The Score of scores on our trip.

After lunch, I created a walking map of Akihabara for us to go and check out the Book Off and Hard Offs in the area. The plan was to walk around and visit shops that took our fancy in between.

The Book Off was huge, and I decided to head up to the children's books and DVD section to see if I could perchance find any Pokemon XY/XYZ DVDs or books that had Serena and Ash on them. So I trawled until I found the section... And came across the absolute jackpot.

It was a Pokemon XYZ CD/DVD box set of the soundtrack in Japanese. The music in the Pokemon anime slaps in Japanese. ESPECIALLY the Pokemon XYZ soundtrack. Not only that, but it had amazing artwork of my faves, was brand new, one of the songs included is literally a song that I reference in the fanfiction book I wrote, AND it even contained an ash-greninja Pokemon card as the centrepiece. And it was only 1900 yen (about 17 AUD or so). I was beyond rapt. "I've scored big" I texted Michael, who was waiting for me downstairs. I was as excited about this as he was about Donkey Kong. I was bouncing.

So were wandering about, and we come across the biggest Pokemon Card store we've ever seen. It was an official one with 6 floors dealing with every single thing about the Pokemon Card marketplace. It was sick. So many cards. So I wander up a few floors, and I'm perusing and looking for cards for my collection, and whatddya know... I stumble across an ash-greninja card. All the cards here are locked up because they can get expensive. And this card was selling for 16,000 yen.

It dawns on me. This card is sitting in my DVD box set. I look at the elevator. There's a floor for getting cards evaluated and selling them here. I already have a greninja keychain and an ash-greninja tshirt. I bought the box set for the artwork and the cd/DVD. I paid 1,900. That's nearly 10 times the price. That's a good return on investment in my opinion, because that's, like, $150AUD for a single card.

So I text Michael and tell him I'm off to get my card appraised. I go down to the basement for the "rapid checkout appraisal and sell" and get my card out. When it's my turn, I use google translate to ask how much I can sell my card for. I have to give them my passport and fill out some form thing with all my Australian details to confirm I own the card and I'm not a business. Oki doki, too easy.

Except, I realised... My cards in a packet. Fully sealed. New.

One guy looks at it. Gets the next guy, so two are looking, then a third... Then a fourth. They ask me if they can slightly move the card in the packet. I'm like, yeah, sure. Then I get a number and google translate message back. "We need more time to appraise your card. Please wait."

Oh. This just got really interesting. I text Michael to keep shopping as I might be a while because my card has got the clerk's deliberating.

30 minutes go by. I'm finally asked to come back and the clerk turns the computer over to tell me the grade and price they will pay for my card.

B grade. 95,000 yen.

I nod. Calm. Chill. Yep. Buy my card please. He hands me 95,000 yen in cash, and off I go.

So yeah. I turned a 1,900 yen purchase into a 94,100 yen profit. Which, in Aussie dollars, is around $870 in my wallet and an amazing cd/DVD set that is in perfect condition and oh so ready to be played in my car when I get home.

That, ladies and gents, is how you end a holiday. I'm gonna treat myself and have a spa day tomorrow as Michael and I venture off our own for our last day and a half in Japan.Leggi altro