TheJapanHobbyist
@thejapanhobbyist.bsky.social
Living in Japan and love sharing cool things I come across as well as what I’m up to! Currently a fan of video games, movies, and Magic the Gathering but will post about anything I think is cool! I also stream on Twitch! https://twitch.tv/thejapanhobbyist
Pinned
Just an FYI but if you're interested in my retro game store posts here, you can find even more pictures of these places on my Instagram (www.instagram.com/thejapanhobb...) and read about my favorite stores on my website www.thejapanhobbyist.com (which has a lot more info and more pictures)
Finally had a chance to sit down and write a new blog article about #retrogames in #Japan. Today's post starts my retro game hunting adventure in Osaka with the Namba Surugaya store, and you can be sure there will be a lot more to follow in the future!
thejapanhobbyist.com/2025/11/19/r...
thejapanhobbyist.com/2025/11/19/r...
Retro Game Store Reviews: Osaka Edition – Namba Surugaya
I’ve been living in Osaka for a little over a month now and I can finally say I’m settling in. I have a new (part time) job to help me pay the bills, a new apartment with my wife, and a…
thejapanhobbyist.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Finally had a chance to sit down and write a new blog article about #retrogames in #Japan. Today's post starts my retro game hunting adventure in Osaka with the Namba Surugaya store, and you can be sure there will be a lot more to follow in the future!
thejapanhobbyist.com/2025/11/19/r...
thejapanhobbyist.com/2025/11/19/r...
A few months back I watched through the Lord of the Rings movies again and recently the Hobbit trilogy has shown up on streaming services so I decided to give them another try. I felt I judged them too harshly back when they first came out but now I appreciate the 2nd trilogy more.
November 17, 2025 at 2:07 PM
A few months back I watched through the Lord of the Rings movies again and recently the Hobbit trilogy has shown up on streaming services so I decided to give them another try. I felt I judged them too harshly back when they first came out but now I appreciate the 2nd trilogy more.
This is looking like the streaming schedule for next week!
- Monday: No Stream
- Tuesday: No Stream
- Wednesday: Tales of Symphonia (PM)
- Thursday: No Stream
- Friday: No Stream
- Saturday: No stream?
- Sunday: Tales of Symphonia
twitch.tv/thejapanhobb...
- Monday: No Stream
- Tuesday: No Stream
- Wednesday: Tales of Symphonia (PM)
- Thursday: No Stream
- Friday: No Stream
- Saturday: No stream?
- Sunday: Tales of Symphonia
twitch.tv/thejapanhobb...
Twitch
Twitch is the world
twitch.tv
November 17, 2025 at 12:03 PM
This is looking like the streaming schedule for next week!
- Monday: No Stream
- Tuesday: No Stream
- Wednesday: Tales of Symphonia (PM)
- Thursday: No Stream
- Friday: No Stream
- Saturday: No stream?
- Sunday: Tales of Symphonia
twitch.tv/thejapanhobb...
- Monday: No Stream
- Tuesday: No Stream
- Wednesday: Tales of Symphonia (PM)
- Thursday: No Stream
- Friday: No Stream
- Saturday: No stream?
- Sunday: Tales of Symphonia
twitch.tv/thejapanhobb...
Now live with more Tales of Symphonia! Finally starting to get the hang of the battle system. Taking out a water dungeon today, confronting a traitor, then heading up a mountain! Lots of game ahead of us still.
twitch.tv/thejapanhobb...
twitch.tv/thejapanhobb...
November 16, 2025 at 5:02 AM
Now live with more Tales of Symphonia! Finally starting to get the hang of the battle system. Taking out a water dungeon today, confronting a traitor, then heading up a mountain! Lots of game ahead of us still.
twitch.tv/thejapanhobb...
twitch.tv/thejapanhobb...
Watching a TV program about all these old Japanese hunters hunting for bears up north to get the population under control and I can't help but think how cool of a movie it would be. Like Predators but with oyaji and bears and in the woods.
