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Well, first off the GW hobby isn't the most popular hobby on these shores. When they have to compete with piles of anime, good and lousy, Gundam, and all other sorts of character goods, GW is facing an uphill battle whether they like to admit it or not. The video game market alone in this country dwarfs anything GW could ever hope for realistically. Today, however, was a bit of a ying-yang moment.

First the good, or somewhat positive news. In the current edition of Hobby Geki, which I picked up today, there was an article detailing the Baal Predator from the Blood Angels release. Now, that might not be huge news in itself, but when the vast majority of kits featured in Japanese modelling magazines are domestic, it shows that GW is at least making some headway. Hopefully, this will open some doors for GW models being featured by modellers rather than the cut and paste photos from the HQ in Nottingham. Time will tell.

The crummy news is that the Chiba Hobby Centre, one of the bigger ones size-wise, has closed its doors. Seeing as it was my 'local', only a mere 90 minute drive away, I am, for the lack of a better term, rather bummed-out. For me, going to one of the other Hobby Centres is a bit of a logistical nightmare due to distance, finance and time. Of course, the website mentions how the hobby is growing and has a rather positive slant on the whole thing, but, I don't know, my gut feeling here is that GW in Japan is floundering. There are a few gaming clubs and such, but they just can't seem to adapt their model to a Japanese model that works. I only hope they kept the lone staff, Tsuchiya san, on in some capacity.

The big question for me now is where the feth am I going to get quality flat black primer as most nerds here love their white?

Autobacs must sell primer.

I looked at GW Japan's pricing , they are almost as scary as Aus prices...

Japan also suffers from space issues, I can't think of one Japanese apartment I saw that would give me enough space to both game and to live in.

Khornholio wrote:There are a few gaming clubs and such, but they just can't seem to adapt their model to a Japanese model that works.

I think this is a big hold up for GW globally, they try to force all their markets to work under a more British system with little understanding that concessions to the local markets are neccessary to be accessable. For example, in the US they're trying to impose a 2 employee per store system, with limited hours, that seemed to have worked in the UK but will likely fall flat here.

Adapting their model to different markets seems to utterly confound them. They may give lip service to markets being different, but don't seem willing to move outside their comfort zone in order to attack those markets. And yet they want to be a global company.

Another example the US market is largely tournament driven and yet as they got bigger trimmed support. I believe they are working on this one though.

A friend once told me that when he was in Japan he noticed that Fantasy did better than 40k, because its more of a contrast to what they get domestically. Makes sense, but I doubt GW has done anything to take advantage of that.

ying-yang moment

I do believe that if this was meant to reference the idea of opposing good-bad forces, it should read "yin-yang", an actual Chinese philosophical idea. The corruption of it, ying-yang, as in "up the ying-yang" is something else entirely.

My local store seems to be doing about the same as it always has- but I have no idea if that's a good or bad thing. The only guy who is ever there is constantly asking me to add on a bunch of over-priced hobby supplies I have no interest in, and can go a few hundred meters down the road and pick up better stuff at half price from other stores. But then, from the sounds of things that's just GW SOP.

My impression of customers in Japan is that they don't tend to be choosy about price when it comes to their hobbies- so the ridiculous surcharge we pay for the privilege of not mail-ordering minis probably won't affect GW too much.

Sorry to hear you lost your store. Is there a Yellow Submarine near you? Sometimes they carry minis.


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aka_mythos wrote:A friend once told me that when he was in Japan he noticed that Fantasy did better than 40k, because its more of a contrast to what they get domestically. Makes sense, but I doubt GW has done anything to take advantage of that.

I've heard that said a lot, but my store would seem to run counter to that claim. I think I see about 1 fantasy game played for every 10 40K games.

i feel your pain. all the GW stores within a few *hundred* miles of atlanta got closed down a couple months back. i still have the local store but it was nice to at least theoretically have a GW store in case you absolutely, positively needed a marine right away. :(

Kid_Kyoto wrote:Japan also suffers from space issues, I can't think of one Japanese apartment I saw that would give me enough space to both game and to live in.

sounds like a priority problem! On a more serious note: Did you have a bed? Is it possible to get a 4'x6' (or metric equivalent) gypsum boards that can be pressed flush against a wall when not lain across the bed as a game board? Can't minis and terrain be stored underneath the bed? Just some ideas from Dorm Room gaming. Granted, they might have had more space than Japan.

