About Me
I originally lived in Japan from 2005-2008, working in Shizuoka prefecture and traveling all over the country. After my first contract finished, I went back home to the USA for 2 years and worked a temporary job before deciding to once again return to Japan. I’ve lived in Tokyo, Shizuoka prefecture, and until recently I lived in Nagoya. I moved to Yokohama at the end of 2017.
The older I get, the easier it is to become comfortable with the nerd I am, and that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to create this blog. I’ve now been writing this blog for half a year, and while I’ve focused mainly on Magic the Gathering in Japan, I also have quite a few posts about general shopping areas, anime/manga stores, and other points of interest in Nagoya. As time goes on, there will be more and more content on this site, so be sure to check it all out by using the category pull down menu on the main page!
If you’d like to contact me for whatever reason, please contact me through my Twitter account at “Yoschwenky”. A link can be found on my main page within the sidebar.
hey there! I go to Japan about once a year and I spend truckload of yen on all the gaming stuff. shame that magic: the gathering cards are more expensive than in Singapore. keep the update coming, planning to do a short trip to Tokyo soon and i would love to know where else i can go (apart from yellow submarine).
There are a few places in Akihabara that you can check out, I believe Fireball is there, along with a few of the major chains as well. Big Magic, Yellow Submarine, and Amenity Dream seem to be some of the bigger hobby/card stores in Japan. You can also do a store search on Wizards of the Coast’s website. If you ever make your way to Nagoya and want to play a few games of Magic let me know!
haha, tell me more about Nagoya. i was at Osaka/Kyoto last October and i’m dying to go back to Japan again. Maybe it’s time to go beyond Tokyo now.
Well, that’s what this website is about! Take your time and check out the stores I posted profiles about. If you have any questions about the stores, locations, or anything else I’d be happy to answer them.
thanks! i’ll email you via twitter if you don’t mind?
Sounds good. I’ll try my best to answer your questions about Nagoya as well.
do you use skype or msn?
Yep, I use Skype. But it’s mainly for keeping in touch with family.
Hi, I am in Fukui and heading to Nagoya to sell some of my Magic collection. Your blog has been a gold mine for where to go. Thank you! I am going to sell a lot right away and only wish I had read about that mom and pop shop a month ago. I actually own a shop back home in Oregon and this is how I am getting rid of some excess inventory and making the trip here to Japan a business expense. Any selling tips or places that were not mentioned in any post?
The mom and pop shop is great if you plan on coming back again in the future to collect whatever you sell. They don’t have as much traffic as the other places, but you can find great deals up there. I’m still waiting on some EDH cards to sell, as well as a few rares like Tezzeret, so sometimes it sucks when you come back after a few weeks and nothing has sold. I would definitely recommend doing some price comparisons if you have the time to see who will give you the best “buy” price. Sadly their buy lists aren’t published online in English for each individual store, so you have to check out the lists in each individual store. If you’re looking to unload new stuff, any of the stores I talked about will be fine, but for the older sets I would recommend Big Magic, Amenity Dream, and Hobby Station (Osu, Meitestu Eki, or Sasashima Station).
I also don’t know how good your Japanese is, but the Magic guy at Amenity Dream has decent English, and one of the staff at Big Magic can speak English as well, though with everybody else you’ll have to know some Japanese (Magic the Gathering Card oh ooritai — I want to sell Magic the Gathering Cards).
Also, all places pay in cash, but I’m not sure how tourists would go about selling cards because you usually need to have an ID of sorts. I suppose a passport would do, but I will check on this and make a post about this on my blog. Thanks for reading and I hope this blog helps.
The blog has definitely been helpful, I am really glad to have come across it. Almost everything I am looking to unload is either power cards from Standard, i.e. Wurmcoil, Sorin, Swords, but also a fair amount of nice standard foils and some EDH foils. My girlfriend lives here in Japan, so if my passport won’t do, she had a local ID that she got when she received her visa. I think this Friday night or Saturday I will check out Amenity Dream and Big Magic. In the future when I return, I will go right away to the Mom and Pop at the beginning of my trip and
I should point out that that some places are very picky with the cards. No scratches or slight bends are allowed or they will drop the buy price. Prices will vary though. I bought a play set of Tezzeret’s back in December for $11 each, then came back and sold 2 right away for 2000 yen a piece for a nice profit. Still waiting on another to be sold though up at the Mom and Pop’s store. If you have any other questions I should be playing Friday Night Magic at either Amenity Dream or Card Brunch, and on Saturday I’m planning on playing at Hobby Station Meitetsu Eki.
