I am a Japanese living in Japan, and I have noticed a real increase in the number of foreign tourists over the past few years. In Kyoto, where I live now, there are especially many, sometimes more than my own citizens, depending on the location and time of day. Most of us Japanese don't speak English or are not very good at it, so it can be difficult to communicate with them, but basically I don't think there are any bad people here, just shy. I hope everyone enjoys their stay in this country, even though it may be inconvenient at times. In Kyoto, there is a nice store called NINTENDO KYOTO that was recently opened. I went there the other day and it was a little smaller than OSAKA. The cherry blossoms are beautiful in the spring, so I hope everyone comes and enjoys themselves!

@thanhnampham1699

2 ай бұрын

I went to Japan like 6 years ago, and yes even though, not a lot of Japanese people were fluent in English, but everyone I met tried their best to help me whenever I needed. Many strangers I asked on the streets even used google translate to communicate with me, some of them even insisted to take me to where I needed by themselves, I was so heart touched haha. Thanks guys, beautiful country beautiful people indeed.

@primalconvoy

2 ай бұрын

Nara had rude staff in their restaurants. One place refused to reply to my (admittedly limited) Japanese and kept trying to reply to my Japanese girlfriend at the time. In the end, I dismissed the waitress and got the manager to serve us instead. My Japanese colleagues in Gunma at the time told me that Kyoto/Nara people can be rather snobby and rude even to other Japanese tourists, as they believe Kyoto to be the "true/traditional/morally or culturally superior" area of Japan. I suppose it's like the "Tunbridge Wells" of Japan...

@DestroyedArkana

2 ай бұрын

They are probably foreign workers brought in, not tourists. They are trying to make way more non-Japanese live in Japan now.

@aebrer

2 ай бұрын

thank you for your wholesome encouragement

@Vulpas

2 ай бұрын

Japan is a great country, and the west is crumbling, so expect to see more. I'd move if I could.

I live in Japan and it's actually pretty common to see an adult man on the train enjoying some retro games. I sometimes make conversation with them. It's really cool.

@TeaBeeAdventures

2 ай бұрын

Are they playing on official hardware or devices like this? I'm in Japan now and this is my 7th trip here and I haven't seen anyone playing retro on the train yet. The Japanese legal system scares the hell out of me and it's my understanding that copyright infringement is an arrestable offence.

@Frank7G

2 ай бұрын

​@TeaBeeAdventures if you're not advertising that you're playing pirated games, who cares

@ScandalUK

2 ай бұрын

Here in the UK, playing retro games on the bus always attracts the drunks. Spaced out dudes who remember 90s arcades too. Not that I’m complaining - every retro gaming fan is welcome lol

@jlee479

2 ай бұрын

@@ramrodbldm9876Yea lmao this is hard to believe, especially in japan. You are supposed to be dead silent in the cars. And a japanese person whos playing a game in the train is VERY unlikely to engage in any convo from strangers. And OP says they live in japan? This guys lying for sure.

@a0me

2 ай бұрын

@@TeaBeeAdventuresI’ve been living in Tokyo for a long while but in public environments - like a train - I’ve only seen official hardware (original Game Boy, PSP, etc.) or if they were clones, very convincing ones.

I am a Japanese who looks forward to watching them every time. I have seen more retro games in Japanese stores than before. The market price has also been established, so my hobby of treasure hunting to find cheap rare games has become more difficult. Tokyo is good, but I recommend you to visit the neighboring Saitama area, where there are many stores. I have a hard time buying imports here because of the weakness of the Japanese yen. If I were to travel with you, it would be odin2. My wife got angry at me for taking a game on a previous trip. This time, I'll bring the RGB30, which is less likely to be discovered. Thanks for all the fun videos! Please come back to Japan!

@levilomo

2 ай бұрын

Hey! Do you have any recommendations for Retro game stores in Saitama? I'll be in the area soon and any advice would be really appreciated. ありがとうございます

@nasu8611

2 ай бұрын

@@levilomo Surugaya and FURUHON ICHIBA have retro games, as do some stores in Tokyo. There are also many Hard-Off and Book-Off stores in Saitama. Where in Saitama are you going? Mandaisyoten may have a lot of retro games. Please check it out!

@primalconvoy

2 ай бұрын

It's harder and more expensive to get retro games these days, due to foreign tourists/scalpers buying many of them up in places like Akiba...

When retro handheld youtuber comes to handheld country it cant be bad

@Bonk13b

2 ай бұрын

I feel this statement is missing something.. hmmmmm

@colbyboucher6391

2 ай бұрын

@@Bonk13bTwo somethings.

just bought my first retro handheld thanks to you.

