Japanese-Games-Shop.com News

Japanese Mahjong Clipboard and Calculator on TripleClicks

noreply@blogger.com (David Hurley) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 23:43:00 +0000

When you play mahjong in a Japanese mahjong parlour you are provided with a clipboard that comes with a build-in electronic calculator and a score pad so that you can keep track of the scores over the course of the game.

I recently got hold of a few of these nifty numbers and last night I posted one of them on the Tripleclicks garage sale site.

The clipboard is made of robust plastic and has a large clip, a pen holder and a built-in calculator Canon solar powered electronic calculator... so your computations will not contribute to global warming.

The clipboard comes complete with a mahjong score pad and also has a score chart to help you work out the score of the winning hand.

No serious Japanese mahjong circle should be without a Japanese mahjong clipboard with built-in calculator!

David Hurley
Japanese-Mahjong.com

Saki 2.0 Anime Mahjong Set now on Tripleclicks!

noreply@blogger.com (David Hurley) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 06:22:00 +0000

Yesterday I uploaded a Saki 2.0 mahjong set to Tripleclicks. These sets are suddenly in demand in the wake of the popularity of the "Saki" mahjong anime series.

In case all this is new to you, "Saki" is about a high school girl who is an expert mahjong player because her family forced her to play, but would get angry if she won and punish her if she lost. She therefore developed enough expertise to deliberately keep her score at zero, neither winning nor losing.

When she joins her high school mahjong club she plays to win instead of breaking and her school team begins to make progress in the national mahjong championships of Japan...

Last month I posted a Saki 1.5 set on Tripleclicks, and now I am able to offer the Saki 2.0 set.

So what's the difference between these two sets?

1. The Saki 2.0 tile backs are dark blue, not pink.

2. The Saki 2.0 does not have the cute "Red-5-Coin" tile with keychain.

The design of the tile faces look similar to the 1.5. Check out the photos below (they are better quality than the ones on the Tripleclicks Saki Mahjong Set page:

Saki 2.0 Mahjong Set

Saki 2.0 Mahjong Tiles

Click here to find out more about the Saki 2.0 Mahjong Set.

David Hurley
Japanese Mahjong

Unusual Nintendo "Sparkling Diamond" Mahjong Set on Tripleclicks...

noreply@blogger.com (David Hurley) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 01:08:00 +0000

Here are some photos of an unusual Japanese mahjong set that used to be produced by Nintendo, called the "Sparkling Diamond" set, or "houpai" in Japanese.

The unique feature of this set is the tile after which it takes its name, a single tile with an embedded "jewel" at the center of a four-pointed star with a red aurora around it.

Note also the "Nintendo turtle" hiding in the design of the 1-Coins ("ii-pin") tile.

The tiles in this set are still in their wrappers. Nintendo tiles are always good quality. However, this set has NO Red Fives. Actually, Japanese sets did not use to include Red Fives. Instead, if you wanted Red Fives you could ask your supplier to have some of the Fives in your set painted red.

The case is the original Nintendo case. The hinges and locks work and the interior is in good condition. However, it has suffered some wear and tear on the surface and edges.

I have posted the Nintendo Sparkling Diamond Japanese Mahjong Set on the Tripleclicks garage sale site. Click the link to view the set on Tripleclicks.

Please note that there is ONLY ONE SPARKLING DIAMOND SET AVAILABLE...

David Hurley
Japanese Mahjong

More Japanese Mahjong Sets on TripleClicks

noreply@blogger.com (David Hurley) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:36:00 +0000

I have been adding more mahjong special offers and one-off mahjong sets to the Tripleclicks garage sale site.

Today I have 5 different mahjong sets featured on the site, which either (a) are not featured on my main site at Japanese-Mahjong.com or (b) are available on my website but I am running a special offer on Tripleclicks.

Note, I am only offering one of each type of mahjong set at a time on Tripleclicks. So far the most popular item is the $35 Classic Japanese Mahjong Set.

This set is a real bargain because the Classic Japanese Mahjong Set costs $45 on my site, and the tiles are indistinguishable from the Sango set that goes for $55.

I am also offering a similar quality Japanese Mahjong set with GREEN TILE BACKS for $45.

I have a spare set of new "Classic" Japanese mahjong tiles that I posted on TripleClicks for just $25. Note, they are literally just "Japanese mahjong tiles", wrapped in their original wrapper, with no case, trays, game accessories etc.