November 15, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Watching a TV program about all these old Japanese hunters hunting for bears up north to get the population under control and I can't help but think how cool of a movie it would be. Like Predators but with oyaji and bears and in the woods.
Now live with more Tales of Symphonia! Was a pretty high learning curve during my first stream last week but I think I'm getting the hang of it now. Starting in the desert dungeon today!
twitch.tv/thejapanhobb...
twitch.tv/thejapanhobb...
November 15, 2025 at 4:39 AM
Now live with more Tales of Symphonia! Was a pretty high learning curve during my first stream last week but I think I'm getting the hang of it now. Starting in the desert dungeon today!
twitch.tv/thejapanhobb...
twitch.tv/thejapanhobb...
Only have one book left to read about solar energy/renewables and I'm wondering what the next one should be. Here's my short list:
[ ] Here Comes the Sun - Bill McKibben
[ ] Renewable Energy in Power Systems - Wiley
[ ] Electricfy - Saul Griffith
Any recommendations?
[ ] Here Comes the Sun - Bill McKibben
[ ] Renewable Energy in Power Systems - Wiley
[ ] Electricfy - Saul Griffith
Any recommendations?
November 15, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Only have one book left to read about solar energy/renewables and I'm wondering what the next one should be. Here's my short list:
[ ] Here Comes the Sun - Bill McKibben
[ ] Renewable Energy in Power Systems - Wiley
[ ] Electricfy - Saul Griffith
Any recommendations?
[ ] Here Comes the Sun - Bill McKibben
[ ] Renewable Energy in Power Systems - Wiley
[ ] Electricfy - Saul Griffith
Any recommendations?
Finally finished my 3rd book on Solar/Renewable energy, and it's probably the best one I've read yet. Scheer does an amazing job and throughly breaks down every single part of the poisonous fossil fuel industry and replaces each one with a cleaner, cheaper, more efficient one.
November 11, 2025 at 6:59 AM
Finally finished my 3rd book on Solar/Renewable energy, and it's probably the best one I've read yet. Scheer does an amazing job and throughly breaks down every single part of the poisonous fossil fuel industry and replaces each one with a cleaner, cheaper, more efficient one.
Streaming schedule for next week:
- Monday: No Stream
- Tuesday: No Stream
- Wednesday: No Stream
- Thursdsy: No Stream
- Friday: No Stream
- Saturday: Tales of Symphonia (PM)
- Sunday: Tales of Symphonia (PM)
twitch.tv/thejapanhobb...
- Monday: No Stream
- Tuesday: No Stream
- Wednesday: No Stream
- Thursdsy: No Stream
- Friday: No Stream
- Saturday: Tales of Symphonia (PM)
- Sunday: Tales of Symphonia (PM)
twitch.tv/thejapanhobb...
TheJapanHobbyist - Twitch
Living in Japan and doing what I enjoy. Podcast about Magic the Gathering. Play video games a lot. Love Final Fantasy, especially FFXIV. Find me on Twitter @yoJapanHobbyist, Bluesky @thejapanhobbyist ...
twitch.tv
November 9, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Streaming schedule for next week:
- Monday: No Stream
- Tuesday: No Stream
- Wednesday: No Stream
- Thursdsy: No Stream
- Friday: No Stream
- Saturday: Tales of Symphonia (PM)
- Sunday: Tales of Symphonia (PM)
twitch.tv/thejapanhobb...
- Monday: No Stream
- Tuesday: No Stream
- Wednesday: No Stream
- Thursdsy: No Stream
- Friday: No Stream
- Saturday: Tales of Symphonia (PM)
- Sunday: Tales of Symphonia (PM)
twitch.tv/thejapanhobb...
Visited the Surugaya in Umeda today with some friends. It's not the best Surugaya I've been to but it's pretty good. Lots of rare stuff I never see and even a few things I never knew existed. Found a couple grail games I wanted there so I'll definitely be back to check it out again in the future.
