General Store Information & Atmosphere

Tell us about the atmosphere of your store and what makes it unique?

Eiki Hirayama: It’s probably the store with the least customer service.

Daniel: You mean, in a good way?

Eiki Hirayama: Yes, the center of this hobby is, of course, the official Games Workshop stores, and they have very pushy customer service.

Daniel: That’s true.

Eiki Hirayama: I think a lot of people don’t want that. The return on effort was so low that I initially tried it. I tried it for the first year or two, but the hit rate was so low. People who are going to buy will buy without me saying anything, so I stopped. I completely leave them alone, let them look around as they like. If they talk to me and ask me something, I’ll answer. I’ll explain about the products, the hobby, and even have small talk. That’s the style here.

Daniel: So, for those who want to take their time and think, Iconoclasm is a place with no pressure.

Eiki Hirayama: That’s right. If you feel lonely, please talk to me.

What is the most popular game system in your store?

Eiki Hirayama: Of course, it’s 40k (Warhammer 40,000).

Daniel: What about recent trends? Are there any particularly popular factions or smaller games within 40k?

Eiki Hirayama: Kill Team?

Daniel: Kill Team, right.

Eiki Hirayama: I think Kill Team is the hottest right now.

Daniel: Is Kill Team more popular than regular 40k?

Eiki Hirayama: I wonder. Considering sales, how much Games Workshop is pushing it, and the frequency of system updates, I think it’s Kill Team.

Daniel: You mean because the update frequency is high, or because it’s low?

Eiki Hirayama: It’s fast, and your past assets don’t go to waste.

Daniel: I see. “Past assets” is a good way to put it. Often, what you buy becomes unusable very quickly.

Eiki Hirayama: Just last month, all the individual boxes were renewed.

Daniel: Ah, I see.

Eiki Hirayama: But the contents are the same. Only the price went up.

Daniel: Keeping the cameraman and packaging people busy (laughs).

Eiki Hirayama: And with that, we only have three of the old boxes left. Just three of the Eldar ones. Everything else has been renewed and replaced with the new ones.

Daniel: Ah, so they’re selling at a decent pace.

Eiki Hirayama: That’s right. And because of the compatibility, it’s completely compatible with 40k. For example, you know the Ork Command unit? Actually, the only product with Kommandos is the Kill Team box.

Daniel: Oh, really? Wow. So, it can be used interchangeably.

Eiki Hirayama: For both 40k and Kill Team, you absolutely need the Kommandos Kill Team box.

Daniel: I see. So, people inevitably end up going for the Kill Team logo.

Eiki Hirayama: That’s right. In particular, we have a lot of cases where foreigners come to the store and buy only the Kill Team single boxes.

Daniel: I see. Are those foreigners who are settled here, or tourists?

Eiki Hirayama: No, no, foreigners who live here. Tourists aren’t really relevant.

Daniel: Are the games popular with Japanese people different?

Eiki Hirayama: Kill Team sells a lot online, but not so much in-store to Japanese people.

What systems are popular with Japanese people?

Eiki Hirayama: I’d say it’s about 60% 40k and 40% AoS (Age of Sigmar).

Daniel: I see. So, the balance is a bit more even.

Eiki Hirayama: Some of the AoS players also play Underworlds.

Daniel: Underworlds. I see.

Eiki Hirayama: Underworlds is popular, but Warcry is dead.

Daniel: Warcry, dead. I see.

Eiki Hirayama: I think the game is good, but the customer base is too divided.

Daniel: I see.

Eiki Hirayama: So, this is just my opinion, but they should have made the miniatures in Underworlds completely compatible. In one box. It should be usable for both. Of course, it should also be usable for AoS, otherwise, people won’t bother with Warcry. Because they’ll just think, “Underworlds is enough for me.”

Daniel: You mean the players themselves.

Eiki Hirayama: Underworlds generally has fewer miniatures. It’s easy to start with 3 to 5. Warcry has 10 in one box. And there are a lot of similar ones.

Daniel: So, there’s also a cost-performance aspect.

Eiki Hirayama: Yeah. Well, that’s why it’s a bit tough. No, I think the game itself is really good, though. Yeah.

Any other game systems?

Eiki Hirayama: Well, there are a few people in Osaka who play Warmachine Mark IV.

Daniel: I see.

Eiki Hirayama: But they import it themselves, so they don’t buy it from me. Yeah. So, all my Mark IV sales are online.

 Do you hold regular events?

Eiki Hirayama: We have the space, but we have very few people who play.

Daniel: I see.

Eiki Hirayama: I tried hard to announce regular events at first, but people didn’t come, so now it is open to all and I let anyone play whatever they want.

Store hours and Access.