Then there are the novelty sets...

1. Sushi Mahjong!

This is a great party version of mahjong and not to be taken too seriously... It is available on Tripleclicks for just $55.

2. Saki 1.5 Mahjong Set

This is a real collector's item for fans of the Saki manga series and of Japanese mahjong. This set came out in 2008 and cost about $100 at the time (i.e. around 10,000 Japanese yen) but has been featured on Amazon.co.jp and Yahoo.co.jp for prices of $500 and $1,000... So I don't think the set I am offering will be around for too long as it is going for just $175, despite being in excellent condition and complete.

I have already received several enquiries about this set and the later Saki 2.0 so if I can find some more sets and good prices I will certainly post them on Tripleclicks...

The best thing to do is to check this link from time to time and type "mahjong" into the search field:

http://www.tripleclicks.com/bargains

David Hurley
Japanese-Games-Shop.com

Japanese Akagi Mahjong Set on TripleClicks

noreply@blogger.com (David Hurley) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:21:00 +0000

A full-sized Japanese Akagi Mahjong set is currently available on TripleClicks.com.

The set is priced at just $95, which is considerably less than the "¥24,000" (about $250) price tag that it usually goes for.

Three quarters of the tiles of an Akagi Mahjong Set are completely transparent, the remaining quarter being standard white/bamboo style. The tiles are pulled out of a hole in the table and the players each wear a glove so they can't cheat by reading the tile face with their thumb.

Akagi Mahjong Sets became popular in Japan after the success of the Japanese manga comic series "Akagi" and the exploits of its eponymous hero.

Check out the Japanese Akagi Mahjong Set by clicking this link! There is only one set available on the site, so if you are looking to buy a set, hurry over there and secure it right away!

David Hurley
Japanese-Games-Shop.com

Japanese Games Shop Has Changed Webhost!

noreply@blogger.com (David Hurley) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 02:41:00 +0000

A few days ago I completed the first stage of moving Japanese-Games-Shop.com and Japanese-Mahjong.com to a new web host, Bluehost.com. They offer unlimited hosting and domain names on a single account, have a great track record, and their control panel is very easy to work with.

I moved my sites myself, and in the process some links and graphics are no longer working so I'm now going over the sites and replacing and updating the links and pics...

David H
Japanese-Games-Shop.com

Japanese Sushi Mahjong Set Available on TripleClicks!

noreply@blogger.com (David Hurley) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:45:00 +0000

The unique Japanese Sushi Mahjong set is back (again!). This time I am featuring it on http://tripleclicks.com. Simple click the link and type "mahjong" into the search field at the top of the TripleClicks site.

I used to sell this set on my website, http://japanese-mahjong.com but it was unavailable for a long time and I have only just found a new supply.

Full details are available on the http://tripleclicks.com site.

David Hurley

Special Deal For A Classic Japanese Mahjong Set on Tripleclicks.com!

noreply@blogger.com (David Hurley) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 22:58:00 +0000

Launched in January 2009, Tripleclicks is an online marketplace where you can list and sell hundreds of items that you want to get rid of.

The beauty of Tripleclicks is that it is simple and easy to use, cheap to post your listings on and also - this is a real money saver - you can keep them posted for as long as you like without having to pay again if your stuff doesn't sell in the first 7 days...

Security for the Shopper

Also, when you buy something, you pay Tripleclicks, and they only release the money to the seller after you have received the goods!

Japanese-Games-Shop Now Listing On Tripleclicks!

Japanese-Games-Shop has just started posting goods and special offers on Tripleclicks.

At the moment I only have one item on the site, a Standard Japanese Mahjong Set at my LOWEST PRICE EVER! The tiles are the same quality as the Sango set, but because the set comes in a very basic case and lacks the "Sango" logo, it sells for $45.00 - a few dollars less than the Sango set - on my website.

However, you can get it for just $35 (plus shipping) on Tripleclicks!

Click the link below to see the set:

Classic Japanese Mahjong Set

Japanese Mahjong Set - Only $35 on Tripleclicks!

David Hurley
http://japanese-mahjong.com

See also: http://www.tripleclicks.com/bargains

Crazy Red Sweating Sparrow Yakitori Tesserae Are BACK!!

noreply@blogger.com (David Hurley) — Wed, 13 May 2009 16:17:00 +0000

Yosh! A long out-of-stock item returns!

The crazy red sweating sparrow Yakitori tesserae are back with a vengeance and available at: Japanese-Mahjong.com .