@RetroGameCorps

2 ай бұрын

Have fun!

@scorpion1442

2 ай бұрын

Which one you bought?

@jang.6097

2 ай бұрын

Me too. I was researching for a week full-time about which to get. I ended up with the miyoo mini plus for travels and on the way playing the retro stuff. And probably the retroid pocket 4 pro or higher for n64, ps2, gamecube emulation. With multiple controllers and used as a console on the projector or tv

@justsomedude7042

Ай бұрын

Im still struggling to even choose one. I did order a ROG ally Z1 (none extreme) for emulation, should do fine... though im not sure what it will be able to handle on that note. I still really want one of these handhelds. I dont know what to get. ​@@jang.6097

you went to Nintendo's home turf, you're lucky to be alive o7

@skycloud4802

2 ай бұрын

Nintendo ninjas

@TheScripflipNetwork

2 ай бұрын

😂

This video ended up really chill and pleasant. I'm glad you folks had a nice trip!

I'm so happy for you! It really is awesome that you got to take some time off and relax!

i went to japan in September and stayed for a month and I actually stayed at the Cocoone Ginza hotel at the tsukiji market for most of my trip other than staying at universal and man I traveled everywhere I could there and honestly I cried watching this because man what an alive place that is so unlike anywhere else. seeing you go to the places I was and also remembering my trip to mount fuji and going to FujiQ and all the experiences just makes me so home sick for a place I never thought I would be able to feel that way about. all the way down to them having tags on the trees to service and take care of the flora and taking the old trains and busses to outskirt towns seeing vegetation more intertwined rather than stripped back from the civilization. I told myself it would be a once in a lifetime trip but I will put in the work to make sure i get to go back. Sorry to gush and I did very much enjoy the video but I just wanted to say if you ever thought about visiting japan please do it will truly change your perspective on some things with the beautiful culture. Also I also ate at that wagyu stand and they are so nice and open 24/7 I went there at 2am and the owner sat with me and even provided me with lemons sours and extra a1 slices on the house. super kind and even though I spoke Japanese terribly was very nice and walked me through some of my pronunciation issues

This video was awesome on all counts. I love the trip aspect, the learnings and the shopping. Really worth the watch! Thank you.

What an amazing video! I plan to visit Japan next year. I will be using this video as a reference guide!!! Thank u so much!!! Glad u had fun!

LOVE the thumbnail. Must have felt good taking that

@DamaLiam

2 ай бұрын

What’s corny? Dude puts in a lot of hard work and it’s cool to see him repping his brand in one of the coolest places, especially for retro gaming enthusiasts.

@ThunderDragonRandy

2 ай бұрын

@@ramrodbldm9876 Corny? I don't know how you can read that comment as "corny"

Man, I could watch you talk about stuff like this for hours. Maybe that's why I'm subscribed 😂😂

Such an enjoyable video, and I liked the opening elements of where you went and what you saw, as well as the retro content.

My wife and I are DYING to go to Japan! I'm trying to learn Japanese so I don't get completely lost. Really excited to see the video and check out the spots when we go!

@ThisVidsAreForYou

2 ай бұрын

what are you using to learn japanese?

@dogboy0912

2 ай бұрын

In Tokyo, pretty much everything is also in English. If you start branching out, you'll find yourself in rural parts where yeah, nobody expects westerners sometimes haha

@zeeejay

2 ай бұрын

@@ThisVidsAreForYouI started with duolingo, but native speakers told me that it uses poor grammar so I switched to Busuu which has been WORLDS better!

@Dracossaint

2 ай бұрын

Id focus more on kanji then speaking it, the signs are usually fairly well done and you'd be surprised how many people will speak English.

Dude this video is absolutely awesome. I loved all of it.

Russ, that Gameboy Micro is in such great condition. The finish is just so polished. It almost looks like a jewel. Great video, love to watch these!

Great video, as always. I got back from Tokyo a few weeks ago. It's such a great place to explore.

@RetroGameCorps

2 ай бұрын

It really is!

Nice change of pace Russ! Loved this video and now I need to visit Japan for sure! Hopefully someday!

Great video Russ! Planning to go Japan in August so really enjoyed watching this.

Thank u Russ for this really cool video - love your blog and game style :)

Love all your videos, Russ. Your content is always remarkably thoughtful, thorough, and especially empathetic - to an extent that is very rare on the internet. Videos like these are fun to get a little peek into your very interesting personal life. I know I am not alone when I say I consider you a role model in many respects. All the best to you and your family!