JOHIRA wrote:My local store seems to be doing about the same as it always has- but I have no idea if that's a good or bad thing. The only guy who is ever there is constantly asking me to add on a bunch of over-priced hobby supplies I have no interest in, and can go a few hundred meters down the road and pick up better stuff at half price from other stores. But then, from the sounds of things that's just GW SOP.

My impression of customers in Japan is that they don't tend to be choosy about price when it comes to their hobbies- so the ridiculous surcharge we pay for the privilege of not mail-ordering minis probably won't affect GW too much.

Sorry to hear you lost your store. Is there a Yellow Submarine near you? Sometimes they carry minis.


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aka_mythos wrote:A friend once told me that when he was in Japan he noticed that Fantasy did better than 40k, because its more of a contrast to what they get domestically. Makes sense, but I doubt GW has done anything to take advantage of that.

I've heard that said a lot, but my store would seem to run counter to that claim. I think I see about 1 fantasy game played for every 10 40K games.

Actually, there is a Yellow Submarine about 300 yards or so from where the GW was. I went there first to see if they had any black primer, and then strolled over to the shuttered GW. At least with yellow submarine, you can get that 10% off card, as the GW prices did seem to be a bit excessive. Also, right next to the Yellow Submarine is a Daiso 100 yen ship where you can get all kinds of clippers, knives, wire, and other nerding related tools. But I did tend to buy all the minis at the GW because of the way greater selection. I guess it's Maelstrom from here on in with the odd trip to the Nakano Nerd Outlet Mall or Akihabara, which now has a Gundam Cafe.

I'll wander over to Autobacs and look for some black primer. Although "black" and "primer" does raise a lot of eyebrows for some reason.

Yes, I should've used yin-yang. But in context, ying-yang seems okay, as the whole realization that one of the stores I'd actually shop at was closed was total ying-yang.

robertsjf wrote:On a more serious note: Did you have a bed? Is it possible to get a 4'x6' (or metric equivalent) gypsum boards that can be pressed flush against a wall when not lain across the bed as a game board? Can't minis and terrain be stored underneath the bed? Just some ideas from Dorm Room gaming. Granted, they might have had more space than Japan.

Most Japanese apartments don't have beds. In a traditional house, People sleep on foldable futons laid directly on the floor. And these futons are folded and stored in a closet during the day. I can't speak for Kid_Kyoto, but in the 4 apartments in Japan I've lived in, only one could have reasonably fit a bed in it- the one from a sweet job where most of my apartment was subsidized by my employer (a job that is sadly long gone). The others could theoretically fit a bed if that was the only furniture in the entire room, but for the cost and loss of space it hasn't been worth it for me.

For me, in my present place I could theoretically set up a nicely-collapseable table and maybe even store some terrain if I chucked some winter clothes- and at a squeeze I could even fit myself and an opponent in the room to boot. But there would be no room for all of the comfortable things that make gaming worthwhile. Things like chairs, other people, a non-gaming-table place to put drinks and snacks. And I've got a bigger apartment than many single people- the kitchen is actually a separate room! Add to that the problem that if we spoke above a dull murmer the neighbors might hear it and complain, and if we played music the neighbors might complain, and if it was after a certain hour the neighbors might complain...

Wow. That makes Japan sound like the most horrible place on earth! I mean, you can put me in a small box once I'm dead, but while I'm living, I need some space!

That being said, what about playing on the floor? I've played many memorable games at ground level!

Better yet, what's the average apt size you were in? Give me an idea as far as dimensions are concerned.

What you want to do is move out to the countryside, where you can actually get reasonably sized accomodation!

But yeah, city life in Japan is nuts.

This bilingual estate agency site will give people an idea of the size and cost of Japanese living space.

My house in Kanagawa is about 175 square metres, and cost a fortune.

It's 23 minutes by rapid express from Shinjuku station, so for an outer suburb it is well connected.

Obviously you can get more for less by going farther out.

Yeah, Japanese live in tiny apartments, sleep on the floor and eat with sticks....but there is little crime.

