Over the weekend, my family took a little trip to Fukuoka, Japan. My wife currently has a broken toe, so she almost didn't go, but decided to go anyway. It wasn't easy managing things, as there was a lot of walking involved, but we got through it. [And the doctor exam yesterday showed no problems.]
The last two times I'd been to Fukuoka, my mother-in-law was with us. That meant a lot of the things we did were focused on her desires. This time it was just us, so the boys and I got to do a few things that WE wanted to do. One of them was to visit a geeky resale shop called MANDARAKE which was sort of like a vintage geek Mecca. Steven, my 10yo, is already planning to save money for our next trip so he can purchase a used gaming console. They had a SEGA MegaDrive (J-version of the Genesis), PS2 through 5, an original X-Box, and a few others. Plus games, of course. He wants one...not sure if he'll get his wish, but we'll see.
They had manga, US comics trade paperbacks, old CD/DVDs of music, anime, etc. Lots and lots of toys: action figures, cars, model kits, and so on. Oh, and books.
I finally, after years of (not very extensive) searching through used bookstores in Japan, found a copy of Sword World RPG.
So far, I've only had time to skim through it. My Japanese is pretty rusty, but I did read through the "What is an RPG" section. Luckily, the few kanji I didn't remember were easy to guess from context. That is probably one of the most straightforward, concise, and effective explanations of what RPGs are and how they play I've ever read. I took notes for my revised Flying Swordsmen game.
When I get more time to go through the game, its mechanics, and what not, I'll probably have more to say here.
Also at the shop were three boxes of vintage Grenadier Star Wars metal minis! The first I noticed was a Bounty Hunters set. Then there was one with the Heroes of the original trilogy (plus Vader). And the third was an Imperials set. I ALMOST bought them. My boys were encouraging me to get them. I wanted them. But all three sets together would have been close to $100 and my wife would not have been happy. And at 1980s 25mm scale they would be so tiny next to my 54mm plastic SW minis from my previous time in Japan. So I didn't get them.
I'll probably be kicking myself for that decision years down the road, just like I sometimes kick myself for not spending $100 to get the Japanese Basic Set shortly before I left Japan for Korea. But such is life.
Additionally, at the 100 yen shops Seria and Daiso, I picked up some dice (two sets of 4 d6s at Seria), and some condition counters for RPG or board/card games (4 sets of 8 counters at Daiso).
At Daiso, I also found two copies of the Werewolf game, with really cool art. There are some common cards in the two sets, but each also has some unique characters. Next to the Werewolf cards were these cards called "Biology Card Game: Cell". I had no idea what they were, but they looked like a CCG. My wife said to go ahead and get them, since they're only a dollar each. The cards are themed around viruses, diseases, organelles, medical tech, and various biological fluids each illustrated with a cute anime girl. The QR code on the box and on each card leads to a video tutorial which I haven't watched yet. Because I'll probably never play the game. But a fun curiosity for $2. Finally, in the books section of Daiso, I found this book about yokai. A lot of my players aren't familiar with them, so this is something I can use in my Jade Campaign to show off what some of the creatures they encounter look like.That's the extent of the gaming related stuff I picked up. Other than that, we met my friend Keita, bought some clothes, lots of snacks, saw a few touristy things (finally went up in Fukuoka Tower, rode swan boats in Ohori Park again), and ate a LOT of good food.
All in all, a fun trip!