Vol. 1, Issue 13 - A Pokémon fan in Japan: Vectrex
A friend of Johto Times shares his Pokémon discoveries from across Japan
A warm welcome to Issue 13 of the Johto Times newsletter! This week’s content includes news on how a trading card store in Japan is restricting sales to adults in an effort to get them into the hands of their target audience and reduce reselling. We also have a special feature from a Pokémon fan in Japan, who has shared some of his Pokémon discoveries with us.
News
One interesting piece of news I saw on Twitter this week was that a Pokémon card shop in Japan will restrict the sale of the latest TCG sets, Snow Hazard and Clay Burst, to adults and children over junior high school age. This decision has been made in an effort to combat adult resellers and ensure that the target audience has the opportunity to obtain them. Children who meet the criteria set out by Hareruya 2, the trading card store in question, will be able to purchase up to ten packs per day, with products over six months old made available to everyone. Hareruya 2 opened in 2021, and claimed to be the world's largest TCG store, consisting of six floors with one of the world's largest inventories and expert services.
I wrote an opinion piece back in March, suggesting that people ‘spare a thought’ for the younger fans who are missing out on purchasing the cards, so I am personally delighted to see a store take such a decision.
Feature: A Pokémon fan in Japan: Vectrex
Our friend Vectrex who lives and works in Japan is a long-time fan of Pokémon, and he makes various Pokémon discoveries on his trips around the country. In what I hope will be a long-running series of features, we will be sharing his fantastical discoveries and encounters with you!
Unown Plush Toys
Location: Mega Tokyo Pokémon Center (April 2021)
The Mega Tokyo Pokémon Center is the largest Pokémon Center in the world (at the time of publication!) and is located on the second floor of the Sunshine City shopping and entertainment complex. A range of goods were on sale here, and Vectrex snapped a picture of this vast collection of Unown plush toys!
Bagon Plush and Bulbasaur sticker
Location: Mega Tokyo Pokémon Center (April 2021)
While he was there, Vectrex also purchased a Bagon plush toy, and a B-Side Bulbasaur sticker, which were available at the Mega Tokyo Pokémon Center at the time.
Pikachu Doughnut
Location: Mister Donut (November 2022)
Mister Donut was founded in the mid-1950's in the United States, where they were rebranded as Dunkin' Donuts. In Japan, Mister Donut is the largest doughnut franchise chain, with almost 1000 stores as of March 2021. Back in November 2022, Vectrex visited one of these and ordered himself a nice Pikachu doughnut, filled with whipped cream, with a pudding flavour and chocolate coating. Several of these were available to buy for a limited time during a Christmas promotion, and how can anyone resist a Pikachu doughnut? I absolutely would have chosen it myself if I were there.
Pokémon Glasses
Location: Mister Donut (November 2022)
The following week, Vectrex visited Mister Donut once again and was able to nab a pair of awesome Pokémon glasses after being unsuccessful the previous week. They include images of Pikachu and Jigglypuff. I can’t help but wonder what kind of awesome merchandise will be available for future Christmas collaborations!
Boxed Pokémon Green for Game Boy
Location: Book Off in Kawasaki, Kanagawa (May 2022)
Book Off is Japan's largest chain of used bookstores, founded in the early 1990's. It has stores internationally in France, South Korea, Canada and the USA. Stores also sell video games and consoles. One of the items Vectrex saw on one of his many visits to these types of stores was a boxed copy of Pokémon Green. While the first Pokémon games released in the west were titled Pokémon Red and Blue, Japan’s first pair of games were Red and Green, and they had many subtle differences to the versions many of us played outside of Japan.
Giant Psyduck Plush
Location: Hobby Off in Adachi, Tokyo (May 2022)
How about a GIGANTIC Psyduck? This absolute unit of a plush will set you back 44,000 yen (£270 British Pounds, or $332 US Dollars) from a Hobby Off store. I’m certain there is a Psyduck fan with an admiration for the character equal to the size of this toy. I definitely wouldn’t have the room for it in my house; would you?
Pokémon Mini Games
Location: Hard Off in Horinouchi, Hachioji (August 2022)
Hard Off operate a chain of second-hand stores that purchase unwanted items from customers and sell them. There's a range of different stores like this across Japan, such as Book Off and Hobby Off. On this occasion, Vectrex found some Japanese Pokémon Mini games, which were originally sold for a limited time around 2001 and 2002. While these titles did have an English release, there are some games that only ever came out in Japan and now command prices in the hundreds of dollars.
Pokémon Center Game Boy Color
Location: Hobby Off in Yokohama, Nagatsuta (March 2023)
On another visit to a Hobby Off, Vectrex found a very special edition of the Game Boy Color, which was created to mark the third anniversary of Pokémon and was sold exclusively in Japan. It features Charmander, Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Pikachu on the screen. Unfortunately, this one was broken and lacked a battery cover on the back of the console. Orange isn't exactly my favourite colour, but I was very tempted to ask Vectrex to buy this on my behalf.
Lapras Coach
Location: Sendai (October 2022)
Why not take a trip on a bus with Lapras and other aquatic Pokémon? Vectrex spotted this one in Sendai and tells me that it was likely doing a loop of the area for tourists. Sendai is the largest city in the Tōhoku region. I would have loved to have travelled on any kind of Pokémon-themed vehicle!
A big thanks to Vectrex for sharing these amazing photographs, and hopefully he will have more of them in the future for us! Which of these did you enjoy the most? Are there any cool sights from Japan that you would like to see him check out in the future? Let us know!
Mailbag
Last week we mentioned that we were planning to launch a mailbag. You’re welcome to submit content including (but not limited to) questions, fanart, short stories, memories, photographs of your collection, or even Pokémon tattoos! We will happily publish them in our mailbag and share them in future issues of our newsletter.