Eiki Hirayama: First of all, we’re closed on Tuesdays. On Mondays, my assistant comes in, and I’m not there. But he’s a big hobbyist, so he knows a lot about hobbies and can play games. Wednesdays and Fridays are a bit short, starting at 12:30 and closing at 5:00.

Daniel: I see. So your store is open while you take care of other tasks?

Eiki Hirayama: Yeah, on Wednesdays and Fridays, once I’ve dealt with the online order emails, I’m pretty much done.

Daniel: I see.

Eiki Hirayama: So, I don’t really recommend gaming on Wednesdays and Fridays, but we close at 5:00, so if you want to play from 12:30, you can come, it’s always free on those days. If you want to play games properly, it’s Thursday or the weekend.

Daniel: The weekend.

Eiki Hirayama: We’re open until 6:30 then.

Daniel: Until 6:30.

Eiki Hirayama: Yes.

Daniel: I understand. I came here today on the Sakaisuji Line, but it’s a bit of a walk.

Eiki Hirayama: That’s right.

Daniel: Which is the closest station?

Eiki Hirayama: It’s Namba Station on the Midosuji Line.

Tell us about your website and social media.

Eiki Hirayama: We have a website that’s only used for e-commerce, and then there’s Twitter, or X, I guess.

Daniel: X, right.

Eiki Hirayama: We announce the opening and when new products are updated.

Daniel: I also received a newsletter.

Eiki Hirayama: That’s right. We’ve been working hard on the newsletter this year, sending it out once a month.

Daniel: I see a monthly newsletter. Also, I looked at your webpage, and it seems like you write in detail about new releases quite frequently.

Eiki Hirayama: With Games Workshop products, as everyone knows, there are new releases every week, and we keep up with that. For other things, we used to deal with a store called War Store (until about 10 years ago, we had a relationship with a wholesaler in New York called “War Store”).

Daniel: There was, wasn’t there?

Eiki Hirayama: They went out of business about 10 years ago.

Daniel: Is that so?

Eiki Hirayama: So, we don’t get any American products anymore. So, Heroclix, Star Wars, and those kinds of things don’t come in at all anymore.

Daniel: I see.

Eiki Hirayama: Now there’s a wholesaler in the UK, the name has changed again, it used to be called Cradle, but now it’s called Occam (“Occam” is a wholesaler that handles Warlord Games and Mantic Games). Occam is probably a place name in the UK, I think they named the company after the region. They send out a newsletter with new releases, and I have my assistant enter that information.

Daniel: I see.

Eiki Hirayama: I’m the one who does the Japanese translation.

Daniel: But that’s important. It’s extremely important. It’s a valuable source of information for your customers.

Eiki Hirayama: Basically, we don’t stock those. We don’t keep them in stock. Pre-order only.

Daniel: Ah, I see. Are the lots small?

Eiki Hirayama: Or rather, we don’t have the space to store them. I see. They probably won’t sell that much anyway. Yeah. Well, so there’s Infinity, which seems to be selling well, and a few others. It seems like there are people who specialize in Infinity again recently.

Eiki Hirayama: Also, there are “Fallout” miniatures, where the manufacturer’s supply chain itself is weak, and even if you pre-order, there’s often no stock at the wholesaler, so we keep some in stock.

Daniel: I see, so you keep some in reserve. That’s good.

Eiki Hirayama: Yes. Also, we still have old Warmachine stock, and for American products, there’s Reaper (Reaper Miniatures). Just the female models from Reaper. We’ve been doing this for about 20 years.

Daniel: 20 years, that’s amazing.

Eiki Hirayama: Well, of course, it’s really just a bonus now. Oh, speaking of American products, the important one is Kingdom Death.

Daniel: Kingdom Death?

Eiki Hirayama: Kingdom Death. It’s parallel import, but there’s a separate official store, and our selection is probably the second largest after that official store.

Daniel: I see.

Eiki Hirayama: There’s a British manufacturer called Foundry, and Foundry has quite a deep connection with Games Workshop, or rather, they have the same founder.

Daniel: Ah, Ian Livingstone and so on?

Eiki Hirayama: No, no, not them, the founder of Citadel (Citadel Miniatures). Bryan Ansell was originally the president of Citadel Miniatures, and then became the owner of Games Workshop. They talked about that in Dice Men, and I read the English version too. I translated Dice Men. Bryan Ansell’s grandson is now the owner of Foundry. I exchanged emails with him and decided to purchase from them.

Daniel: I see.

Eiki Hirayama: It was really hard to make the initial contact. My emails were ignored 5 or 6 times (laughs).

Daniel: But you managed to make a sale from the top! It was worth the effort. That’s amazing. It all feels like the industry is centered around Nottingham.

Eiki Hirayama: Yes. He said something like, “Someone from my family has been to Japan once.”

