Today’s blog is another post where I’d like to share a piece of my daily life with you.

Many of you may already know this, but until about 30 days ago I was active on Reddit.
On Reddit, discussions are usually limited to specific categories, so it’s often difficult to talk about things outside of those topics. Because of that, there were many times when I had to carefully rephrase what I wanted to explain.

Sometimes I would receive comments like these:

• Are you really going to Pokémon Center?
• I’ve bought boxes at Pokémon Center before. You said they don’t sell them, so that must be a lie.

Occasionally, people would leave comments like this.
Of course, I could simply ignore them. But on the internet, I’m just another anonymous Reddit user. To someone who doesn’t know my background or who I am, I might look suspicious (laugh).

Even in Japan, there are many scammers online.
So instead of criticizing those people, I started thinking about my own position. Maybe they simply thought I was trying to deceive them.

That’s when I had an idea.

“Why don’t I write about my daily actions and thoughts on a blog?”

That’s how this blog started.

Of course, this blog does include some promotion, but my main purpose is to share information about Pokémon culture in Japan and my personal perspective, so that people who read this can feel a little closer to me.

Thankfully, I now work directly with many customers.
Yesterday and today I received several new inquiries, and even now I’m chatting with people on WhatsApp about requests for Pokémon, One Piece, Dragon Ball, Yu-Gi-Oh, and more.

Since these are international transactions, I completely understand that people feel nervous at first.
That’s why I try to reduce that anxiety as much as possible by sharing my thoughts and activities on Instagram and this blog.

Now that the introduction has become a little long, I’d like to talk about something that happened recently.

This time, I want to share my experience on March 14th, the release day of the new Dragon Ball set (FB09).

On March 14th, the new set

Dragon Ball Booster Pack – DUAL EVOLUTION [FB09]

was released.

I had already received preorders for about 22 boxes, so those were secured.
However, I personally wanted some boxes as well, and I also thought other customers might want additional ones. So I went to the Bandai Namco Cross Store to try to purchase some from the launch day stock.

The store opens at 10:00 AM, so naturally you need to line up in advance if you want to buy anything.

Compared to Tokyo, the competition in Fukuoka is usually lower.
So I thought that lining up about 1.5 hours before opening would probably be enough.

However, when I arrived, there were already around 100 people in line.

For Dragon Ball, 100 people already felt like quite a lot.
On top of that, the store had a very unusual rule:

“Maximum 3 boxes per person per purchase.”

This kind of policy is quite bold and not very common.

Because of that, I started to feel a bit nervous.

Previously, I had lined up in Kumamoto to buy a One Piece regional promo card, and the same type of rule applied there. Since each person could buy several items, the stock sold out extremely quickly.

So this time I was thinking,

“Well… we won’t know until the end.”

While waiting, I posted some videos of the situation on my Instagram story.

As I mentioned earlier, actually going to the location and experiencing the atmosphere firsthand is valuable for me.
At the same time, it allows me to share real on-site information with all of you.

Even if I fail to buy anything, I still consider it a positive experience.

When I looked behind me, the line had grown dramatically.
I believe there were around 1,000 people in total.

Even if each person bought 3 boxes, I highly doubt the store had 3,000 boxes in stock.

Depending on the inventory, it’s obvious that the 1,000th person in line would never be able to buy anything.

So honestly, I still don’t understand why some people keep lining up anyway (laugh).

While waiting, I saw something interesting.

It looked like organized resellers were operating nearby.
They were giving money or digital payments to people who were lining up, and telling them where to bring the items if they managed to buy them.

I won’t mention specific nationalities, but it seemed like people from various countries were involved.
The instructions were given in Japanese that clearly sounded like it was spoken by non-native speakers, and they looked like language school students or university students.

In Japan, depending on your visa status, street trading or side businesses may not be allowed, and if serious problems occur it could even lead to deportation.

I’m not criticizing reselling itself.
But I’m often surprised to see people doing things that even most Japanese resellers would hesitate to do.

In the end, the boxes sold out right before my turn.

Since it’s a Bandai Namco official store, I assume they had more inventory than most shops.
But it seems I was just a little too late.

Still, it was a very valuable experience.

By repeating experiences like this, you naturally learn and improve your instincts.
In that sense, it was a great opportunity to grow.

After that, I went to Pokémon Center Fukuoka.

The day before was the release of the Ninja Spinner, so since it was Saturday, I expected the store to be quite crowded.

When I arrived, I received a numbered ticket that allowed entry one hour later.

Since I had some time, I walked around the area and visited a few other stores.

The photos here show the scenery near the station.
If you visit Fukuoka by Shinkansen, you will see the same view, so please enjoy the atmosphere of the city.

While waiting for my entry time, I decided to visit Nintendo Fukuoka.

This store just opened in November 2025, so it’s still very new.

In the past, I used to sell vintage Nintendo items on eBay, including the Famicom, Twin Famicom, and old game software. Because of that, I have quite a bit of knowledge about retro games.

Even now, I still collect old consoles personally and sometimes buy junk units to repair when I have free time.
So I have a lot of respect for companies like Nintendo and SEGA.

The store itself feels very open, and there are many different kinds of merchandise available.

The item that caught my attention the most was related to the Famicom Disk System.

There was a Disk-shaped card case that can hold credit-card-sized cards.
It even comes with a chain so you can attach it to your bag.

If you’ve traveled in Japan before, you may know about transportation cards like Suica.
It would actually be fun to store a Suica card in this case while traveling around Japan.

They were also selling Mario Hanafuda cards.

Hanafuda is a traditional Japanese card game, somewhat similar to playing cards.
The characters are illustrated in a Japanese style, and even PSA has graded Hanafuda cards before.

One item I especially recommend is the embroidered Mario Hanafuda T-shirt.

The embroidery is extremely well done, and the back print looks fantastic.
If you ever visit Japan, I highly recommend checking it out.

Of course, I can also help purchase it for you if needed.

Nintendo’s official merchandise has become very appealing.
It no longer feels like “children’s toys,” but rather something closer to adult fashion and lifestyle items.

So when you visit Japan, I highly recommend visiting Nintendo Fukuoka in addition to Pokémon Center.

While exploring the store, time passed very quickly.

Finally, it was time to enter the Pokémon Center.

But when I walked in…

I was shocked.

It felt like there was some kind of clearance sale happening.
There were huge crowds, and the checkout line was incredibly long.

Even with a quick estimate, it looked like it would take about 1.5 hours just to reach the register.

Honestly, I didn’t feel like experiencing that today, so I just looked around the store briefly and decided to leave (laugh).

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In the end, despite waking up early and lining up, I didn’t come home with much.

But it was still a valuable learning experience.

My life has never been a perfectly smooth road.
I’m always moving forward on a bumpy path, gaining real experience along the way.

That style suits me.

And the knowledge and feeling I gain from those experiences are what I share with all of you.

That’s my way of doing things.

The same idea applies to business.

Even sealed boxes can be risky.
There are many dishonest people who fake shrink wrap or swap contents.

There are also issues like factory damage and condition differences.

In other words,

business doesn’t end when you simply set a price.

Direct communication allows both sides to fully understand each other before making a transaction.

That’s the most important thing to me.

People who say

“I’m not sure, but it’s cheap so I’ll buy it”

are not my customers.

I prefer to work with people who understand our style and share mutual respect.

Perhaps that mindset is a little unusual, even for a Japanese person (laugh).

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Thank you for your interest in Japan.

Shinobu 🇯🇵