You’ve become my go to channel for entertainment lol thanks for sharing your family adventure

Living the good life! Have a cool youtube channel that goes over some fun niche video game type of stuff, living in Hawaii, and traveling to Japan. Thanks for showing us what Japan was like for your trip, even being that crowded, still looked fun!

Thanks for the video Russ, I'm planning to visit Japan next year and it's always good to hear great things from fellow gamer

Thoroughly enjoyed this video, Fantastic!

Such a dang good video. Awesomely chill as always and such a rad look into the trip and gaming in and around Japan. Thanks for sharing man!

believe it or not, i looooved the japan videos. when the video started, the japan vid was cool and i was hoping to see more. thank you!

Be honest, you Yuzu'd it up right in front of Ninty HQ

@user-tp5jb9je1r

2 ай бұрын

Hah. That would be priceless ,;)

@skycloud4802

2 ай бұрын

And emulated PSP in front of Sony HQ...

@primalconvoy

2 ай бұрын

I've done stuff like that in Japan. I once showed a Sega arcade dev in a bar old school Afterburner playing on my phone via an emulator. Turned out he was on the arcade team for Sega, and was making a version of Afterburner at the time.

Great content as always bruh. This is dope. I loved Japan when I was stationed there. Can’t wait to make it back over there.

Man this video was awesome. Really enjoyed traveling vicariously with you.

Hey Ross! I would love to watch more of your general trip to Japan, not only the gaming stuff. Please consider making a second video talking more about your personal experience, it would be awesome!

I thoroughly enjoyed this video. I love your travel videos

Been looking forward to this one. I love Russ' travel videos and I've always wanted to go to Japan

That Japanese store, Book Off, with all the old games and hardware looked meticulously well-organized.

I worked in Shibuya for a few months once. I still get a pang of homesickness when I see it today. The train station exit across the street from the Hatchi was where I got off and then I had a 15 min walk into the residential section of Shibuya.

your friends are so cool, by far my favorite picks in this video were the gifts your friends gave you. glad you had a good time and man i need to get to japan sometime

Really cool to see the segment of "These are the devices I actually used when I had time to play games." Also cool that they weren't the devices you were expecting to use.

Great video man! Thanks for sharing the tips

AWESOME video! Thanks!

What an awesome experience. Enjoyed the video thoroughly. 👍🏼

I wish I could go to Japan. I've always wanted to go and this is so cool. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us!

'It was only a 6 hour flight' *takes a deep breath*

Great video! Love to see more this type of content.

thanks for sharing this video! great you got to go for a little family trip! i hope to go to japan one day

Thank you for sharing!

Awesome Video! Japan on top of my bucket list for travel destinations.

Looking forward to the gameboy micro review, as it's one of my favourite consoles. Glad you had a great trip, Russ! Cheers!

Thanks so much for sharing as I really enjoyed this video!!!😀😀😀

That wagyu beef skewer would have been $100 here, easily.

@ungratefulmango

2 ай бұрын

Where's here?

@Matt-jc2ml

Ай бұрын

​@@ungratefulmangowell he used $ so I'd assume US or canada. I think Australia also uses dollars

Love the recap of you sharing your trip before jumping into the business

Thank you for the continued content! Still rockin the Retroid pocket 3 plus and Rog ally!

I really enjoy these kind of videos. They give fresh takes on different ways to enjoy retro games while on trips as well as letting me see places that I had never been to before. You are on of the best retro console KZreadrs out there mate. I hope you’ll give us a tour of Hawaii someday. I only see Hawaii from Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth.

Awesome vid. I'm heading to Japan fairly soon and this was a cool watch

Great vidéo as usual ! Cant wait to see the upgrade on your powkiddy rgb30, i had one since christmas (following your great review) and oh boy its been a blast to play with !!!

Absolutely love this video

Thanks for sharing! Watching this somehow feels like unboxing christmas presents ^_^

Oh man. I was there the week before. Just missed you. Thanks for the awesome videos.

Went there 20 years ago...always wanted to head back there again. Such a great culture and history ❤I'm happy you had a great time 😊

Great fun video, very neat, thank you!

Loved your video! I graduated high school at a DoD school in Japan, so that retro arcade looks very similar to the ones my buddies and I frequented. Sweet memories unlocked, thanks! We're on a 2.5 month trip in Europe right now and I only brought my modded Game Boy DMG with a flash cart. It's been fun focusing on games that I never played growing up, but also seem to go back to the nostalgic games from my childhood. Probably should have brought the GBC, but that's waiting for me when we get home!