Daniel: On the other hand, America is very localized and doesn’t seem to be very active.

Eiki Hirayama: America. Reaper still sells directly to anyone, and in the end, American miniatures have a lot of IPs and most of them are Disney IPs. Now, Disney owns Marvel and everything.

Daniel: Ah, I see what you mean.

Eiki Hirayama: Well, Star Wars is all Disney too, so you can’t import Disney IP without the right license. You absolutely can’t.

Daniel: You can’t. Is it related to contractual reasons in Japan?

Eiki Hirayama: Or rather, they don’t want to. So, of course, translation is out, and distribution is out, and you probably can’t import without a proper contract with Hasbro or someone like that.

Daniel: I see.

Eiki Hirayama: So, with our level of capital, it’s completely out of the question.

English-Language Support & Community

Do you have any staff who can speak English?

Eiki Hirayama: Well, I can handle everyday conversations, and in the worst case, I’ll use automatic translation. My assistant is also very good at using automatic translation. He works part-time at a restaurant and says he can communicate with foreigners there.

Eiki Hirayama: I always recommend that Kansai Wargaming Community Discord server to foreigners who live in Japan and come here.

Daniel: Thank you!

Eiki Hirayama: I’ve introduced more than 10 people.

Daniel: Yes, quite a few have joined. They say things like, “I heard about it at Iconoclasm.” Yes. Well, that’s very helpful. Thank you!

Daniel: So, the question for native English speakers is… For example, do you have English rulebooks or publications? Of course, Games Workshop publishes both Japanese and English versions in parallel, but do you actually have any English products in this store now?

Eiki Hirayama: No, almost none. Especially for those where there is a Japanese version, I only stock the Japanese one. Yes. There are some English-only ones, like Necromunda and some things for Imperial Knights. But I’m trying to reduce them as much as possible.

Daniel: I see.

Eiki Hirayama: They really only sell about once a year.

Daniel: I see. Well, for that reason, I guess it’s fair to say

Eiki Hirayama: The demand for real books from English speaking gamers is very low. And English speaking gamers seem to use online sources of information more than Japanese. An aside, Warmachine used to have an app called “War Room,” but it wasn’t even a subscription, it was a one-time purchase. About 5,000 yen.

Daniel: Warmachine?

Eiki Hirayama: For Warmachine, it was all one-time purchase, all-in-one, about 5,000 yen for the full set, and it even got updates. So, it was like all the codexes were in it.

Daniel: I see.

Eiki Hirayama: And you could play the game with it. It could even be used as a substitute for the card deck.

Daniel: That’s right.

Eiki Hirayama: But I guess there’s probably also demand from retailers who want to sell books.

Daniel: Yes, well, they change so often.

Eiki Hirayama: That’s right.

Daniel: So, you have to pay 5,000 yen or 8,000 yen, I don’t know, each time to buy a new one, but in the end, all you want to see is the number table.

Eiki Hirayama: Well, well. So, in that sense, foreigners are probably in a more convenient environment when it comes to books.

Daniel: Ah, that’s true, because it’s in English. It’s geared towards them, I understand. But do you have anything else available for people who want to play games here?

Eiki Hirayama: Well, of course, you can use the tables freely, and there are up to four tables. Yes. Ah, that’s right, let’s talk about the fees. For table fees, it’s 1,000 yen per person per day. 1,000 yen per day.

Daniel: And for one day…

Eiki Hirayama: If it’s a short time like Friday or Wednesday, it’s free. Yes.

Daniel: By the way, what do you provide? For example, the tables themselves, but what else is provided?

Eiki Hirayama: We have terrain, dice, markers, and measuring tools.

Do you have people looking for gaming partners come here ?

Eiki Hirayama: I don’t hear that very often, but when there are such people, I guide them to Kansai Wargaming.

Daniel: Thank you!

Eiki Hirayama: I think the easiest thing is to recommend it and say, “Find some friends here.”

Daniel: Yes, thank you! Amazing compliments!

Eiki Hirayama: You’re welcome.

 

Product Selection and Services

What kind of paints and other goods do you have?

Eiki Hirayama: First of all, Citadel. Since last year, the Japanese distributor Volks…

Daniel: Volks, right.

Eiki Hirayama: They’re the agent for Vallejo, and they kind of introduced it to me, or rather, they asked if I would like to stock it, so I have their pamphlet here.

Daniel: I see. So, Volks is not just a retailer, but also a wholesaler.

Eiki Hirayama: A wholesaler, or rather, probably the general distributor in Japan.

Daniel: Ah, I see.

Eiki Hirayama: Vallejo has a huge range.

Daniel: I’m sorry, I’m not familiar with the name “Vallejo.” (The Japanese is pronounced “Falleho”)

Eiki Hirayama: In Spanish.