If you plan on selling some stuff in the future, let me know and I can do some research on prices for you if I have the time before you come down to Nagoya. Hope you have a good time in the city!
EDIT: I will be updating my store profiles with more in depth information about selling cards over the next few weeks. Look for the UPDATE tag in the text to see if the new information has been added. Hopefully it will answer all your questions!
What time do shops generally close? I am running a bit late heading into the city.
I’d say some close at 8pm, and others at 9pm depending on the location and if they have a tournament going on that night or not.
This site is great! The part of on vocabulary for playing MTG in Japan is really useful. I wonder if you have other phrases you could add. Some things, for instance, can cause confusion even playing in English like “On your end step”. My son and I both play semi-competitively and will be in Japan for a few months and are looking forward to playing there, so that is really helpful. If you have an email address so we could be in touch more directly that would be great.
It’s a little indirect, but send me a direct message on my Twitter (there is a link on my right hand sidebar) with your email and I’ll send you an email with mine from there. I don’t want my email out there for spammers to get a hold of, so I hope this is okay. And as for your question, when doing something before a certain phase, you can say ‘___ (phase name) no mae _____ (spell name) oh shimasu’. I’ll revise my post with this information so please look for it later!
Sorry, I’m kind of Twitter illiterate. I see a bar to follow you on Twitter (were I a Tweeter or a Tweetered), but not just to send a message with my email address.
If you don’t use Twitter, I can send you an email. If you want to leave it here, I can send you an email, then quickly delete your post after you have received it. Is that okay?
hello ! I am intending to sell some MTG cards in tokyo, I suppose 秋葉原would the best place to go. I was wondering are you a ALT teacher ? or do you work for a corporation.
Yes, there are quite a few stores in Akihabara. You can do a Store Locator search on Magic’s website to find them. I believe past GP and Pro Tour players have shops in Tokyo as well. I’m actually working for a company teaching business English at the moment.
Hi, I’m Raji, and I live in Ozone. I’ve been playing Magic 2013 on PS3, which had acted like a gateway drug! I’d really like to get into card magic now, so if you can offer advice, and if I can play with you, that would be great. I am a beginner, with no cards at the moment.
I have quite a few cards I could give you for free to get you started, and you’re more than welcome to meet with the magic group here in Nagoya as well. I usually play at Big Magic near the McDonalds in Yabacho/Sakae on Sundays, so meet me there in the afternoon around 2pm if you can sometime. If that doesn’t work for you let me know and we can work something out.
That sounds great. I think i can meet next week (14th). Are the people in the magic group all English speakers? And do you play with English cards or Japanese cards at this meet?
Thank you for the offer of the cards. I’m happy to purchase some from stores too, though to start off, though I’m also aware that the 2014 deck will be out relatively soon. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Unless I’m out traveling next weekend, I should be there. My magic group speaks English, but most of the players at the tournaments speak Japanese. Be sure to click on my MTG vocab link at the top of the page to study up on useful phrases during a tournament!
Thanks for your advice. I’m an ALT, and I’m not actually working til the 22nd this month, so if you happen to have a free morning, afternoon or evening, I’d be happy to meet up with you, or you could meet me at my place, I live literally next to the station, so we could have a chat. I’ve bought some boosters in english and Japanese, but atm, I don’t have much confidence playing with an all jp deck. Again, maybe meeting up with you before Sunday would be great.
Thanks for your time.
I’ll be at Card Brunch near Kanayama for Monday Night Magic tonight around 6pm if you want to join me there. You can look at this link for directions: https://thejapanhobbyist.com/2011/12/17/japanese-mtg-player-archetypes-and-hobby-profiles-ii/
The fastest way and cheapest is to take the JR line from Ozone station to Kanayama, then walking a few blocks there. Look for the exit with Mr. Doughnuts, then find the McDonalds and cross the street, and keep heading left from there for about 4 blocks until you find a post office. It’s right after it. I won’t bring cards, but I can give you some info and maybe play against you.
Awesome. See you there.
Hey, just wondering if you play online Magic too. Some friends and I play the Steam Planeswalker Duels.
I have Duels of the planeswalkers for the PS3. Can we play across formats??
I don’t know… Will Google and get back to you
Hi,
i’d like to buy a full dredge T1 in japanese, but i live in Brazil (kind of hard find everything from here)… can u tell me about a good website to buy cards in japan?
thanks
Most players use websites like yahoo auctions Japan over here to buy and sell cards. If I come across a website that sells singles I’ll let you know, but check out auctions.yahoo.co.jp and see if any people are willing to send internationally. That’s all I can help ou with right. I’ll keep an eye out for online sales.
http://www.hareruyamtg.com/
seems pretty solid for Japanese Legacy stuff. I haven’t ordered from them yet, but my J-friends recommended it. I think it’s run my the J-pro player Tomoharu Saitou.
