Toy-loving actor indulges in rare tin treasures from Japan

He might look like a suave and sophisticated movie star, but deep down Louis Koo Tin-lok is just another geek.

With the Cityplaza mall presenting a big Japanese toy exhibition, it was a 'no-brainer' for Swire executives to invite the toy-obsessed actor to its media opening on Thursday afternoon. The exhibition features more than 700 rare toys and collectibles. It's the first time Japanese private collector Teruhisa Kitahara has taken his valuable vault of 'kidult' treasures outside his country. They are usually held in the Hakone Toy Museum and the Tin Toy Museum in Yokohama.

'I especially selected quite a number of tin toys for Hongkongers to appreciate, for their amazing appearance, colours and motions,' Kitahara said. 'These tin toys were famous in the 1930s, and since they are not produced any more, they are becoming rare nowadays.'

The two most immediately striking items are a 2-metre-tall Kamen Raida figure and an even bigger Kamen robot (pictured behind Koo and Swire executive Elizabeth Kok). For his part, Koo - who apparently also has quite a large number of collectibles in his warehouse, rumoured to include 57 life-size anime figures - promised to invite his Japanese counterpart to visit his stash next month. Kitahara's Toy Museum exhibition continues at the Taikoo Shing shopping centre until April 19.