He visits six locations in Tokyo - Mint Lab, Mint Games (in Ikebukuro), Mint Akihabara, a Pokemon Center, Mint Shibuya and a Pikachu Sweets/Pokemon Card Game station. It's kind of an odd group since half of those sell game or Pokemon cards rather than sports cards although to be fair, he did label it "Best Card Shops" and not "Best Baseball Card Shops". Of the sports card shops, I've been to Mint Akihabara and Mint Shibuya (although before they moved to their current location). I have also been to Mint Lab's predecessor Mint Kanda although Mint Lab is a much different store than Mint Kanda was. I would not rate any of those stores as "the best in Japan" or even " the best in Tokyo" but again, those are subjective ratings. For me, the "best stores in Japan" are Quad Sports, Coletre, Mint Ikebukuro, Mint Urawa, BITS! and Mint Hakata - along with Wrappers if they're still actually open - and two of those aren't in Kanto.
I think what I find annoying is the narrator's focus on Western cards. "Oh, wow, look at all the Kobe cards!" "Hey, you can get American football cards here!" I guess I don't understand the point of traveling halfway around the world to look for cards you can find in the US. I feel like he just gives the NPB and J-League cards a passing glance, except for the Shohei Ohtani 2013 rookie cards which he drools over. And he's surprised there are sumo cards. I mean, there are plenty of oddball sports sets in Japan that would surprise someone - curling, women's bowling, beach volleyball - but sumo? Of course there are sumo cards.
I was amused that the guys at Mint Lab gifted him a box of 2022 Epoch NPB Luxury Collection, saying it was more beautiful than Topps Chrome Refractors. Yeah, maybe, but it's still ugly. I would have rather watched his kids bust that box than the ones they did - one kid had a couple boxes of Donruss football cards and the other had a Topps Chrome soccer box. Again - why go halfway around the world to get cards you can go across town for.
Bottom line I guess is that this is a style of collecting that doesn't appeal to me. And that's fine, it's a big hobby. But I don't think this video really gives a good sense of what the card market is like in Japan.
12 comments:
I'm a bit conflicted about this. I just watched the video. Comments like this:
"These are all um cards....from um the Japanese baseball leagues it looks like...."
Make me cringe.
If there is one thing all of us long-term residents of Japan can agree on (and as a community we don't agree on much) its that we absolutely hate these kinds of Youtube videos (influencer who knows nothing about Japan comes to make a video in which they explain some aspect of Japan to people who also know nothing about Japan).
Personally I would be embarrassed to make a video or blog post where I purported to tell people I knew where the best card shops were, because I know I don't know where all the best card shops are.
But some guy with a channel who doesn't know anything about Japanese cards comes here for a week and suddenly he's the expert and can confidently tell everyone he knows that (because he knows that 99% of his audience hasn't got a clue about it anyway).
That said, I'm a bit self aware as I make these comments that I belong to a different, but equally abrasive online demographic (the long term foreigner who thinks he knows everything and wants to school all the newcomers/outsiders), so I feel I should get off my high horse and temper my criticism a bit.
In the video's defence the guy seems nice, looks like he was having a fun trip with his kids, and did a decent job of interviewing people who worked at the stores. Judging from the channel name (Sports Card Investor) like you I'm not into the same type of collecting as this guy, but to each their own. For people who like that stuff, the video might be useful or inspiring so I won't begrudge the maker of it for that.
It would be cool if an actual Japanese card collector who knew what he was doing made a video like this. Actually, I suppose that since I live here I would be the best suited to do that, but I've always been more comfortable writing rather than making videos....
The title of the video appears to specify Tokyo rather than just all of Japan.
Not like it really matters, the only card shop that matters is Yahoo Auctions of course :).
@Sean - yeah, I'd rather write something as well. And I don't watch many "original" YouTube videos as I'd rather read something than watch it. Trying to imagine myself trying to do a video like this while going into Quad Sports - doing set building by going through a box of 25 year old commons isn't as visually exciting as breaking a box of new cards. It would have been interesting to see his reaction if he'd gone somewhere with old menko on display - maybe he wouldn't have seemed quite so dismissive. On the other hand, the prices on a lot of that stuff is pretty low so perhaps he still wouldn't have been interested.
@Zippy Zappy - I swear to God I thought it said Japan - not just in the video itself but on the actual web page. I am somewhat amazed still that Yahoo! Japan Auctions hasn't killed off more card shops in Japan although I assume it's been a factor in the closing of CAPS and maybe Wrappers and places like Quad Sports moving into smaller spaces.
I've watched a few of this guy's videos... and I'm not into it. If I ever travel across the Pacific, maybe I'll watch this video on the long flight to help prepare my trip tour of shops in Tokyo.
@Fuji - I think my point (and maybe I didn't explicitly say it) is that I don't really think this guy really gives a good overview of what to expect from card shops in Japan. You'd be better off checking out either Ryan's or my blog as we at least mention as many stores as we know about, regardless of whether we like them or not. This guy doesn't acknowledge there's other sports cards stores that aren't Mint.
More than a shop with Menko I'd have been interested in his reaction to going to a shop like the Mint Ponyland here in Nagoya where there are adult film star cards with full frontal nudity on them just casually scattered about the store next to the BBM commons, etc. That video could have taken a very weird turn....
Do you think you could do a post on some the locations you mentioned? I live in Tokyo and have visited the ones in his video already but I’m not familiar with some you have mentioned. I only collect npb cards and ohtani. Thank you.
@Sean - Oh my God, yes, that would be wild
@Anonymous - I have a page on my blog listing all the card shops I know of in Japan which includes links to each store's web page (if they have one I know about) and any posts about the stores done by Ryan, Sean or myself. Some of the information may be out of date so check out the store's website for the most up to date information. Let me also add that Wrappers may be out of business - their blog has not been updated in two years and their Google reviews complain that they aren't open. It's such a good store that I don't want to give up hope that they're still operating though.
Honestly as bad as the video was it's still probably one of the better resources as to what you can find in Japan to an American. It would be nice if some content creators from Japan actually made some points of reference to where anyone outside of Japan can find some cards. I actually was in Japan one week after that video was posted and it was all I could go by. I tried to search for more places but just had no luck. Wish I would have seen your list when I was out there I had plenty of time on my hands.
I don't know what to tell you. If you Google "baseball card stores in Japan", the list on my blog is pretty much the first thing that comes up. I'm sticking to the medium I feel comfortable in so you won't see me making any videos.
Sean, could you recommend for me where are the places in your option ? My son is traveling all over Japan for two weeks and he asked if he could buy a gift for when he returns. I am 55 and I am a traditional collector but do appreciate the excitement of the modern cards. I am a true blue baseball fan and of MLB cards. I’m a big Topps fan because of the players agreement to include jersey numbers and names on the cards. He is currently nearby Tokyo but I think he will be heading in another direction soon. Where ? I’m not sure. He sends pictures and the highlights of his days. If at all possible I would appreciate your knowledge and some direction if possible. I’m only interested in Hobby quality cards of the MLB. I hope I can hear from you soon. Thanks again, AL
Um, I'm not sure what exactly it is that you're looking for. Do you want your son to find a card shop in Japan that has MLB cards? Since I don't collect MLB cards and I wouldn't be looking for them in Japan even if I did, I don't really have any suggestions for you. If you're looking for NPB cards I've recommended several shops in this post and there's a page on my blog listing all the stores I know of in Japan.
And by the way, I'm not Sean - Sean has his own blog.
Post a Comment