Hope that’s not too late to help you 😛
Aside from Saito’s site, I believe Tokyomtg.com also sells Japanese cards and can ship them overseas.
thanks
Really great site. I’ve been looking all over the internet for some of this information in English. I’m still trying to find some people to play MTG with in Tsukuba, but I don’t play competitively. Thank you!
Where is Tsukuba?
I used to live in Aichi from 2000-2002 and 2004-2008. You might have seen me at GPs doing coverage with Ron and whoever they flew in. For what it’s worth, I’m probably headed back later this year, though I probably am going to end up in Kansai or Toukai this time out.
I loved playing at Big Magic in Osu for the longest time. Are they still around?
Yep, all your favorite stores and more are probably still here. I’d wager to say that MTG has gotten even more popular over here in the last few years. I look forward to seeing you at future GPs and PTQs here.
Hi !
My name is Noriaki, and i live in austria. i am half japanese and once in a year i come to japan during my holidays.
ive been playing mtg for like a year now and went to the local GP at vienna to find out that japanese cards are more valuable than english/german cards.
If i would come back to nagoya this summer with a lot of cards, and say want to just trade them from german/english to japanese, would that be any problem ?
Or another question: are the shops eager to get german cards or are german cards more worth than japanese ones?
Thank you for your nice blog ! i am 20 years old now and never thought that there were any players playing magic in japan. Since i dont know nagoya as much as you do, it gave me a nice overview of where to go.
Thank you !
There might be some players who like rare European cards, so it would be worth it to bring them with you for trade. I don’t think you’ll be able to trade weak ones, but you should have no problem finding people who would trade Japanese ones for German ones.
I guess things have changed. In my experience, Japanese players weren’t fans of German or other non-English cards. But most people will do language trades out of sheer courtesy.
I wouldn’t say that player are turned off by trading a German Sword of Feast and Famine for a Japanese one. If it’s a good card, I think you’ll still find some takers. Lots of players are looking for rare stuff to play in their decks these days. I’ve heard people like using Korean and Russian especially. It all depends on the crowd and the card. Bring over your best, and I’m sure you’ll find some people interested in them, especially if it’s at a Grand Prix type event.
Hi there! I live in Tokyo and I want to go to the “journey into nyx” prerelease. While I understand japanese, I prefer to open English packs and have english promos. Any advice where I can find a place that offers english packs (boosters, promos, the whole pack basically) in English for the prerelease?
I don’t think you’ll be able to do a pre-release in English in Japan, as 99% of most pre-release participants are going to be Japanese. If you live on a military base and they have a Tournament Organizer, they might be able to get English product in time for a pre-release, but otherwise you’d be out of luck. I’d recommend looking into Hareruya (Tomoharu Saito’s shop) in Takedanobaba (sp?) near Ikebukuro in Tokyo. They have so many players there that you might be able to play in English. Good luck, and if you find a place that does pre-releases in English let me know!
You’re definitely not going to be able to get Journey into Nyx English product at prereleases. Unless TOs specifically ask for an English language box as part of the prize support, you’re going to be out of luck in that area.
But here’s my advice for what to do. First off, before the event, get two English Theros packs and an English Born of the Gods pack, and ask the tournament organizer if you can use those packs instead of the Japanese ones in your product. They will almost certainly say yes. After all, you’re still paying the entry price. Then just put the Japanese packs for those in your bag. That will reduce the language requirements by … less than half, because presumably you know what those cards are already if you play a lot. But if you’re a newer player, having these in English will make your life a TON easier.
Also, bring a spoiler organized by collector number to the event, so you can see what the cards do. You will also need that spoiler so you can quickly reference what cards the opponent is using. But be sure to only put card information on the spoiler, and no extra notes that would guide you during the match. Cell phone usage to translate is generally not a good method, as it can lead to the potential for outside play suggestions.
I also would recommend turning your spoiler into short hand notes. This lets you flip through less paper, and helps you memorize the cards. For example, this is how I do shorthand.
1 Aven Cloudchaser 3W C 2/2 Bird Cleric When THIS ETB, destroy targ ench.
Card number, name, casting cost, rarity, creature type or other type, rules text. I abbreviate card name to THIS in rules text. ETB should be obvious. Ench is enchantment.
Here’s another. I forget the card numbers, though.
