When I started PokeShopJP, the name made perfect sense.

Trading cards were at the center of what I was doing. I was finding products in Japan, talking with collectors overseas, and sending cards from here to people in different parts of the world.

So the name was simple.

It described what I was doing.

And even now, I still have a lot of affection for PokeShopJP.

Because this is where everything started.

I can’t point to one exact moment when the name stopped feeling like the right fit.

It happened gradually.

A conversation that started with trading cards would sometimes turn into a conversation about a Japanese magazine.

Someone interested in ONE PIECE might ask about something else that was only available in Japan.

Sometimes I found myself talking less about the item itself, and more about what I was seeing here — what had just been released, what was appearing in stores, or something I had noticed while living in Fukuoka.

None of this happened because I had decided to change the direction of the business.

It simply grew that way.

And after a while, I realized that PokeShopJP still described where we had started, but not everything we had become.

Trading cards are still important.

They will continue to be part of what we do.

But the things I want to share from Japan have become wider.

Games. Magazines. New releases. Japanese goods. Things I notice locally.

And sometimes, just something I see here that I think someone overseas might find interesting.

That was when I started thinking seriously about a different name.

Not a name built around one product.

Not a name that would decide in advance what we should still be talking about five years from now.

Something connected instead to the place where all of this is actually happening.

HAKATA7

Hakata is part of Fukuoka, the city where I live and work.

The “7” does not have a complicated hidden meaning.

It simply gave the name the balance and identity I was looking for.

And somehow, HAKATA7 felt right.

Not because I wanted it to sound bigger.

And not because I wanted to create the image of a large company.

If anything, I wanted the opposite.

I wanted the name to feel connected to a real place.

A place where I actually live, walk around, visit shops, notice things, and sometimes find something worth sharing.

The Japan I See From Fukuoka

When people overseas think about Japan, Tokyo is often one of the first places that comes to mind.

That makes sense.

But the Japan I see every day is here in Fukuoka.

It is the subway station I pass.

The bookstore where a new magazine appears.

The shop where I notice something I had not seen before.

The streets around Hakata and Tenjin.

The small changes in everyday life that will probably never become international news.

I don’t think these things are especially dramatic.

But they are the Japan I actually know.

And that matters to me.

I am not trying to present Fukuoka as better than Tokyo.

It is simply where I am.

It is the place I see Japan from.

And HAKATA7 will naturally reflect that point of view.

What Changes – and What Doesn’t

The most obvious change is the name.

PokeShopJP becomes HAKATA7.

The range of things we talk about will probably continue to grow too.

But many of the things that matter to me are not changing.

I will still be here in Fukuoka.

We will still talk directly with customers.

Trading cards, games and Japanese magazines will continue to be an important part of what we do.

And I still want to share something because I genuinely think it is interesting — not simply because it is something we can sell.

That part is important to me.

The name is changing.

The reason people started talking with us does not need to.

Different Places, Different Stories

HAKATA7 will not tell exactly the same story everywhere.

Instagram will probably remain the fastest-moving place.

That is where you will see new products, new releases, things arriving in Japan, and small things I notice along the way.

This BLOG has a different purpose.

This is where I can slow down.

If something needs more background, more explanation, or simply more space to think, this is where I want to write about it properly.

There is also HAKATA7 Field Notes on Substack.

I think of it as somewhere between the two — a place for discoveries, questions, observations and ideas that feel worth sharing, even when they do not need a full BLOG article.

They are different places.

The stories do not have to be the same.

But they all come from the same point of view.

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If there is something you would like to order, just let us know where you would like it delivered.

We will guide you to the right contact.

I would rather keep that part simple.

The important thing is that you should not need to understand how things work behind the scenes just to ask us a question.

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PokeShopJP will always be part of this story.

That name introduced me to customers, collectors and people from many different countries.

Some of those conversations have continued for a long time.

So even though changing the name makes sense, it still feels a little strange.

Familiar things are like that.

But I think HAKATA7 gives us more room.

More room to talk about Japan without deciding in advance what category something belongs to.

More room to share what we notice here.

And more room to let this develop naturally.

I don’t know exactly what HAKATA7 will look like a few years from now.

I think I’m okay with that.

PokeShopJP started with trading cards.

HAKATA7 starts here, in Fukuoka.

— Shinobu
Fukuoka, Japan