Heading there in January and wanted to see if any of the above mentioned places have closed or changed or if this thread is still current
Still current AFAIK. Here's a Spingear link. They are in the Akihabara area and used to have some interesting kendama now and again like the Mimoe hamburger kendama. Don't know what they've got currently though.
If you’re gonna be in the Kobe area (Hyogo Prefecture) there is Nothing but Kendama. They sell a bunch of Kendamas and also some Japanese brands like Engi which is made in Gifu Prefecture. https://instagram.com/nothingbutkendama?utm_source=ig_profile_share&igshid=170gw96l7cqrx
If you're in Tokyo you can check out our sister kendama & art shop MESH.tokyo 東京けん玉ショップ Also Harajuku Kendama Club has meetups periodically, most of the time in front of MESH. Of course things have been a bit unusual for the last couple of years so we're hoping to get things rolling along normally again soon.