135 Erebos, God of the Dead 3B M Ench Creat 5/6 Indestruct Your opps can’t gain life. 1B, pay 2 life: Draw a card.
47 Spear of Heliod 1WW Leg Ench Art R Creats you control get +1/+1. 1WW, T: Destroy targ creat that damaged you this turn.
16 Elspeth, Sun’s Champion 4WW MPlaneswalker L4 +1: Make 3 1/1 Soldier tokens. -3: Destroy all creats w/ power 4+ -7: Gain emblem with “All your creats get +2/+2 and flying”
74 Dissolve 1UU u Inst Counter targ spell. Scry 1.
Hope this helps. You will have the chance to see the visual spoiler one week before the prerelease, so that will also be a BIG aid to learning the cards. I used to do this kind of thing without reading hardly any Japanese when the spoilers were released the day of the prerelease. So it should be a ton easier.
If you have a smart phone, it’s a lot easier. I always download the spoiler on iMTG on my iPhone, or I change the visual spoiler from Wizard’s website card gallery into PDF format then load it up on a mobile device that I can view it on. Most if not all players and places I’ve played pre-releases at in Japan have allowed me to check card info in English when I needed to, but it is always good to ask beforehand if it’s okay to use your smartphone.
thanks for both replies guys. I already asked hareruya several days ago in person. No luck there. I do know japanese (not perfect), play at my LGS so the game itself will be ok, I just do not like japanese cards. Several bargains here and there is fine, but yeah, just wanted an english prerelease.
I found old info on wizards`s site about the prereleases:
________________
The above price includes 1 tournament pack of Ravnica: City of Guilds and 3 booster packs of the latest Magic: The Gathering expansion Dissension.
English language packs will be provided to players who cannot read Japanese.
_________________
Oh well, I will still ask around if i somehow find a place I will report back.
And thanks for the quick replies. 🙂
Ryan remember me im Tadashi we r playing recentli in nagoya grand prix and after we r goin to eat a good ramen.
you tell me aobout a good store in kanayama but i cant found it we is the store??? you tell me on a thirt floor but doesnt exist
and the other question is its monday today r a store to play a draft today or tomorrow???
thanks friend and see u again
There is a standard tournament on Tuesday’s near Nagoya station at Hobby Station Sasashima, but I don’t know about draft. Check Wizards of the Coast’s website for more information.
If you want to draft, a few of my friends are going to Mishimaya near Ozone station on Tuesday around 5:30 pm or so. I might go too and we can ask people there. Here is a link with information – https://thejapanhobbyist.com/2011/12/19/hobby-store-profiles-iii-nagoya-part-3/
Hey Ryan,
I posted only once or twice before, but I saw you’re comming to Shizuoka as well as one of the few other non-japanese participants. If you’re interessted in a meet-up for maybe a match in standard or EDH or something, just mail me. I should be there from this afternoon. 🙂
Greetings
Gaby (from Germany, living in Kyoto)
We’ll be there! I’ll probably do some side events if I dont make day 2, but most of us are planning to meet sometime on Sunday for my Tempest cube or standard. Ill try to remember to put out my card board samurai business card so you can find us.
Wish I found this site when I went to Japan last summer.
Hopefully you’ll visit again! Where did you go and for how long?
I stayed in Tokyo for 2.5 weeks. I spent two days in Hakone and one day in Yokohama. i definitely want to come back. There is so much I didn’t get to see. My next trip will probably be in Kyoto.
I’m guessing it’s not for the Grand Prix! But Kyoto is a great place. Lots of stuff to do there, and Nara is also pretty close as well.
I didn’t even know there was a grandprix. I just went to Japan on vacation. I love akihabara. I went there to play some Street fighter but I did buy a lot of magic cards while I was there.
Hi there! I am just new to Magic (never played in real, but getting the bases with the iPad’s game, and from a friend back home in Spain) and your blog is one of the first things that I found googleing about the hobby in Japan. Unfortunately, I know no one here in Kobe, where I live, who plays MTG (I mean, expats, since my Japanese is not good enough to play with locals). I’ve been in Yellow Submarine in a FNM, but no foreigner playing there, just Japanese guys, and they all looked wierdly at me when I just came in to see how they play, hehehe. Any chance you have some friends in Kobe/Osaka who don’t mind teaching some idiot newbie like me…?
There are quite a few foreigners in Osaka! My friends there play mostly modern and EDH, but you’ll greatly improve your chances of playing with foreigners there. Join my cardboard samurai Facebook group and I can put you in touch with who is from Osaka!
