@burpies , I’ve never been to Japan myself, so I honestly don’t know. I think in general most probably don’t know the unlimited E1 and L1 cards are worth more, with a few exceptions here and there. Similar as a lot of people don’t know about the 1st edition stamp differences and how Thin 1st edition stamps on non-Holos are worth more; or about the ©1999-2000 Fossil cards; etc. So maybe you’ll indeed find some. Although I doubt many of them would just be lying around in shops. (Just like the ©1999-2000 Fossil cards and Thin 1st edition non-Holos are hard to find here.)
To also put it into a bit more perspective: I once bought a lot of 7,000 Japanese cards. All of them were non-Holos from the DP, HGSS, BW, and XY eras. It contained well over 400 L1 cards, of which all were 1st edition. It also contained about 150-175 L2 and L3 cards combined, of which about 15-20 were unlimited edition.
But again, I’ve never been to Japan myself, so I honestly don’t know. Although I kinda doubt it, since I know some Japanese collectors are also active on the forum here. Some of them most likely know these cards are worth a lot and also know what I’m willing to give for an unlimited edition L1 or E1 Pikachu if one pops up, so if these would be available in stores in Japan, I would think people already checked those, and sold them to us collectors for a nice profit.
And if by a small chance they do have them for sale, the store owners probably will know their value. The chances of finding a 1st edition Base Set Charizard just lying around in a store for less than 200 bucks would be slim to none as well for example. I think it’s no different in Japan, where Pokémon is probably even more active and part of their culture than in our continents.
Greetz,
Quuador