In Japanese mahjong, the Yakitori tile is an optional extra. You have to keep your Yakitori on the table until you complete a hand. If at the end of a game you still have your Yakitori on the table, you have to pay the other players a fine! That is what makes the red sparrow look so miserable... it has been skewered!

The Vinyl Hanafuda Deck Is Back!

noreply@blogger.com (David Hurley) — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:53:00 +0000

Just a quick post to inform Hanafuda fans that the popular "Vinyl Hanafuda Deck" is once again available on Japanese-Games-Shop.com.

I was able to get hold of a few decks on Monday evening and updated my site on Thursday morning. Not sure how many more of these decks are going to be available, but FOR NOW, they are back!

Best wishes,

David Hurley
Japanese-Games-Shop.com

TAKE Mahjong Key Chain Note

noreply@blogger.com (David Hurley) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 23:20:00 +0000

The TAKE Japanese Mahjong set that I sell on my site comes with a free "black tile Mahjong key chain".

Please note, however, that the character on the key chain varies from set to set. The set that I photographed for my website had a West key chain.

When I first uploaded the details I assumed EVERY set came with a West key chain, but this is not the case, so I have modified the description of the set.

See:

http://japanese-mahjong.com/takemjset.html

David Hurley

Cheap Shogi Sets: Shogi Price Reductions

noreply@blogger.com (David Hurley) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 13:27:00 +0000

Good news for Shogi players!

I have found a way to lower the price of two of the shogi sets available on my site so I can now offer two cheap shogi sets...

The "Shogi In A Box" set is now $16.50, down from $19.50...

The "Hanayama Honkaku Shogi" set is now $19.50, down from $28.50!!

David Hurley
Cheap Shogi Sets

New Combination: Japanese Mahjong Set AND Junk Mat!

noreply@blogger.com (David Hurley) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 01:38:00 +0000

I just added another new product to the listings on Japanese-Mahjong.com...

Introducing, the Japanese Standard MJ set AND JUNK Mat combination!

Now you can get standard Japanese mahjong tiles, score sticks, wind marker and dice together with one of the popular "JUNK mats".

The bag that holds the JUNK mat has pockets in the sides where you store the mahjong tiles and score sticks etc.

It makes for a very convenient set, which can be carried easily.

For more details go to: http://japanese-mahjong.com/mahjong-tiles-and-mat.html.

David Hurley
Japanese-Mahjong.com

Black Mahjong Set & JUNK Mat Combi Offer is BACK!!

noreply@blogger.com (David Hurley) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:56:00 +0000

Black Mahjong and Mahjong JUNK Playing Mat Combi Set

A while ago I ran a nice combination offer of a complete set of black mahjong tiles plus a mahjong JUNK mat for just $99 plus S&H.

The good news is that the offer is back, at exactly the same price as before.

For more details go to: http://japanese-mahjong.com/blackmjcombi.html

The mahjong tiles are stored in trays that slip inside specially designed pockets on the JUNK mat bag so the whole combi-set is easy to carry with you whenever you want to play away.

Shipping: Express Mail Service worldwide, direct from Japan.

David Hurley
Japanese-mahjong.com

New Matsuoka Mahjong Wind Marker

noreply@blogger.com (David Hurley) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 01:04:00 +0000

The classic Matsuoka Wind marker for Japanese Mahjong has changed!

Out with the orange-black-white and in with the white-red-black!

The new design makes it very easy to see at a glance the presiding wind.

The katakana script on the tile reads "Matsuoka", "Century NEXT".

The Matsuoka Mahjong Wind marker is available at http://japanese-mahjong.com

Back from my Holidays! The JGS Spring Clean Is Now Underway!

noreply@blogger.com (David Hurley) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:46:00 +0000

Blore Hall, Peak District, February 2009: Heading for our early morning swim...

Bodiam Castle, Sussex, England, March 2nd 2009

Two and a half weeks in England and hardly any time spent on a computer!

The upper photo shows my daughter in front of Blore Hall, where we stayed for a week. It is about 7am and we are off to have a swim and a sauna.

The lower photo is of Bodiam Castle in Sussex. We spent the last few days of our holiday in the Weald of Kent close to the sussex border and as my daughter had told me she wanted to visit a castle in England (in search of Prince Charming, I think), Bodiam was the ideal choice.

