourself when you arrive.

Quick and dirty guide to the system:
Go here: http://www.volks.co.jp/page.jsp?id=5115
1. Look at the open days on the calendar (you can book up to three months in advance), available days will be shown with kanji on them. There are buttons on the bottom to move months.
2. Click the date you like.
3. The next page displays the hours of operation on that day, generally 11-5 local time. Ignore anything that says you don't need to reserve. That only applies to Volks Club members which I believe is restricted to Japanese residents. Click the black-outlined box that ends with "(Reservation via Website)"
4. The form goes like this:
Name: Just your name, can be in English
Membership Number: You don't have one. Put "non" here.
Phone number: Not required
Number of visitors: Include everyone that will be walking into the building. If you're not sure, err on the side of more, rather than less. Email them later on to let them know what the final number is so their slots can be given to someone else.
"Your Name Spouse" (that's what Google translate is giving me): Here you list the full legal names of everyone coming, as shows on your passports.
5. Click "Book"
6. ?????
7. Profit!

That's it! The pictorial guides linked above show you how to get there. If you have any more specific questions, they do have staff that can answer questions in English (and quite well!), they usually respond within a day or two.