Daniel: Ah, I see. In English, it’s Vallejo (“Valleho”).

Eiki Hirayama: Yes, that’s right, but this is a real mystery to me. I’ve checked the pronunciation with about five Spanish people, and they all say “Vallejo.” (“Vaeiho”) What’s going on here?

Daniel: I don’t understand either. Perhaps they are saying it in English?

Eiki Hirayama: No, it’s definitely strange. I checked their nationality, they were Spanish, and I asked, “How do you read this?” Everyone says “Vallejo.” (“Vaeiho”) I would ask “isn’t it ‘Falleho’?” I don’t understand. The pronunciation of “Vallejo” is a mystery. I think it’s pronounced “faleyo” in German too.

Daniel: Is it?

Eiki Hirayama: That’s the pronunciation. So, it should be the same in Spanish. But when I asked actual native Spanish speakers, they all said “Vallejo.” (“Vaeiho”) It’s strange, isn’t it? Well, well, well.

Daniel: But this is good to know as trivia. When talking to Japanese people, you should say “Valleho” instead of “Balleho.”

Eiki Hirayama: “Falleho”!

Daniel: “Falleho, Fallejo”.

Eiki Hirayama: Or rather, just read it however you like. European languages are strange.

Do you have brushes and other accessories?

Eiki Hirayama: I’m going to place an additional order for Vallejo this week. I’m running out, so I’m going to place an additional order, and I’m thinking of adding Vallejo’s new brushes at that time.

Daniel: They’re your recent recommendation?

Eiki Hirayama: Yes, I hear they’re good. I haven’t used them yet, though. And then there’s the Victory Colors that Privateer Press used to make, but they’re running out, so there are only a few left. They’re over there (points).

Daniel: I see.

Eiki Hirayama: I have a bit too much paint stocked up.

Daniel: It certainly looks like about a third of the store.

Eiki Hirayama: And one more thing, “Scalecolor”.

Daniel: Scalecolor?

Eiki Hirayama: This is what I’m talking about. I’m handling it. I’m going to stop handling the regular Scalecolor series in dropper bottles and switch to the tube type called the “Artist Range” sometime this year.

Daniel: So you’re going to change from the dropper type to the tube type.

Eiki Hirayama: There’s an “Artist Range,” and it’s in tubes. I think that’s the best. And there aren’t many stores that stock the tubes, and there seems to be a lot of demand.

Daniel: What are the advantages of the tube type?

Eiki Hirayama: You see, especially for metallic colors, you have to use tubes.

Daniel: Oh, really?

Eiki Hirayama: Because they definitely oxidize when they come into contact with the air in the dropper bottle.

Daniel: Ah, I see. I see.

Eiki Hirayama: With tubes, they’re always sealed and the area that comes into contact with air is minimized.

Daniel: I see.

Eiki Hirayama: For example, Vallejo’s Metal Color, it’s a metallic color, and it’s a great color, but once it’s less than half full (points to the dropper bottle), it will definitely deteriorate.

Daniel: I see. You don’t really use that much metallic color.

Eiki Hirayama: But it decreases as you use it, and once it decreases to a certain extent, the rest is as good as dead.

Daniel: That’s a shame. In that case…

Eiki Hirayama: That’s right. So, metallic colors definitely have to be in tubes.

What about ordering things that you don’t have in stock?

Eiki Hirayama: For things I deal with through Occam, it’s once a month.

Daniel: Occam orders come in once a month?

Eiki Hirayama: Yes. We accept orders. And for things that aren’t, like Reaper, it’s once every six months, or we accept orders as they come in. Like Steamforged, that’s another British manufacturer, they recently took over Warmachine. They took over, and they also have board games like Biohazard and Monster Hunter. They’re very famous, and I made an account with them this year, so there’s another option there.

Daniel: So, to summarize, you can order Warmachine, Biohazard, and Monster Hunter from Steamforged whenever you want.

Daniel: Uh, and for Reaper, you have to wait a bit. About half a year, right? But you do have a decent amount of stock originally. And for Foundry, is it a monthly order?

Eiki Hirayama: Foundry, Foundry is… about once every two years (laughs).

Daniel: What did Occam handle again?

Eiki Hirayama: Various things. Uh, let’s see, Warlord Games and Mantic Games.

Daniel: yes, yes, yes.

Eiki Hirayama: Those kinds of things.

Daniel: So, for Warlord and Mantic, orders are once a month. I guess there are people interested in those, like Warlord.

Eiki Hirayama: They have a lot of games, don’t they? Yeah. Just for board games, they have a range of something like 7 or 8 different games, and just updating the new releases for those on the website is a lot of work.

Daniel: I can imagine. And also, Warlord has high shipping costs.

