Japanese card shops
- Card Rush (カードラッシュ) — Akihabara-based, massive online inventory at cardrush.jp. Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece, Weiss Schwarz
- Hobby Station (ホビーステーション) — chain stores + online at hobbystation.jp. Fair market pricing
- Yellow Submarine (イエローサブマリン) — chain stores + online. TCGs, tabletop, figures
- Suruga-ya (駿河屋) — major secondhand retailer. Massive inventory, competitive singles pricing. Some international shipping
- Torecolo (トレコロ) — large online single marketplace
- Magi (マギ) — app-based marketplace popular in Japan for card trading
Online marketplaces (Japan)
- Amazon JP (amazon.co.jp) — sealed product, some international shipping via Amazon Global. Watch for inflated third-party prices
- Rakuten (rakuten.co.jp) — many card shops as sellers, competitive pricing, Rakuten Global Express for international
- Mercari JP — peer-to-peer, excellent for singles and graded cards. Below-shop prices. Needs proxy for international buyers
- Yahoo! Auctions JP — Japan's auction platform. Best for rare and vintage. Needs proxy or Buyee integration
International retailers
- Plaza Japan (plazajapan.com) — established international retailer for Japanese TCG sealed product. Ships worldwide
- eBay — large selection from global sellers. Use established sellers with high ratings. eBay Authenticity Guarantee for $150+ cards
- CDJapan (cdjapan.co.jp) — Japanese retail, ships internationally
- Tokyofishmarket — Japanese TCG cards direct. Access to JP exclusives, proxy-free
Proxy services
Can't buy directly from Japanese shops? A proxy buys and ships for you.
- Buyee (buyee.jp) — official Yahoo Auctions partner, also works with Mercari JP and Rakuten. Most streamlined
- Zenmarket (zenmarket.jp) — supports many Japanese sites, good pricing
- FromJapan (fromjapan.co.jp) — specializes in auction sites, detailed condition reporting
- Cost: service fee (~300-500 JPY per item) + domestic shipping + international shipping. Roughly 15-25% overhead above item price
Boxes vs singles
The eternal question. Here's the honest answer.
- Opening boxes is fun — the pull, the anticipation, the reveal. It's an experience. Budget for it as entertainment
- Singles are more efficient — if you want a specific card, buying it directly is almost always cheaper than opening boxes until you pull it
- Japanese boxes are the best value for opening — $35-50 vs $144+ English. More pulls per dollar
- Keep some sealed — Japanese sealed product consistently appreciates. Buy two boxes: open one, store one
- For investment: sealed product > raw singles > graded singles (in terms of effort-to-return ratio for beginners)