I finally found the time to write my post about the Japan trip, and I’m excited to hear what you all think. As you’ll soon see, I bought a bit fewer cards this time. This is because I realized after the first half of the trip that the prices weren’t as good as they were last year, and it just wasn’t worth visiting so many shops anymore. All in all, I still visited over 150 stores, and the cities I went to were Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Kobe, and Mito.
But the best part of the journey was to meet old friends, make new friends, meet E4 members that became friends and connect with more shop owners and people in the Pokémon world on the Japanese side.
To summarize the whole trip, I can make the following points.
despite the weak yen, prices haven’t really become cheaper, as Japanese shops compare their card prices more with international markets. With Mercari being so popular among international buyers, prices have just aligned with international levels. This trend seems to have intensified since last year. Last year, I found many good deals below the Western market value, but this time that was relatively rare. I’d say only about a third of the deals were as good as last year. Of course, this is always a snapshot in time—cards rotate, and every month the larger shops have a completely different card selection. So that’s something to keep in mind.
I’d like to compare larger cities to smaller towns. Yes, it’s worth traveling to more remote regions, but it’s also a big risk since many of the larger chains have uniform prices nationwide or even higher prices and smaller stock in smaller towns. The real finds are usually only in independent stores that aren’t part of the bigger chains.
When it comes to video games, the situation is quite different. That market is not yet as optimized, and you can still find some good deals. That’s why I shifted my focus to trying to complete my retro Pokémon game collection, which worked out incredibly well. I found very good deals in almost every larger shop, much cheaper than what we’d pay in the West.
PSA grading has skyrocketed in popularity in Japan, making it much harder to find cards in pristine condition. Even cards that seem flawless at first glance often have hidden dents or minor defects. If you’re looking to buy pre-2020 cards, it’s become significantly more challenging compared to last year. In fact, during my recent trip to Tokyo, I couldn’t find a single card worth buying.
Another point I noticed is that modern sealed products are now available in every store. Last year, I might have been able to buy two boxes, as the rest were hidden behind lotteries, but this time, every second store had boxes for sale from at least five different sets, and the prices were consistently fair. I even found some very cheap deals. Overall, it seems that the Pokémon Company has succeeded in making it so that the average retail consumer can once again buy sealed at fair prices in Japan.
Let’s get to the good part. These are the cards and games I bought. Enjoy!
I added the name of some shops to the pictures so you can go there as well if you are interested.
Great post and summary @genchiro . Really surprised to know that the prices were comparatively worse than last year, because I personally feel that online seems to be the opposite. Either there is a lag to physical market adjustment or what you state is true that the store prices are more adjusted to western market sales.
Thanks for all of the pictures. Lovely to see all of the great pickups. I found a few which I thought were too expensive and some that I found were too cheap. So I think overall perfectly balanced. Really happy that you had a fulfilling trip, not only in terms of cards but also with the connections and friends. Appreciate the showcasing and documentation.
Hi @genchiro. Lovely thread & some wonderful additions.
We’re going to Japan next year, from the UK. Interesting to know about the prices, with the added caveat that my illustrious government will charge 20% import tax on anything purchased above £390 (74000 yen roughly.) So between this thread, various Youtube videos and the like, it’s begining to seem like I will actually get cheaper prices buying cards on ebay (no import shipping tax there.)
Did you get any discounts for the foreign visitor tax exemption initiative?
I am currently thinking to do the same as you - buy fewer cards, and just focus on non-TCG gets! My goal was to come back with Masaki Gengar, but it’s not looking like I would find it for a price justifying the theft tax I’d be subjected to when I got back.
Thanks so much for the shop names, that’ll be super useful!
@thsigma I walked around 20,000 steps a day! But Japan’s public transportation is amazing, which was a tremendous help.
@mrbubbles I think it’s a simple connection. Japanese stores often base their prices on Mercari sold listings, and as Mercari becomes more popular with international buyers, prices are adjusting accordingly.
Glad you enjoyed the report—it was a blast being back in Japan!
@johto I can’t offer any specific advice, but I’ve heard they usually don’t care much about the value of Pokémon items at the airport.
What non-TCG things are you looking for? Depending on what you’re after, browsing Mercari might be your best bet since there’s less demand for anything that is not TCG, figures or plushies. But if you check out some Mandarake stores, you might get lucky and find some non-TCG items."
Oh I definitely spot some steals in there! Great haul, makes me excited for my trip next month. I learned a lot from my last visit and am also looking to round out my game collection.
I was eagerly awaiting your pick up thread and I gotta say you bought some amazing items. As my main collection are Gameboy games, mainly Pokemon ones, I love to see that you also went down that rabbit hole. I especially loved the CIB Emerald which I was desperately seeking while I was in Japan in May but couldn’t find a nice condition one decently priced (I just picked up a loose copy instead).
In general I would still say overall your deals were pretty good while some were just ridiculous (e.g. a Brunos Steelix for 400 Yen - I paid 2800 Yen and it felt like a steal to me back then haha).
I am glad to see that you enjoyed your time in Japan!
I sure hope so about the airport! I’d only really had in mind to handpick one or two big dream promos, such as Grand Party, so that’d quickly hit that limit, - but if there was an added 20% hit, I don’t know if it’d be worth it to me. The trip has a way more important priority and meaning than card shopping, I’ve wanted to go since I was 12. As for non-TCG, I’m quite interested in pin badges, and ANA memorabilia.
But Japan’s public transportation is amazing, which was a tremendous help.