Eiki Hirayama: Oh, really?

Daniel: Since the UK left the EU. Especially for people who want to play Bolt Action, they have to find a store that carries it and buy it there.

Eiki Hirayama: So, when Bolt Action releases something, I put it all on the website, and people who want to buy it can place an order with my monthly order.

Do you have any content for beginners?

Eiki Hirayama: Well, speaking of which, I stopped mid last year, but I was really working hard on YouTube for about 6 months.

Daniel: You do YouTube too?

Eiki Hirayama: I have to do it this year too, but it’s so much work that I’ve stopped.

Daniel: What’s the name of your YouTube channel?

Eiki Hirayama: “Iconoclasm Miniature Hobby Channel.”

Daniel: That’s a good name. What’s the main content there?

Eiki Hirayama: Painting videos.

Daniel: Painting videos. Ah, like how to paint?

Eiki Hirayama: Well, yes.

Daniel: How to paint and the results?

Eiki Hirayama: Really simple things. Like how to paint non-metallic metals etc.

Daniel: I see. That’s helpful. I’ll link to it later.

Eiki Hirayama: And speed painting Space Marines.

Daniel: Speed painting?

Eiki Hirayama: I have one I painted here (shows a Space Marine).

Daniel: Like the ones in the display case outside.

Eiki Hirayama: You see the blue (Ultramarine) one behind there? I painted this in about 5 minutes. There’s a method to it. Well, it’s all about glazing.

 

Miniature Wargaming in Japan 

Do you think there are any unique aspects to wargaming in Japan? 

Eiki Hirayama: When I first started, I thought that “actuals” would never be accepted.

Daniel: Actuals?

Eiki Hirayama: Actuals are wargames without a grid.

Daniel: I see.

Eiki Hirayama: Whether it’s hex or square, in Japanese, we call it “masume” (grid).

Daniel: Masume.

Eiki Hirayama: I always thought that Japanese people couldn’t play games without a grid.

Daniel: I think it’s easier to play with one.

Eiki Hirayama: I thought Japanese people would be more comfortable with a grid. I thought they wouldn’t accept a vague game like “actuals.”

Daniel: Measuring roughly…

Eiki Hirayama: I thought there would definitely be arguments.

Daniel: Even foreigners sometimes argue.

Eiki Hirayama: So, I was kind of idealizing Western civilization, thinking that Westerners would play vague, “actuals” games in a gentlemanly way. I thought they would play very fairly. Well, now I know. I’ve learned that that’s not always the case, and conversely, if Japanese people are taught that this is how it is, they can play “actuals” games without any problems.

Daniel: I see. So, for example, you said 20 years. Has there been any change in those 20 years?

Eiki Hirayama: That’s right. So, at first, for the first 5 or 6 years, I thought that we Warhammer players were a special breed, that we were putting up with this, but that ordinary Japanese people would never be able to do this.

Daniel: I see.

Eiki Hirayama: But people who started recently seem to be doing it without any problems. Last year, that magazine, the “Hachette” magazine, started, Imperium, Imperium, uh-huh, the weekly Warhammer Imperium.

Daniel: This is the official Games Workshop…

Eiki Hirayama: No. It’s a project by Hachette, a French publisher.

Daniel: Is it? I see.

Eiki Hirayama: They even had TV commercials.

Daniel: What? TV commercials in Japan?

Eiki Hirayama: In Japan, they had TV commercials for Warhammer 40k.

Daniel: I didn’t know that.

Eiki Hirayama: So, a lot of people got into it from there because it’s cheap, the unit price is cheap, but I think those new people are probably used to games without grids, or rather, I haven’t seen any rejection of them.

Daniel: Ah, I see. So, awareness has changed.

Eiki Hirayama: They just didn’t know. In other words, if you want to do it, you can. So, in terms of unique points, it turns out that Japan is actually the same as the rest of the world.

Daniel: I see. So, there was a preconceived notion.

Eiki Hirayama: But still, when I look at foreign BBSs, I can see them getting hardcore over movement!

Daniel: Yeah, sometimes I watch coolly hoping the other guy is picking up on it, but after a while I’ve just got to say something!

Eiki Hirayama: But you know, the most gentlemanly people I’ve seen play are also from Western civilization. The most amazing people I’ve met were a group of three from South Africa. If they were Japanese, they would normally taunt their opponents, right? But when we inflicted a lot of damage on them, the South Africans said, “Great!”

Daniel: Even though they were being beaten, they said that. I see.

Eiki Hirayama: I thought that was amazing (laughs).

Daniel: Maybe they’re not very competitive.

Eiki Hirayama: No, but they’re really strong. So maybe it’s because they have the self esteem to shrug it off. Maybe it’s the confidence of the strong.