It is now two and a half weeks since we returned to Japan and I have only just got around to updating Japanese-Games-Shop.com. It was in dire need of a spring clean!

Here is what I did to the site yesterday evening, this afternoon and this evening:

Added a 23-rod and a 27-rod Tomoe abacus to the Japanese Soroban page.
Updated the manga pages: Some of Kodansha's bilingual manga are difficult to get hold of now, so I have replaced my own listings with Amazon.com listings.
Posted new photos of the Nintendo New Ivory Mahjong Set on Japanese-Mahjong.com and updated the product page.
Put in some major renovation work on the Hanafuda page. One link on that page directed people to a former website of mine that died more than two years ago!! All is spick and span now, dead links have been cropped, new Amazon listings have been added and the Hanafuda-Style Playing Cards are available again.
The Shogi pages had gradually degenerated as stocks ran out towards the end of last year. Also, for some reason, one of the new sets was not showing. I have now re-listed the Hanayama Honkaku Shogi Set and added a new full-sized economy set, Shogi In A Box, which I think will prove popular. The Shogi pages are a work in progress at present.

Shogi In A Box

Tomoe 23-Rod Soroban - Get your head round that!

There will be several more announcements coming shortly... New shogi koma and possibly boards too... New mahjong accessories... and some completely new lines of goods too...

Watch this space!

Holiday Notice

noreply@blogger.com (David Hurley) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:28:00 +0000

I'm taking my daughter to England for a couple of weeks, 15th February until 6th March.

We'll be staying at my mother's place. One of my jobs is to clear her attic of my books and other stuff. 26 boxes of books, many of them hardbacks collected over the last 30 years, will be on their way to Japan!

Then we are taking mother to the Peak District where we'll stay for a week in a 600 y.o. property. My daughter is excited at the thought of sleeping in a four-poster bed!

After that, off to Kent to see more relatives.

Did I call it a holiday?? :-)

Anyway, the website is "open for business" while I am away, BUT the next shipment of goods will not be until Monday 9th March at the earliest.

After I return I want to overhaul the site and add some new lines, but I will talk more about that in an upcoming post.

Genki de, ne!

DH
Japanese Games Shop

Hanayama Honkaku Shogi Set

noreply@blogger.com (David Hurley) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 13:57:00 +0000

Hanayama produce some excellent games sets. They are always well designed and attractively packaged.

Recently, Hanayama added a new shogi game to their listings: The Honkaku Shogi set.

The board and pieces are made of plastic and the board has two built in drawers where the pieces are stored. The neat thing about the drawers is that they are set in each side of the board and you can pull them out and use them as trays to hold the pieces that you capture during the course of the game. (In shogi, when you capture a piece you can use it later as one of your own pieces and "parachute" it onto the board.)

If you are looking for an unusual and attractive Christmas present for a youngster, this would be ideal!

All orders will be shipped from Japan by Express Mail Service, so if you order before 10th December, you'll get it in time for Christmas!

To find out more and order a set, go to http://japanese-games-shop.com/shogi.html

How Many Shogi Koma Make Up A Single Set Of Pieces?

noreply@blogger.com (David Hurley) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 02:45:00 +0000

Feedback and enquiries from customers or potential customers is always informative!

Here is an email I received just now:

"About the shogi pieces, when you write "complete set of pieces" is that for one or two players?
Just to know how many I need to buy."

That is a very good question! It is also helps me to see things better from the customer's point of view. When I wrote the phrase "complete set of pieces" it seemed obvious to me that it meant 40 pieces - enough for two players to play a game of shogi.

But, actually, it is not so obvious. Just because I deal with shogi sets every day and am used to my own terminology does not mean that it is clear to someone who might be interested in buying a set from me. The customer comes to my site with no prior knowledge of me or the goods I offer.

So, let's be clear about this... my website offers "complete sets of shogi pieces that contain 40 pieces - all the pieces that two players need to play a game on one board". (Some sets include a spare piece, to make a total of 41 pieces!)

David Hurley
http://japanese-games-shop.com

I'm Back From My Holidays!

noreply@blogger.com (David Hurley) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 11:27:00 +0000

Got back from our family holiday in Austria yesterday afternoon. I have now taken the "away on holiday" notices down from http://japanese-games-shop.com and http://japanese-mahjong.com and so am officially "back in business".

If you have never been to the Austrian Alps before, I recommend it!

I also recommend 10 days away from computers and the Internet!