Hehehe, well, here it comes my ignorance… I have been reading here and there about modern, standard and so on, but have no idea about it. I noticed the boosters about Modern Masters 2015 but since they were quite expensive, I bought Khans of Tankir boosters and core set 2015. I think that allows me to play just standard?
Can I ask you what’s EDH?
I’ll join your facebook group (although I really hate facebook, hehehe). Thanks for letting me know!! I’ll also keep reading your blog as a source of information for the game in Japan.
Thanks again!!
The FB group is a great way for players around Japan/Asia to keep in touch and coordinate meet ups. I recommend it.
Yep! I joined the group. Thanks a lot!!
Got it!
http://archive.wizards.com/Magic/tcg/article.aspx?x=magic/rules/edh
Where are you from originally? how did you decide to move to japan? what about the visa?
I got a job with a company over here to get my Visa at first, but now I’m married. I’m from the USA.
Hey, im visiting japan for a few months in the nagoya area and i was wondering about finding people for some friendly edh games. I posted something on the edh subreddit and i was pointed in your direction. Any information on where i might be able to find some games or groups of people that maybe meet up regularly for some friendly pods?
If you want to play with some non-Japanese people, our local group plays at Mishimaya toy shop near Ozone station every Tuesday between 5-9 pm. Usually at least 4 people that play EDH there amongst other formats like modern and legacy. Otherwise, you’ll have to go to a standard tournament on Saturday or Sunday somewhere and play in between rounds. That’s where most of the Japanese players play.
Thank you! I’ll try to catch up with you there next week.
Hi Japan Hobbyist, thank for making your blog.
Where in Nagoya, if you can remember from your days there could I buy a copy of the Dungeons and Dragons RPG in Japanese?
I may be visiting the city soon’ish and want to pick up a copy for my Japanese GF.
Yellow Submarine in Osu Kannon will be your best bet! It’s on the 3rd Main Street, Akamondori. Not too far from the main road.
Hey Japan Hobbyist, thanks for all the great info on all the MTG stores in Tokyo!
I’ve recently gotten back into MTG after a long 8-10 year hiatus and I’ll be taking a trip to Tokyo for work in the next week.
I’m looking to restock on everything, and especially MTG accessories(sleeves/playmats/dice/etc). I know you mentioned a particular shop that may have had some of those rare playmats available, but I was wondering if any of that information has changed?
Does a particular shop stand out above the rest in terms of MTG accessories?
Thanks again!
I like Yellow Submarine for their large range of accessories, but their card prices are usually higher than other places. They also usually have a good price on perfect fit sleeves. If you’re out to buy KMC sleeves, I’ve always found good deals on those at Amenity Dream. As for playmats I can’t really say, but looking around stores in Akihabara will probably let you see a lot and find more than other places.
Hey Japan Hobbyist. A MTG friend recommended your blog after I told them I am moving to Japan (Osaka) next month. I am likely going to be there for years, maybe a decade and want to stay in the magic scene. This is super helpful required reading going to go through EVERYTHING, but things are busy (move) so if you have a place to start I’d love the guided tour!
Sorry I just saw this now! Feel free to jump onto Twitter and find me (YoJapanHobbyist) or on Discord! We can talk more there!
Love the website, super useful information. Noticed you mentioned Discord in a reply above, do you have a server?
Yes, I believe there is a link on the “Become a Cardboard Samurai” tab but you can also find it on my streams and Twitter @yojapanhobbyist I believe
Hi im Mac just seach Japan MTG and see ur blog
Mid- February will go to tokyo for family trip for one week
Im play long times ago but recently wanna play again w my kid let her be more creative and logically
Can u plz give me an advice for sell or buy cards
I only play 20 years ago standard 60 never play now 99 new style but i keeps alot of old cards
Btw i come from Taiwan
Thanks
If you want to buy/sell cards there are a few stores that have have online websites you can use. Hareruya (https://www.hareruyamtg.com/en/), Tokyo MTG (https://tokyomtg.com/index.html) and Big Magic (https://mtg.bigweb.co.jp). There are more stores in Japan of course, but only these have websites you can check out to find prices for buying and selling!
I’m looking for a possibility to have a handler or middle person in Japan to buy cards/ collections and send it overseas. Wondering do you have any connections for that. Not from US btw.
Before the pandemic I might have known some people but after I don’t know of anybody who has the time and connections. Most people just sell their collections to places like Hareruya and it’s really difficult to get in touch with people when there are no events to meet them. I don’t think I’ll be of any help here.
Hey do you source and ship cards outside of Japan
Best way to get cards from inside Japan would be through Hareruya, Big Magic, and TokyoMTG. Those are the only stores that ship overseas I think. I’ve never sold cards before.