The State of Retro in Japan w/ Vinnk from Famicom Dojo - Zezcast #6

The Zezcast is my solo podcast where I interview creators and individuals in the retro gaming community who I think are interesting.

In this episode I talk to Vinnk from Famicom Dojo, who for me is one of the OG retro video creators. Famicom Dojo is a series which has been around longer than YouTube (!) and started with Vinnk living in Japan and wanting to make the first documentation of the cool stuff he saw back in the day (some before it was retro).

He continues to make videos and streams with his partner Sean Orange to this day. In the last few years he has also opened up a new avenue for his retro games collecting: opening his own Japanese import games online store Japan Retro Direct https://japanretrodirect.ocnk.com

I ask Vinnk about the origins of Famicom Dojo, what his experiences have been running Japan Retro Direct and whats his take on the state of second hand retro gaming products on the ground in Japan right now. Oh and we also talk about how Japanese retro gamers see CRTs as well. I couldn't leave out a tube tv discussion.

00:00 The origins of Famicom Dojo

07:30 The real Famicom Dojo store in Japan

14:00 The slower update of retro collecting in Japan

23:00 Are Japanese retro gamers into CRTs?

42:45 How did you start Japan Retro Direct?

1:00:10 What trends have you noticed among your buyers?

1:12:00 Observations of an average Japanese retro store in 2022?

01:26:20 Our shared experiences as westerners living in a foreign country

Check out Vinnk's store: https://japanretrodirect.ocnk.com

Famicom Dojo on YouTube: https://youtube.com/famicomdojo

Famicom Dojo on Twitter: https://twitter.com/famicomdojo

Vinnk on Twitter: https://twitter.com/famicomvinnk

I also have a podcast with my friend Steve Nutter from Retro Tech USA called "The Cathode Ray Podcast" where we discuss CRT's and retro tech in general

https://www.youtube.com/c/ZezRetro/

Steve and I maintain a blog about their projects "The Cathode Ray Blog"

https://www.cathoderayblog.com

You can find the audio for the Zezcast and The Cathode Ray Podcast on the web or your favourite podcast app

https://anchor.fm/zezretro

Catch me on Twitter

https://twitter.com/zez