Vinnk Goes Shopping – Part 3: Famicom Dojo

Normally on these “Vinnk Goes Shopping” segments I go to a big city and see what cool stuff I can find. For this one, however, I stayed in my town and went to a store about ten minutes from my apartment. It is a small store but as I was to discover, great things come in small packages.

This small shop is called Famicom Dojo. The store is only one smallish room in size.
Behind the counter there is a door that leads to a living room. As it turns out, this shop is the front room of its owner’s house.

I had first come across this shop last year. At the time I thought it had a lot of character and I would occasionally stop in. On one of these visits I discovered that one of the staff spoke very good English. This surprised me because in my town there are very few people that speak English and even fewer who speak it well. The man’s name is Hiro and he learned English, as he says, by watching American movies. He is also a very cool guy and has a great sense of humor. As we talked I started to think that it would be interesting if I interviewed him for the site. I told him I would come back the next week with some questions and a notebook. As I left I gave him the URL for 4 color rebellion and I told him to check it out.

I came back the next week with a bunch of questions and my 5-year-old digital camera. But Hiro wasn’t in the shop at the time. His mother was behind the counter instead. I asked if Hiro would be back soon and she said she wasn’t sure, but that I was welcome to wait. I looked around for a while and then decided to talk to her for a while to practice my Japanese.

She told me that the store first opened in 1982 and at that time was called Fujiya Omocha (Fujiya Toys) and sold toy guns and other things (including Nintendo card games). When the Famicom launched in Japan, the family saw this as the wave of the future and stocked the shelves with Nintendo products. It was at this time that they changed the name to Famicom Dojo, a name they keep to this day despite the fact that the Famicom is no longer being manufactured.

We talked more and I found out that while she admits she doesn’t really play video games at all, she knows a lot about them. After about an hour I realized the Hiro was not coming back anytime soon, so I said I would come back that evening. She told me she would get the message to Hiro.

I came back around 9:00pm that evening and Hiro was there to greet me. He was not expecting me to bring a camera and said that he wasn’t prepared to be in a picture at this time. Thus the about picture of Hiro and the Sharp Duel Famicom Cart/Disk system has his head cut off. He assured me however that in the future he would allow me to snap a picture.

Before we started the interview, Hiro made sure I had some good pictures to go along with the story. Here is a selection of Gameboy and Super Famicom Games. Most are still mint and in their original boxes.

Here are some more Super Famicom games and a few systems for sale. Famicom, Super Famicom and Nintendo 64 all sell for 1980 yen (about $17US). I noticed the PSP poster in the background and thought it was a bit odd considering the store doesn’t sell any PSP systems or games. I was told it is just decoration.

There were a great number of games for the PC Engine (Turbografx 16) and Nintendo Disk System. In fact, this is the first place that I found a working Disk System. Sadly, I didn’t have any money at the time to buy it. This picture is small, but on the bottom row you can just see the original Legend of Zelda Disk. And you can almost hear it whispering at me to buy it.

Here is the Nintendo 64 area. When you have so many games and such a small shop it is a bit hard to organize the titles in a way that displays all of them. But the employees know their stock and can find you the game you are looking for right away.

These are all classic Famicom games. And that is really still the heart of this store. This is a place to go if you are looking for rare carts. A good percentage of the stores business is still in the buying and selling of Famicom games.

After this small tour, which also included A few Neo-Geo carts, a small SEGA section and a wall of Playstation 2 games, it was time for the interview.

Vinnk: First of all, what did you think of the website (4 color rebellion)?

Hiro: I was very surprised! It is a very big site. You like games very much.

Yes we do. I was wondering what type of game you like?

I like the Zelda series very much and RPG games.

What is your favorite game?

[stands up and walks over to the N64 games and picks up a game] This one.

Zelda: Ocarina of Time, good choice.

Oh, is that what it’s called in English?

Yes, that’s what we call it. So what game are you playing right now?

No new games recently. A lot of new games don’t interest me.

Speaking of new games, I notice that there are no Xbox or PSP games at your store. Why is that?

They are just not popular enough. This is a small store and people do not buy them.

Your mother said that this store has been open for 23 years, it is almost as old as me.

Yes and we were the first to start selling used games. We sold used games in the early days of Famicom.

You were the first shop to sell used video games?

Yes.

What do you mean, “the first”? The first in Japan?

Yes, maybe the first used Game shop in Japan. It was a very new idea. We sold used games from the beginning.

Ok, I’ll put that down. Do you have many customers at your store?

We have had many customers. But a lot of them are in hospital. [Points to head] how do you say?

Mental hospital?

Ah, yes. A lot of my old customers are in mental hospital.

I have to write this down.

I wonder if it is because of the games.

I hope not. I play a lot of games. So who are your main customers now?

Many retired people buy games here. They come to buy the simple games like Famicom. They buy games like Mahjong; I sell a lot of that. It is good to keep their brain active. It prevents Alzheimer’s disease. They come here to buy simple games.

Yes, today’s games are very complicated. What do you think about the future of video games?

I think that Internet games will reduce Sony and Nintendo’s sales. These games are becoming very popular.

Well, the new Nintendo system will have free Internet play; do you think it will do well?

It does? I think you know more about this than me.

Will you sell the new Nintendo system?

Yes, we always sell Nintendo systems but we haven’t sold as well as Famicom and Super Famicom.

Yeah, those were Nintendo’s glory days. Do you have any questions about gaming in the West?

Are people who play games in America seen as nuts? That’s how it is in Japan.

[laughs] I think we are pretty normal. Games are becoming more mainstream in America.

Oh really?

Maybe. [Wonders if this is true] So do you have a last statement for our readers?

[thinks for a minute] I think good games are ones that are basic style. Tetris. Super Mario Brothers. Nintendo knows it best. I hope Nintendo will discover new game fields in the future.

Thank you very much for your time. I will email you a link to the story when it goes up.

Thank you.

I then stepped out of the warm store and into one of the worst snowstorms my town has seen in years. As I trudged home I thought that there must be little shops like this all around Japan. Sure there are also the big chain stores selling games, but sometimes I am not looking for the newest flashiest things. I just want to dig through a pile of old carts and look for that buried treasure. At those times I go to Famicom Dojo. If you are ever in Nakatsu, stop in. Tell them Vinnk sent you!