November 9, 2025 at 7:19 AM
Visited the Surugaya in Umeda today with some friends. It's not the best Surugaya I've been to but it's pretty good. Lots of rare stuff I never see and even a few things I never knew existed. Found a couple grail games I wanted there so I'll definitely be back to check it out again in the future.
Well I found where all the Megaman Legend games in Japan went. Geezus Osaka. Spread the love to the rest of Japan! #retrogames
November 9, 2025 at 6:44 AM
Well I found where all the Megaman Legend games in Japan went. Geezus Osaka. Spread the love to the rest of Japan! #retrogames
Just beat Megaman Legends so I’m getting a start on my next backlog game now: Tales of Symphonia! I’ve heard good things about this series and this game in particular so I’m looking forward to trying it out.
twitch.tv/thejapanhobb...
twitch.tv/thejapanhobb...
November 8, 2025 at 7:38 AM
Just beat Megaman Legends so I’m getting a start on my next backlog game now: Tales of Symphonia! I’ve heard good things about this series and this game in particular so I’m looking forward to trying it out.
twitch.tv/thejapanhobb...
twitch.tv/thejapanhobb...
Now live with the finale to Megaman Legends! All that stands between Rockman and the safety of all the people on the island is an ancient robot. A large, scary, very dangerous robot. Let’s hope Megaman doesn’t fall apart during the last battle!
twitch.tv/thejapanhobb...
twitch.tv/thejapanhobb...
November 8, 2025 at 5:10 AM
Now live with the finale to Megaman Legends! All that stands between Rockman and the safety of all the people on the island is an ancient robot. A large, scary, very dangerous robot. Let’s hope Megaman doesn’t fall apart during the last battle!
twitch.tv/thejapanhobb...
twitch.tv/thejapanhobb...
Was watching @eyesonbee.bsky.social stream Wild Arms 3 today and we were saying there needs to be a Harvest Moon style Wild Arms game. “Filgaia is dying and you need to grow crops and protect your livestock from drifters to bring the world back from the brink.”
You can call it “Wild fArms” XD
You can call it “Wild fArms” XD
November 8, 2025 at 4:33 AM
Was watching @eyesonbee.bsky.social stream Wild Arms 3 today and we were saying there needs to be a Harvest Moon style Wild Arms game. “Filgaia is dying and you need to grow crops and protect your livestock from drifters to bring the world back from the brink.”
You can call it “Wild fArms” XD
You can call it “Wild fArms” XD
For $3 I'm tempted to get this and just get it fixed. Aside from the screen it seems fine.
November 8, 2025 at 2:10 AM
For $3 I'm tempted to get this and just get it fixed. Aside from the screen it seems fine.
Something I’ve noticed after living in Osaka for the last month: People mask up here in MUCH larger numbers than in the Tokyo area. Yeah we are going into what some people are saying is a bad flu season this year, but even before that lots of people were masking up in general.
November 8, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Something I’ve noticed after living in Osaka for the last month: People mask up here in MUCH larger numbers than in the Tokyo area. Yeah we are going into what some people are saying is a bad flu season this year, but even before that lots of people were masking up in general.
Reposted by TheJapanHobbyist
A special Kirby collaboration is coming to Family Mart on 11/11 featuring new food and merch! How much Famichiki could Kirby eat in one go?
More: www.family.co.jp/campaign/spo...
More: www.family.co.jp/campaign/spo...
November 7, 2025 at 3:45 AM
A special Kirby collaboration is coming to Family Mart on 11/11 featuring new food and merch! How much Famichiki could Kirby eat in one go?
More: www.family.co.jp/campaign/spo...
More: www.family.co.jp/campaign/spo...
Reposted by TheJapanHobbyist
I've seen enough: the gerontocracy is dead.
www.kenklippenstein.com/p/the-geront...
www.kenklippenstein.com/p/the-geront...