Daniel: Certainly, I also tend to say “great hit” when my opponent rolls six dice and gets six 6s, for example. But when I am being beaten constantly, the look on my face kind of dies.

Eiki Hirayama: There are people who clearly get in a bad mood.

Are there any cultural considerations to keep in mind when foreigners play miniature wargames with Japanese?

Eiki Hirayama: Rather than Japanese people, I think you have to be considerate as a gamer.

Daniel:It’s common sense.

Eiki Hirayama: I don’t think there’s a difference between Japan and foreign countries in that respect.

Daniel: I see. Like what you said earlier, not showing displeasure at your opponent’s play.

Eiki Hirayama: Well, at the very least, there are plenty of Japanese people who can’t even manage that.

How about translation and rule interpretations between different language speaking players?

Eiki Hirayama: Do you know what “hyōki yure” (inconsistency in notation) is?

Daniel: Ah, you mean there are differences between the Japanese and English versions?

Eiki Hirayama: Not just that. There are differences within the Japanese version. When there are multiple translators, one word can be translated into different words.

Daniel: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

Eiki Hirayama: The inconsistency in notation was especially bad until 2 or 3 years ago, so the Japanese codexes were unusable.

Daniel: I see. You don’t know if they’re saying the same thing.

Eiki Hirayama: The notation is different from page to page.

Daniel: I see. So, sometimes it’s in katakana, sometimes it’s a direct translation.

Eiki Hirayama: So, basically, the Japanese branch office hasn’t standardized the notation.

 

Other

What led you to decide to open a game store?

Eiki Hirayama: The timeline is a bit jumbled, but… Well, I was originally a salaryman, but I couldn’t take it anymore and quit after a year.

Daniel: That’s quite something.

Eiki Hirayama: And I’ve always liked this kind of hobby since elementary school.

Daniel: Plastic models?

Eiki Hirayama: No, uh, let’s see, well, to tell you the truth, there were these gamebooks.

Daniel: Ah, I see.

Eiki Hirayama: And I’ve been reading those since I was about 10 or 11 years old.

Daniel: When you say gamebooks, you mean the ones where you go back-and-forth to different pages?

Eiki Hirayama: Yes, and actually, the authors of those gamebooks are the founders of Games Workshop.

Daniel: Like the “Fighting Fantasy” ones? So…

Eiki Hirayama: So, my relationship with Games Workshop actually goes back further than 30 years.

Daniel: It’s 40 years. That’s amazing.

Eiki Hirayama: So, I continued with that as a hobby through elementary, middle, and high school, and even university, but I got a regular job and quit after a year. I liked wargames, so I was reading wargame magazines, and one day I saw a small picture in a magazine of a High Elf shooting a bow (pointing to a picture in an old magazine).

Daniel: That’s it!?!

Eiki Hirayama: Yeah, there was a picture of a miniature, and I thought, “Eh? You play wargames with miniatures?”

Daniel: So, you realized that after you quit your job?

Eiki Hirayama: I thought, “Such a crazy game exists?” It was insane. “You make each of these pieces into a miniature?”. I had to buy it, so I bought it, and it was like entering a really crazy world.

Daniel: So that’s how you got here!

Eiki Hirayama: And then I immediately found a community on the internet, the Osaka community at the time, and I played games a little bit, and I realized that this was an industry where there was no decent distribution for books, so even back then, almost half of the people were importing directly.

Daniel: Uh, and what year was this?

Eiki Hirayama: I saw the High Elf archer in a magazine in 1999.

Daniel: I see.

Eiki Hirayama: And then in 2000, 1999, I bought the Warhammer Fantasy Battle box. I bought the big one for 9,800 yen at Yellow Submarine. Yellow Submarine, or was it Tomihara? Kamihara? I don’t know if it still exists, but I bought it there. And I played a few times at that store, and after that, we started renting a community center to play. And then, of course, at that time there was only Warhammer Fantasy, and even though it was very localized, it wasn’t the full-size game. Actually, it was called an “IBook” back then.

Daniel: An IBook?

Eiki Hirayama: The Lizardmen IBook was this thin, flimsy thing.

Daniel: And then there were the pictures and the story.

Eiki Hirayama: Or rather, there weren’t even many of those, and that was the Japanese version. And when I looked at the English version, it was a thick, normal book. I was amazed and thought, “What’s this?”

Daniel: I was also playing at that time around 1999, 2000.

Eiki Hirayama: And I think it was around 2001 that it became the 6th edition. But the Japanese environment continued with IBooks, so it wasn’t a global standard at all. In that sense, the distribution was half-hearted, the translation was half-hearted, and the gaming environment was half-hearted, so in the end, everyone had to import and translate themselves. There was no other way.