Love these travel videos!

Awesome video, I'm on my way to Japan next week for the first time, and definitely will visit a few book/hard off locations.

So great that you got to meet with Juntaro!!!!

Going through some crappy events at the moment, and just want to thank Russ for running a positive and uplifting channel. Extremely relaxing and good way to zone out of real world issues. Thank you.

This was a cool vid, think a lot of your fans would dig this kind of vid

the way you pronounce ramen as "raw men" 😂4:27 all love

Man even if the review is short that color wonder swan will be cool to see and you picked up cool games for it.

I absolutely loved this video, was drooling over the super famicom box art...

That's nutty bringing that many handhelds on a trip.

That blog post is incredibly wholesome

Jealous! I love ETLandxoxo and I wish I could meet her!! So glad you all got to hang out in Japan ❤

I appreciate people who can prioritize an object's function over it's cosmetic condition. At some point in my life the idea that an object must be perfect or it can't be enjoyed took root and now I focus way too much on it. It's similar to first learning what a dead pixel is and then suddenly they are everywhere.

A decent sized wagyu skewer for $25 sounds like a steal tbh, especially considering how much Wagyu would go over over here in the States.

@SharapovaFan

2 ай бұрын

It's not, unless it's Matsusaka which is one of the priciest "wagyu". Really depends on the place. Most shops or izakayas are transparent enough that they tell you where the beef came from, which usually indicates the quality. Matsusaka and Miyazaki is considered the best and a meal with this beef at a nice place will cost you at least tens of thousands of yen. For me, I usually buy 1000 JPY skewers of Kobe(神戸)/Hyogo(兵庫) since they're the of cheaper "wagyu" beefs. I've tried Matsusaka before while I was travelling around GIfu. But honestly, it's really down to the skill of the person cooking it rather than the beef. I didn't think it was worth the pretty penny I paid for.

@coollead3k

2 ай бұрын

It’s a rip off here in Japan, those are not real Wagyu.

@dogboy0912

2 ай бұрын

Wagyu vs Wagyu. There's varying levels to it. You can get wagyu sushi from your standard conveyor belt sushi for like 300 yen per item.

@mojojojotokyo

2 ай бұрын

Over here wagyu just means Japanese beef, which in itself carries intonations of higher quality beef than the US/Aussie imports, but not exactly luxury. The stuff you want to try as a tourist is the upper echelon branded stuff, like Matsusaka, Miyazaki or Oumi.

Hey Russ been watching your channel for around a year now and love your dedication and attention to detail. Would you ever consider doing some Let’s Plays of some of your favourite games. I think your commentary over gameplay would work really well. Keep up the hard work

in Japanese, intonation carries meaning! So we would say RA•men not ra•MEN, SU•shi not su•SHI. A very common example is “sake” where “SA•ke” means salmon but “sa•KE” means alcohol. But ultimately it doesn’t matter too much when speaking English. Another one is English speakers tend to say “PO•ke•mon” while Japanese speakers say “po•KE•mon”

@RetroGameCorps

2 ай бұрын

Thanks for the tips! It’s funny because my pronunciation of both sushi and ramen are how they are commonly said here in Hawaii, my wife has been drilling those two words into my head for 20 years at this point and I had no idea they weren’t the correct pronunciation 😂

@HRM2010

2 ай бұрын

@@RetroGameCorps Of course many dialects and regional variants have developed! As a descriptivist, I hesitate to make a judgment of “correct” or “incorrect”

@pspsmallz

2 ай бұрын

Giggled when he said he made a batch of raw men 😂

@suntorytimes1

2 ай бұрын

To note, there’s no English-like “emphasis” in Japanese, i.e. no stress: no syllable is louder or longer than others. There is, however, what’s called a “pitch accent”, i.e. a change in tone, which may be perceived (assuming it is - non-native speakers typically have a hard time distinguishing low and high tones) as a change in stress, but absolutely isn’t.

Japan is my dream location to go to one day. So cool you got to go! I am jealous 😅 I had no idea Hawaii was 6 hours from Japan. Have you played Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth? Are those locations accurate? It takes place in Hawaii. I’ve heard the Yakuza games are accurate. Now I’m curious.

@Zoysiamo

2 ай бұрын

I’m also curious if Russ has played any Yakuza games. I recognized that Chinatown street from Like a Dragon 7 (at Zenrinmon Gate).

@Zoysiamo

2 ай бұрын

@RetroGameCorps should probably also play 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim to get an appreciation for those yakisoba pan he saw. XD

"KZread gaming content creators going to Japan" vlogs are some of my favorite content on this site no doubt.

