Himitsu bako-Japanese puzzle box

Does anyone know where I could purchase one of these puzzle boxes? Would anyone know approximately how much one of these may cost, on average? I'll be in Tokyo and Osaka next month. Thank you!

You can buy one at the airport. It ought to be fairly inexpensive.

You will find the best selection in Odawara-Hakone, the area that is the origin of these boxes (for a little more information, see the following page):
http://en.odawarajibasan.jp/hakonebussan/products/

I have purchased them (along with related handcrafted items) in Atami, where you can find a large number of little stores selling them in the immediate vicinity of the JR station (comparison shopping is advised, as prices vary quite a lot). I can absolutely guarantee that you will find them (along with many of the other items on the above web page) there, but it's hardly worth a trip to Atami just for that. (Although you can also get some tasty fresh onsen manju!) I've been known to go to Atami myself just to buy souvenirs and have lunch (and a manju with tea!), on a JR pass from Tokyo (it's a rather short hop on the shinkansen line). But I wouldn't necessarily recommend that, especially if your time is limited. Certainly not without a rail pass (and the JR East pass doesn't cover it).

In Hakone, there is a workshop where you can see how they are made. It's interesting. (But not easy to get to.) If you just want to buy one, a souvenir/crafts shop in Tokyo or at the airport is your best bet. They are sold many places.

Just to add, prices range from less than 1000 yen to more than 10000, depending on size and elaborateness. As I recall, the bulk of them fall into the 2000-4000 price range.

They probably cost the most at the airport, but still the prices are generally less than what you'd expect by looking at them.

Just one clarification: you CAN get to Atami on a JR East pass, it's just that it won't cover the shinkansen there. But that's way off topic, sorry!

Thanks Uma! I do have a 14 day pass, so on one of the Hikari runs west, I can stop there on the way back to Tokyo, get off in Atami, buy one and hop on the next Hikari or Kodama back to Shinagawa.

But it turns out Atami is almost exclusively served by Kodama trains and the time that train takes to get to Atami from Nagoya, for instance, is about an hour more than by Hikari. And there are only 2 Kodama trains that stop there every hour, so if I were to go shopping, I'd either have to hurry and try to finish in a half-hour or wait another hour to hop on the next one.

If it turns out I can't find any in Tokyo, I'll think about the Atami scenario. Thanks for your responses!

There are a few Hikaris that stop there, but not very many. And you definitely don't want to take the Kodama from Nagoya if you don't have to.

I think you could comfortably hop off and find a nice box in 30 minutes, but if it were me I might feel a little rushed. On the other hand, an hour isn't that long. I could easily kill an hour in the shops there, especially if I also sat down to enjoy a manju. But they are your typical souvenir (omiyage) type places. I have a greater tolerance for those than many people.

I'm pretty sure you can find one in Tokyo without too much trouble, though. I've seen them many places, although I just can't think of a particular store or shopping area that I'm sure carries them. Probably Asakusa, probably Tokyu Hands or a large department store, probably some shops in Tokyo Station. If no one posts some suggestions on this forum, maybe ask at your hotel.

Odawara is a better place to find those secret boxes than Atami. Don't forget to stay at the platform and see the Shinkansen trains fly by. It's truly an only in Japan experience.

Thanks again, Uma! I will try Tokyu hands or Nakamise Dori in Asakusa beforehand.

And Tokyonet, I have already done so in Shizuoka back in 2010. The Nozomi going by was the 700 series, not the N700 I really wanted to video. This is my not-so-good attempt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spUmHhp4Slw

I love those trains!