The countryside is great for space. The place we're in now isn't the biggest place we've lived in, but it is definitely the most comfortable. The beach is really close, and it isn't one of the garbage beaches of Tokyo bay either (I used to leave near a garbage beach back years ago), there are mountains, wild life, girls in mini skirts, cheap groceries, etc.

City living in Japan is an expensive psychotic nightmare filled with zombified Japanese citizens shuffling along in their company uniforms taking trains at all hours frantically emailing their friend on their mobile phones reading comics and drinking gelatinous sports drinks. Plus, there are announcements like every 5 seconds. Imagine the scene in THX 1138 when they finally get out of prison and there is a tidal wave of people rushing by. It's something like that, but with more mini-skirts.

The countryside of Japan is the way to go if you ever get the chance to live here. The big cities are exciting for a while, but after 2 years you usually either want to kill yourself (which a lot of them do), or leave. But, it depends on your priorities and situation.

My house and flat in Miyazaki were both the same size:

6 tatami mat room
6 tatami mat room
4.5 tatami mat room
Approx 4.5 tatami mat kitchen
Small bathroom
Separate toilet
Reasonable genkan entrance area

The house had a nice little patio area, the flat had a large balcony. Both came with a parking space and external shed.

The house used to cost me 10,050 yen per month. The flat was, IIRC, 10,600 yen per month. I LOVE subsidised housing!!!

(Basically, a medium size flat for £60 or $90 per month)

Weren't GW JP trying to set up gaming arenas or something where people living in the crowded urban areas could schedule or rent tables for games?

Kilkrazy wrote:This bilingual estate agency site will give people an idea of the size and cost of Japanese living space.

Is there supposed to be a link in your post?

Sounds like even the most modest american house is a castle to city japanese dwellers.. Cant say I could handle lack of space..

Kid_Kyoto wrote:Japan also suffers from space issues, I can't think of one Japanese apartment I saw that would give me enough space to both game and to live in.

Heh, heh. I have a 4 room apartment. I have one room set aside for nothing but gaming and modelling in addition to my tatami room, an LDK room and another spare.

Your problem sir was that you were looking for apts in Kyoto. Which is almost as bad as Tokyo when it comes to finding places to live.


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BTW I live in Kobe and I pay 45,000 a month so about 300pounds sterling at the current exchange. Although relative to the cost of living its more like half that.

And I have never, ever seen a Fantasy army in Japan. I do agree that the armies I tend to see more of are those that are quite different to what Japanese model kit makers produce. I've seen a lot of marines and chaos, quite a bit of guard, some nids, orks and daemons but no Tau.

At first,apologies for my no-good English :p

For me as Japanese,GW JAPAN pricing is ridiculously expensive.
Other than that,its really good tho.
My local hobby center manager says "This is smallest GW hobby center in the world."
Yes its really tiny. But I can play

Article on Dengeki Hobby is good. We,Japanese,loves modeling & painting.(Dont look at my gallery. I'm not good painter)So,painting & modeling will attract people much. Games are.... I can say so so.

Closing Chiba was sad news...but in japan really very few hobbyists here but Around Tokyo we have 7 store. Dont you think too many? I think too many :p

And I can say over half of japanese hobbyists dont play at hobby center. We do play at Community center.

I agree with No tau. I dont know why but very few I've seen.

^^Do you play at Ikebukuro?

I think 7 GWs in Tokyo is a bit much. There isn't one in Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka (not pronounced like THAT, guys) or Sapporo. I was lucky that there was one near where I live.

I wish I knew, or could figure out, GW Japan's business plan. Some of the stores make a lot of sense (i.e. Nakano Nerd Mall) But, like the HQ being near Tokyo University in one of the highest rent districts in town, which attracts the more high-brow antique book buying clientele, seems a bit backward. The young hipster/nerd element is on the Yamanote line, not at some subway station that was famous 60 years ago.

Time will tell.

They need a GT.

That´s Tokyo to you folks.
As Sir Robin said in Kobe we have bigger places to live and game in Kobe if you want to pay a little bit for it.

For black primer try Volks if you can find them in Tokyo they currently carry Vallejo stuff including primer.

M.