The Gerontocracy Is Dead
Nancy Pelosi's retirement announcement and the gerontocracy's quiet war on little old me
www.kenklippenstein.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:03 AM
I've seen enough: the gerontocracy is dead.
www.kenklippenstein.com/p/the-geront...
www.kenklippenstein.com/p/the-geront...
Forgot to post this but I finally found a good price on Xenoblade Chronicles X so I picked it up yesterday : $24 used. Along with the Front Mission 3 remake and the strategy guides from yesterday, my gaming budget is pretty much tapped out for the month, but it was a good month.
November 6, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Forgot to post this but I finally found a good price on Xenoblade Chronicles X so I picked it up yesterday : $24 used. Along with the Front Mission 3 remake and the strategy guides from yesterday, my gaming budget is pretty much tapped out for the month, but it was a good month.
Today's random game idea: A Monty Python and the Holy Grail RPG on the Switch where you have to move your joy cons up and down to make a coconut noise that moves your horse on screen and a special attack where you have to say "NEE!" into a microphone.
November 6, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Today's random game idea: A Monty Python and the Holy Grail RPG on the Switch where you have to move your joy cons up and down to make a coconut noise that moves your horse on screen and a special attack where you have to say "NEE!" into a microphone.
Maybe it's because I live in the Osaka area now but it feels like 80-90 percent of all news/promotions about Japan focus on Tokyo. Kyoto, Hokkaido, and Yokohama might get another 10-15%, but I rarely hear anything about Osaka or anywhere else.
November 6, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Maybe it's because I live in the Osaka area now but it feels like 80-90 percent of all news/promotions about Japan focus on Tokyo. Kyoto, Hokkaido, and Yokohama might get another 10-15%, but I rarely hear anything about Osaka or anywhere else.
Reposted by TheJapanHobbyist
This is an intensive language program for intermediate level learners based in Yokohama. It's perfect for people who are serious about improving their Japanese so they can work in Japan.
Applications are open for IUC's 10-month Japanese language program. I'm glad to answer any questions about my time there. I pivoted during the pandemic and enrolled the year I turned 40, so it's possible for a wide range of students. iuc.fsi.stanford.edu/programs-10M
IUC Programs 10-Month
iuc.fsi.stanford.edu
November 5, 2025 at 10:39 PM
This is an intensive language program for intermediate level learners based in Yokohama. It's perfect for people who are serious about improving their Japanese so they can work in Japan.
I don't know why this Book Off in Osaka I just went to had tons of rare Gameboy Advance strategy guides in stock for $4-$10 but I'm not complaining! They are in amazing condition and the Metroid Zero Mission one was a steal I thought! #retrogames
November 5, 2025 at 12:47 PM
I don't know why this Book Off in Osaka I just went to had tons of rare Gameboy Advance strategy guides in stock for $4-$10 but I'm not complaining! They are in amazing condition and the Metroid Zero Mission one was a steal I thought! #retrogames
Wife and I both had a day off from work today so we decided to do a thrift store hiking trip in northwest Osaka out by Kyoto. First stop was the Neyagawa Hard Off. It was quite a walk from the station (bus times suck), but they actually had a lot of rare stuff in good condition! Prices were good too
November 5, 2025 at 11:17 AM
Wife and I both had a day off from work today so we decided to do a thrift store hiking trip in northwest Osaka out by Kyoto. First stop was the Neyagawa Hard Off. It was quite a walk from the station (bus times suck), but they actually had a lot of rare stuff in good condition! Prices were good too
Saving this for later.
in case anyone hasn't watched the full thing, do it. it's a damn treat.
I don't think I realized it until now, but I'd been waiting my whole life to hear a politician sound like they want the people to govern with them
I don't think I realized it until now, but I'd been waiting my whole life to hear a politician sound like they want the people to govern with them
FULL SPEECH: Zohran Mamdani's victory speech following historic NYC mayoral win
YouTube video by ABC News
youtu.be
November 5, 2025 at 9:01 AM
Saving this for later.