Thanks for sharing. I still have my Black Gameboy Micro I bought from Target when they were released in November 2005 in Australia. I mainly used a 99 in 1 Cartridge that was full of NES games and mainly played Contra and 1942 on it. The system itself has a good weight to it. The Start and Select button light up blue. Just plugged it in to recharge, still has an awesome bright screen.

Great video! Always wanted to go to Japan and visit those retro shops. Hope you can visit Akihabara and make a vid, I am really curious on that place. 3 things I definitely loved in your video: 1. You playing Castlevania Symphony of the Night, my most fave PS1 game (I am currently playing the Sega Saturn one that is patched in ENG, as it is the only version/port that I haven't completed) 2. Seeing a Wonderswan and Final Fantasy I (I played that on a Wonderswan emulator, also English patched) 3. Acquiring a Game Boy Micro (always wanted to add it to my collection!) Thanks for all your past, current and future vids, Russ!

I didn't know ETLand was based in Japan. So cool! I love her videos

Team Pandory are AWESOME!!! Thanks for giving them a shout-out!

@TeamPandory

2 ай бұрын

Heyyy! Thanks for your shout-out Johnny! 🙂

@JohnnyProctor9

2 ай бұрын

@@TeamPandory - Thanks, I really like and appreciate what you guys've done for my A500 Mini!

@TeamPandory

2 ай бұрын

@@JohnnyProctor9 more on the way. Slowly. But it's coming. ... Christmas 2023 😭

Nice to see an early video to start my morning! Also from Hawaii

Coincidentally, I am heading to Nagoya in few weeks time, and some of your travel tips esp. shopping at Hard Off are very useful to me. Thanks for the vid!

Awesome video!

Good choice with the GB Micro!! I was lucky to have brothers who had Gameboy Micros from when they launched. Great devices

I continue living vicariously through you Russ lol . Wish I could go to Japan….

Going this Friday for a couple of weeks, mainly Shikoku and Osaka. It is the fourth time there for us but the first time with my rgb30 and wife with the rg353v, both bought after your amazing reviews.

Great video! My wife and I are leaving for Japan next Friday. Can’t wait to eat some good food and do some retro game hunting

Thanks Russ. Great video

Its surprising some people have not seen a gameboy micro, especially for a retro gamer like yourself. but its not too late, enjoy your purchase and looking forward to your review. myself went on a short 3 day trip with family. had to pick a handheld, and brought only a 2ds with me, and only played it at night in the hotel. its quite a robust little machine, especially with a case and glass screen protector. didnt even bring a charger as it lasted the trip easily. its convenient to put it to sleep and wake, with a slider instead of opening a clamshell. i didnt hack it so brought 4 cartridges - 2 3ds and 2 ds. i also didnt have any digital purchases on it, but it came with built in new smb 2, which my son ended up playing. its amazing how old nintendo handhelds are still better in many situations than the current generation of handhelds from both major and smaller companies.

I bought the same Gameboy Micro when it first came out, specifically the Japanese version because it has all this extra Anniversary stuff included. Still one of the best looking systems Nintendo has ever produced.

This video is amazing! I was a military brat and spent 6 years between Yokota Airforce Base and Misawa Army Base. We used to take a pilgrimage to Yokosuka because their exchange had a better selection of American games and films. They had Saturn games months before Yokota had them for some reason. Our first system was that top loading famicom though, so this video is like nostalgia stacked on nostalgia.

Higashikurume Hard-Off!! Was there this past summer and it was my favorite one. Good selection and really nice staff. Got a DSi LL for only $35 bucks. What a small world!

I'm planning to go to Japan within the next 2 years, I'll be checking out some of these locations.

Hakone is one of the places that’s on my list to visit when I get the chance to make a trip to Japan, primarily for its influence on JDM culture and racing games such as the maximum tune and arcade stage series

My goodness ... those Disney crowds look TERRIBLE.

Thanks for this! This was very helpful. My family and I are going to Japan in May, and I am hoping to pick up some nintendo consoles (Famicom, Super famicom, N64, GameCube, maybe a Wii, maybe a Wii-U, and some handhelds). It was good to see the prices are not too crazy yet.

I've been wanting to go to Japan from when I was a kid. I will get there some day. I do follow a lot of channels about US people who moved to Japan and things they deal with. Sounds like a nice trip and sounds like you had a great time. awesome !

I was literally just playing windwaker on my Odin 2 on a flight last week! The widescreen hacks work so well for it, and with the upscaling it makes me feel like I’m playing the Wii U remake