Khornholio wrote:There isn't one in Osaka,

No, but there is an independent retail shop there that sells GW stuff and is AWESOME. I've only been there once, but they have a huge selection, huge tables, a slick farseer conversion in the window, and the staff generally seemed pretty cool.

As for everyone's shock at the apartment size issues- honestly, it's not that bad. Apart from being unable to host a GW game, I don't mind the space issues in the slightest. Back when I lived in America I used to live in a decent sized apartment where I spent 90% of my home time within the same 3 foot area, but having a ton of space enabled me to accumulate a bunch of crap I didn't need. Japan is a great place to live.

And I really hope I can get my army finished before I leave here. I would really like to play a game at my local GW. I've had nothing but positive impressions of the players at my store and their sense of sportsmanship. And I haven't met any gamers here yet who don't bathe!

Khornholio wrote:^^Do you play at Ikebukuro?

I think 7 GWs in Tokyo is a bit much. There isn't one in Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka (not pronounced like THAT, guys) or Sapporo. I was lucky that there was one near where I live.

I wish I knew, or could figure out, GW Japan's business plan. Some of the stores make a lot of sense (i.e. Nakano Nerd Mall) But, like the HQ being near Tokyo University in one of the highest rent districts in town, which attracts the more high-brow antique book buying clientele, seems a bit backward. The young hipster/nerd element is on the Yamanote line, not at some subway station that was famous 60 years ago.

Time will tell.

They need a GT.

I play at Machida. Smaller than Ikebukuro YAY! :p

HQ locantion is not so bad. Next of akihabara. which is nice.

I agree with GT. WE NEED oriented GT!

I wish there will be more 40K/Fantasy players.

Its offtopic but I WISH MORE WARMACHINE/HORDES PLAYER! Anyone interested,come play with me(us)!

If you mean Iconoclasm then yeah, that was a nice shop. They used to be in a tiny little tucked away place but moved to a nice big multi-table set up in DenDen town. Sadly they couldn't afford to pay the rent on that place. Especially after we Gaijin clued some of the Japanese players into Maelstrom. Whoops. I know the guy who ran Iconoclasm still has his mail order business going (which was his main profit stream anyway) and I think he moved back to his tiny shop but I'm not certain about that.


BTW do any of you Japanese players know about the club in Nagoya? Google Nagoyahammer to find their blog. I played a narrative tourney there over Golden Week and it was a ton of fun. They have literally the best terrain I have seen outside of Warhammer World.

Sir Motor wrote:At first,apologies for my no-good English :p

For me as Japanese,GW JAPAN pricing is ridiculously expensive.
Other than that,its really good tho.
My local hobby center manager says "This is smallest GW hobby center in the world."
Yes its really tiny. But I can play

Article on Dengeki Hobby is good. We,Japanese,loves modeling & painting.(Dont look at my gallery. I'm not good painter)So,painting & modeling will attract people much. Games are.... I can say so so.

Closing Chiba was sad news...but in japan really very few hobbyists here but Around Tokyo we have 7 store. Dont you think too many? I think too many :p

And I can say over half of japanese hobbyists dont play at hobby center. We do play at Community center.

I agree with No tau. I dont know why but very few I've seen.

Perhaps the Tau models look too much like homegrown Japanese SF models.

When I can finally get to Japan I will be Tau player in the Kanagawa area.

Here is the bilingual estate agent link... http://www.realestate-tokyo.com/

bravelybravesirrobin wrote:If you mean Iconoclasm then yeah, that was a nice shop. They used to be in a tiny little tucked away place but moved to a nice big multi-table set up in DenDen town. Sadly they couldn't afford to pay the rent on that place. Especially after we Gaijin clued some of the Japanese players into Maelstrom. Whoops. I know the guy who ran Iconoclasm still has his mail order business going (which was his main profit stream anyway) and I think he moved back to his tiny shop but I'm not certain about that.


BTW do any of you Japanese players know about the club in Nagoya? Google Nagoyahammer to find their blog. I played a narrative tourney there over Golden Week and it was a ton of fun. They have literally the best terrain I have seen outside of Warhammer World.

I can confirm that they still have a shop in DenDen as I went by last week while searching for a battery for my laptop. Looks a smaller place in the 4th floor of the same block than the figure selling Yellow Submarine.

M.

Move to america.=)