Daniel: You really wanted to play, didn’t you?

Eiki Hirayama: Yes, yes, that’s right. So, someone would gather everyone’s orders and place one big order, and there were a few people doing that, and I was one of them. Yes. And well, I wasn’t good at keeping a job, so I thought, “Maybe I can make a living doing this.”

Daniel: I see. So, you had a fixed customer base, and…

Eiki Hirayama: Uh, well, I wasn’t thinking of doing it right away, but when the Games Workshop Japanese branch office was established in 2006, there was a clear point of contact.

Daniel: Uh-huh, uh-huh.

Eiki Hirayama: So I thought, “If I can make a deal here, I can get stock,” and I was already doing parallel imports.

Daniel: I see. Ordering directly from the UK, directly.

Eiki Hirayama: From the UK, or buying from American discount stores. I was already dealing with War Store at that time, buying at a discount and making some profit even after deducting shipping costs. I think it was around 2004 that I made a website, there was an e-commerce rental site, and I made it there. I think I was also carrying historical miniatures at that time.

Daniel: I see.

Eiki Hirayama: Sometimes people would place bulk orders.

Daniel: Like to build an entire army.

Eiki Hirayama: For the historical side, I would buy books about historical miniatures, see what was new, and think, “Oh, there’s this kind of hobby!” There were a lot of European ones, especially Italian and Spanish ones, and I would look at them and think, “This is amazing! I’m going to sell this too,” and I would put them all up on the website. But then an official distributor was established, so I kind of gave up on that. Uh, let’s see, what was their name? They were in Kanto, and I think they’ve gone out of business.

Daniel: After that.

Eiki Hirayama: Or rather, they went out of business about three years ago.

Daniel: Ah, recently.

Eiki Hirayama: Recently, recently.

Daniel: In 2006, something…

Eiki Hirayama: I think the owner said they fell down the stairs, got injured, and quit. Yeah. Uh, oh, Miniature Park. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, there are various manufacturers, but the one I thought was the coolest was this Italian manufacturer called Pegaso.

Daniel: Ah, I’ve heard of them.

Eiki Hirayama: There’s this manufacturer, and I was specializing in them, and Andrea Miniatures is also a top manufacturer, so I thought if I had Pegaso and Andrea, I’d be fine, but then Miniature Park became the official distributor for Pegaso and Andrea.

Daniel: So there’s competition.

Eiki Hirayama: I realized that licenses were important after all. Well, anyway, I gave up on the historical side and focused on Warhammer, and Warmachine was also popular at the time. Warmachine started in 1999. And more than half of the people who played Warhammer were definitely playing Warmachine too.

Daniel: So, at that time…

Eiki Hirayama: So I thought I definitely had to have that too. So, with those two mainstays, Warhammer and Warmachine, I started the store in 2006.

What was the ratio of in-store sales to online sales, and how has that changed?

Eiki Hirayama: Let’s see.

Daniel: At first.

Eiki Hirayama: What was it like? I think online sales were higher from the beginning. And the reason for that is, at that time, around the same time as me, in 2006, 2005, the Japanese branch office was established, so it became easier to handle things, and a lot of people started businesses at the same time.

Daniel: Ah, I see. It became official, so it seemed easier to handle.

Eiki Hirayama: Before that, it wasn’t clear who the point of contact was.

Daniel: It was kind of a gray market.

Eiki Hirayama: There was a wholesaler in Osaka, but I didn’t know about it. Yeah. And, uh, there were a lot of people who started at the same time as me, or a year or two later, but for some reason, no one was interested in e-commerce.

Daniel: I see.

Eiki Hirayama: I don’t understand why.

Daniel: Or rather, it wasn’t well established.

Eiki Hirayama: Was I the only one doing online sales properly?

Daniel: Around 2006.

Eiki Hirayama: That’s right. And the official website was also English-only at that time. Well, it still is, but being English-only made the official site’s hurdle very high for players to access.

Daniel: That would be true.

Eiki Hirayama: And, uh, well, we were the only ones who could do online sales properly, so we had a semi-monopoly. So, of course, we had in-store sales too, but the website was doing well from the start.

Daniel: I see. I recall that you were in a different location before, right?

Eiki Hirayama: Uh, we moved twice. Twice.

Daniel: Second floor.

Eiki Hirayama: At first, we were on the fourth floor of a much smaller building, and from there we moved to a street-level store and hired one staff member, but that didn’t work out, so we moved to the third and fourth floors of this building.

Daniel: This building, the current building, right. Yes.

Eiki Hirayama: So, we’ve moved three times, one, two, three times.

Daniel: So, what are the hurdles to doing business in Japan, or what’s difficult about it?

Eiki Hirayama: I think it’s actually easy to do business in Japan. Easy, yeah. Because the population is dense.

