NOTE - There's an updated post about the store's new location.
The first card shop I went to on my trip was the Mint Shinjuku store.
Here's the entrance to the shop inside the building:
A lot of Mint's stores that are located in shopping malls share some common features - limited space and limited inventory. Mint Shinjuku fits that description. What you can expect to find here is the most recent releases - both as unopened packs and boxes and single cards. More expensive cards (autograph, memorabilia, rare parallels, rookie cards) can be found in display cases around the outer walls of the shop. You are unlikely to find any cheap older cards here - although keep an eye out for any odd trays of miscellaneous cards - I don't know if there are any here but I found a couple at other stores that were a lot of fun to go through.
I wasn't expecting a whole lot from this store but Ryan had advised me that I might find good things there. And I did although I don't think I found anything that I wouldn't have found at other Mint stores. I ended up buying a couple of Epoch One cards from last year, a card I was missing from last year's Epoch NPB set and an NPB grab bag.
I paid cash here but I'm pretty confident that they take credit cards (including US based ones). Actually I'm pretty confident all the Mint stores take credit cards.
Here's a couple photos of the interior of the store:
Here's a map of the store's location (NOTE - this has been updated to the new location):
7 comments:
I get turned around everytime in Shinjuku station. Thanks for pointing it out!
The shop looks very clean and organized. That's a huge plus for me.
Great write up. I'll be up in Tokyo later this year and might check out some of the shops up there (maybe not this one since it doesn't have vintage though).
As an aside -- there is a fantastic sporting goods store in the upper levels of that building, called Gallery -- that is where I've gotten almost all of my custom Japanese baseball jerseys (the ones with the names in kanji) done.
@SumoMenkoMan - apparently you can get to the building from the station via underground tunnels
@Fuji - most of the stores I went to were clean and there's only a couple that weren't well organized
@Sean - hopefully I'll have all my card shop posts done before your trip
@Deanna - wish I'd known that when I was there! Don't know if they'd have had any jerseys in my size in a price I was willing to pay though.
Back when Sega Card Gen was around Shinjuku (and Ikebukuro) were my go-to spots to buy them. Chances are they were expensive, but at least they were at an arm's length should I ever feel that I was okay with forking over the cash to buy them.
Sidenote, behind the cash registers at Mint Shinjuku they keep binders filled with cards (usually of the hit variety) they have no space for in the cases. Some decent 1,000 yen deals can be had in those binders.
I had the most success at the store I was able to make our purchases of the BBM 2019 version one. Many of the other locations I’ve been to including in Osaka, in Akihabara, and Shibuya did not have this product in stock. I also found this location that you were able to cycle through a lot of the single cards that they had in stock and they also if you asked would go below and let you then pull out of the shelf or you could pull out singles and other carts if you ask them. What is also need about meant is be sure to ask for one of the customer cards for every $10 you spend you get a card and checks off and then also once you get to a certain amount spent then you get I don’t know if it’s a percentage off or free guest or something along those lines but make sure you pick up the the discount card when you make your purchases there.
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