While I was away in Austria I received my largest order ever, from a mahjong club based in... Austria! I'll start working on it on Monday morning!

Ich danke Ihnen für Ihren Einkauf!

David Hurley
http://japanese-games-shop.com

Autumn Break In The Alive-With-Music Hills!

noreply@blogger.com (David Hurley) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 03:04:00 +0000

We are off to Austria on a family holiday, so there will be no more shipments of goods until October 2nd at the earliest!

If you do not mind waiting, you may still purchase any of the items on Japanese-Games-Shop.com, but acknowledgment of your order and turnaround will be delayed.

We will be staying in Viehhofen, between Salzburg and Zell Am See. My daughter has been preparing for the adventure by watching The Sound Of Music, and studying German with the help of Shuan The Sheep - er, sorry, Shaun Das Schaf!

Pamper Your Mahjong Craving By Playing On A High Quality, Robust, Mahjong Mat!

noreply@blogger.com (David Hurley) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 02:50:00 +0000

Do you suffer from a mahjong craving? Then you should consider pampering your craving by playing mahjong on a high quality, robust, Japanese mahjong mat!

I have just upgraded the shipping method for the heavier of the two mahjong playing mats that are available on my website at http://japanese-mahjong.com/mjmat.html.

I noticed that the information about that mat was confusing as I had posted two different shipping rates. Also, due to the weight of the mat I used to ship it by surface mail to save the customer shipping charges.

There is no problem with shipping rubber-backed mahjong mats from Japan by surface mail, since the mats are so robust they can survive the journey in good condition. The problems are that surface mail takes sooo long and also that it is less reliable than express mail service. As if that was not enough, surface mail has no tracking service.

So, I have taken another look at the situation and decided to... gulp... cover the extra costs of Express Mail Service shipping on this item MYSELF.

Now, whichever of the two mats you buy, you will get it much more quickly as they both are now being shipped by EMS - and you'll be able to follow the progress of your parcel via the EMS tracking service... Delivery is within a week of dispatch in most cases.

Did I mention that insurance is included in the shipping price?

So, mahjong players, pamper your mahjong craving by playing on a high quality mahjong mat! Head over to http://japanese-mahjong.com/mjmat.html and get yourself a mahjong mat!

Best wishes,

David Hurley
http://japanese-mahjong.com

Japanese Mini Mahjong Set With Transparent Tiles!

noreply@blogger.com (David Hurley) — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 11:58:00 +0000

I have just updated my range of Japanese mahjong sets to include a new Mini Mahjong Set With Transparent Tiles

One improvement, I think, is the new-style Japanese acrylic mini mj set I just added. Now every single tile is transparent, so you can watch your opponents' every move - but go careful how you read those difficult character tiles!!

The craze for playing with transparent mahjong tiles developed out of the Akagi manga series, in which the hero, Akagi has to play in a game using a set of tiles with 3 out of 4 tiles being transparent. If he loses he has to have so much blood drawn from his body... If he keeps on losing and he'll die of blood loss...

The mini mj set is really a novelty or party set, or a portable holiday set. The score sticks and dice are also mini-size. The dice are especially microscopic!!

Check out the Japanese Mini Mahjong Transparent Tile Set!

New Disney Hanafuda Deck Added To My Listings

noreply@blogger.com (David Hurley) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:35:00 +0000

Disney has given a Japanese games company called Angel a license to produce a novelty Hanafuda card deck with Disney characters on the cards.

Hanafua card decks were first made in Japan over 350 years ago as a Japanese response to the introduction of Western-style playing cards.

A hanafuda card deck consists of 48 cards divided into 12 suits of four cards each. Each “suit” is named after a month of the year and portrays a flower that blossoms during that month.

The word “Hanafuda” can be literally translated as “flower cards”.

For more details about hanafuda decks in general and the Disney/Angel hanafuda deck in particular, check out Japanese-Games-Shop.com.

David Hurley
http://Japanese-Games-Shop.com

New Hand Carved Japanese Shogi Koma Added To The Range!

noreply@blogger.com (David Hurley) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 03:32:00 +0000

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was planning to add a new set of hand carved shogi pieces to my range of top quality shogi koma sets.

It took me a while, but at last, today, I have done it!

The set is hand carved by craftsman Yamagami, using a deep-cut carving style. The style is very distinctive, as can be seen in the above photo.

The wood used for this set is Siamese boxwood.

For more photos and details about the set, click here.

David Hurley
http://japanese-games-shop.com