Daniel: That’s true.

Eiki Hirayama: It’s probably more densely populated than Europe. Yes. And, uh, there are still gaps to be exploited. In local businesses. That’s why they’re still popping up.

Daniel: Yes. Hobby shops and such.

Eiki Hirayama: I think there’s still room. And also, the internet environment is better than in other countries, and the environment for online sales is well established. Shipping costs are lower than in other countries.

Daniel: Domestic shipping costs.

Eiki Hirayama: Domestic shipping costs are low. They’re going up a bit now, but I think they’re still on the low side. And it’s fast.

Daniel: That’s true.

Eiki Hirayama: Now, anywhere in Japan except Hokkaido, it usually arrives the next day.

Daniel: That’s right, yes.

Eiki Hirayama: I don’t think that’s possible in America.

Daniel: You would have to allow about a week.

Eiki Hirayama: I don’t think it’s that smooth in Europe either. Yes. Well, that’s how it is. And also, uh, let’s see, a lot of stores have opened in the last 2 or 3 years.

Daniel: Why is that?

Eiki Hirayama: The Japanese branch office is working very hard, and there’s the effect of Hachette.

Daniel: You mean the magazine.

Eiki Hirayama: Yes. And I think rather than completely new stores, it’s often existing hobby shops that are branching out into Warhammer, like card shops and such.

Daniel: Kind of like cross-overs, branching out.

Eiki Hirayama: I think there are a lot of cases like that, and the sales people at the Japanese branch office are really pushing it.

Daniel: I see.

Eiki Hirayama: The young people there are really focusing on e-commerce from the start. So they’re a big rival.

Daniel: I see. So it’s easier for older people.

Eiki Hirayama: That’s the feeling. So, in my generation, there was only me, but the young people now are truly digital natives.

Daniel: I see.

Eiki Hirayama: They’re e-commerce oriented from the start. They understand the importance of putting effort into e-commerce. The older generation didn’t even think about putting effort into e-commerce because they weren’t even aware of it, and they don’t know how to do it, but the young people now, they understand.

What kind of impact do you think 3D printers will have on this industry?

Eiki Hirayama: You know, I thought this would be the end of us. Actually, 3D printers are getting better and better. First of all, there’s Kingdom Death, right?

Daniel: Is that 3D…?

Eiki Hirayama: It’s a company built on 3D printers. I see. So, since that came out, maybe about 10 years ago, I’ve been thinking that this industry is in trouble.

Daniel: But to be short-sighted, to say it’s built on 3D printers…

Eiki Hirayama: Their first mass production models were all made with 3D printers.

Daniel: Not just the shape, but the actual product. Yes, yes, yes.

Eiki Hirayama: Yes, and they were using the most high-end 3D printers at the time. I heard they were using a model that cost 6 million yen per unit.

Daniel: Well, to sell to the public, you have to use something that expensive, right? 

Eiki Hirayama: Even so, it’s still a big hurdle for individuals to own that kind of machine. And they’re not very flexible, and there’s a lot of know-how involved. So you can’t buy that machine just because you want one bolter for a Space Marine, and you have to be proficient in the software, and you have to be proficient in the hardware. So I feel like it will take a long time for it to become more of a commodity. It’ll be used a lot more upstream, not by the average customer.

Daniel: Upstream.

Eiki Hirayama: Yeah. For example, I see it on my Twitter timeline, but I don’t really know the details, but Hot Goblin, that manufacturer, they’re completely doing that, right? I think the competition in that area will be fierce. Because it’s not just 3D printers, but also the AI that can output 3D model data in Blender format.

Daniel: I see. It creates a Blender file.

Eiki Hirayama: Once you can do that, the barrier to entry is zero. The upstream people will be in trouble.

How will independent stores deal with 3D Printing? 

Eiki Hirayama: I have to study it a lot. I have to become proficient in Blender, and I have to be able to handle the hardware. So I don’t think I need to worry too much about the end users for now. If you want to make it cost-effective, you have to become semi-professional and make about 100 guns and sell them.

Daniel: I see. And there’s also the IP issue.

Eiki Hirayama: Right. So it’s a gray market business. So, for now, if I were to say whether we’re going to get involved or not, it’s all or nothing, and we’re going with nothing.

Anything Else?

Eiki Hirayama: So, the tables are always available now.

Daniel: Yes, you can play for free on Wednesday and Friday, and you can play for a long time on weekends for 1,000 yen.

Eiki Hirayama: That’s right. And when the staff member on Monday wants to play games, he will play until after the store closes.

Daniel: Wow! Talk about diligence!

Eiki Hirayama: Yeah. He plays until the last train.

Daniel: Until the last train, that’s amazing. Thank you very much Eiki!