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Japanese Nintendo 3DS Import Thread | Brand New 3D, Same Old Region Lock

I've never really gone far beyond kana since I end up getting sidetracked or slacking off... But with kana, standard memorization techniques are what I used. Practiced writing them, recalling them and just drilled them in general. Personally, I just used a chart and went from there, though lol.

For kana, the lessons/drills here seem decent, though. At the end of the day, I think it's just a matter of figuring out how you best deal with committing them to memory.

Yeah hiranaga and katakana is best learned with memorization. Kanji is a whole nother story...
 

Garou

Member
It most likely errored out because ー isn't a Furigana, just use another Hiragana there. In the Kanji-field you just need to make sure to use full-width characters, so ABC instead of ABC.
 

mrback

Member
I did also have quite a bit of trouble getting the names to go through on the japanese club nintendo form. It was the hiragana bit that tripped me up. managed to get something close to my name in the end & it accepted it, took about 20 attempts though! Just finished LBW what a fantastic game, wish it was a bit longer though. Thinking of going for Luigis mansion next, anyone else had the japan version? is it import friendly? thanks for any help. any other recommendations?
 
Picked up my package from the customs office today. Metallic Black New 3DS LL. I think I'll start with Bravely Default after I set everything up.

img_20141023_133836520eczs.jpg
 

kubus

Member
You are a wonderful human being. I figured it out thanks to your translation and Daan's radio silence! When I said I tried Parental Controls, I'd poked around in there but there was nothing to do because I never enabled them. So I ended up enabling them, turning off all restrictions, going through the remove filter process again (I didn't have to pay twice!) and it asked me to enter my pin and brought me to a menu where I could choose whether or not to enable the filter. Turned it off, wiped my parental controls settings and I'm all good. Hooray, now I can view NeoGAF on a browser that's 10 times worse than my iPhone 6 Plus (but slightly better than the one on my US 3DS!). Hah. Thanks again, this thread has been a blast.
Haha, glad to hear it! :D

--

My Tenso account finally got approved, now I just have to wait till my amazon order arrives there. Hopefully I didn't screw up the address :p. I only just noticed that Tenso ships using EMS Express (or at least it looks that way), that's pretty nifty. Hopefully I don't have to wait too long for my case and screen filter to arrive.

Also regarding the confusion about katakana/hiragana input in the Club Nintendo registration, I might have to edit the guide in the OP for that part to make it more helpful, haha. Sorry about that.
 

Halabane

Member
just put in a large order with amazon going thru tenso...so I am a bit nervous...never used tenso or ems

by the way Tenso will confirm your address is entered correctly...just sent them a copy of what you put in. So far they have been nice...see if they saves me money from play asia
 

Impotaku

Member
The main thing when using Amazon via Tenso is to try and get everything ordered together so they arrive in one parcel to avoid consolidation fees. If it's been shipped by Amazon then they usually put them all together in one box, but if it's from a marketplace seller then usually they all ship separate unless one of the sellers has chosen to have the order fulflled by Amazon then you can order it with other items from Amazon and have them all arrive together.

The consolidation fee isn't super expensive for one or 2 parcels but if you have 10 separate items it can mount up very quickly & become pricy. The other issue is weight, all of Tenso's fees are based on weight so the heavier the item then the more that they will charge in fees and more EMS shipping will cost.

I tend to not order single items but wait till there's a few things i want and put an order in then, so far i have yet to have a major problem with them. Tenso always deals with my stuff pretty fast. Once you have access to all of Amazon it's hard going back to other import places nowdays i rarely use anywhere else now, there are items on there that you simply wont find available at most places plus i love been able to have access to food and kitchen stuff as well hehe.

All of the games sold by Amazon are the Japanese retail cost of buying so you get the best deal, it's either retail or lower. If it goes out of stock then you usually see the marketplace seller prices and thats when the prices go up. I have literally found DS games that were going for nearly £80 on play asia/ebay that i could find on Amazon for £30-£40

On my recent N3DS parcel i saved quite a bit as Amazon reduced the prices on quite a few faceplates & refunded me the difference. Combine that with the fact that i was paying retail for everything & i got no customs bill made it a very good deal. Lol i sound like a total shill for Tenso but i have been really impressed with them so far i wish i had found them years ago.
 
Man, I am so blown away by the quality of the New 3DS. It's a shame that NOA doesn't plan to market it until next year. The screen is so crisp and the head-tracking 3D is amazing. I tried out the C-stick with the BioHazard Revelations demo and it functions perfectly. The ZL/ZR button feel a little strange to use, but I'm sure I'll get used to them.

So US credit cards are not an issue, right? I'll keep my fingers crossed as I plan buy 3000 to 5000 points tonight to purchase several Virtual Console games. I'm tempted to get some of the Sega 3D Classics too, but I'm trying to wait for the cartridge release in December.

Damn region locking to hell, I wish I could play Fantasy Life on this tomorrow instead of my XL!
 

Halabane

Member
The main thing when using Amazon via Tenso is to try and get everything ordered together so they arrive in one parcel to avoid consolidation fees.

Glad to hear of success with using them. EMS is an unknown to me. I intentionally put it in two orders because of the value of things. I figured I would ensure the heck out of the expensive stuff and let the other one go a bit. Probably dumb but it was late at night thinking. :) Even with shipping two orders I saved a lot of money from playasia...who I still like those guys its just pricey as heck.

Any other advice when I fill out the forms on Tenso's site???

This is all because of my new 3ds and now everyone here wants in!

Txs!
 

Halabane

Member
I have a sealed copy of Dragon Quest VII on my desk. I'm hesitant to open it and try to play through with an English FAQ for the PSX release.

We have some japanese capability here between a couple of us and its a tough one. Mechanically its a DQ game but I recall the menu's were not like the ps version (They added a line or two to the menus if I recall) so that may initially cause you some issues and finding the shards could be tough without knowing who to talk to.

But the pics of the items are there. We had started it with the idea of writing a guide for it. Maybe this winter we will get back to it if my more gifted japanese reader friend is up for it. Essentially just try to adapt the ps version. I wonder if prima ior someone has a jpn guide book for it?
 

Impotaku

Member
RPG's in Japanese can be pretty hardcore for language difficulty, some are easier to get along with than others. Ones made by Level 5 seem to be easier as they at least have furigana most of the time above the kanji although i struggled with ninokuni on ds some of the puzzles in the book took quite a bit of work to figure out even with readings on the kanji and the game demands you type in the answers. I like how more and more 3DS games nowdays are using the furigana on the kanji makes learning so much easier as you can see why they chose that particular reading of a kanji the sentance you are reading.

I remember taking a risk on DQ IX i spotted it on ebay for 80p luckily hardly anyone bid so i got it for just under £2 at that price it was worth risking in Japanese, i must admit i did struggle as some of the clues about what to do next went right above my head. Once you have some Japanese under your belt though it liberates you from been told what you can & can't play just because you were born in the wrong country.

Hooray for internet shopping, the entire world is my store :)
 

StayDead

Member
Once you have some Japanese under your belt though it liberates you from been told what you can & can't play just because you were born in the wrong country.

This was quite possibly the most amazing thing for me. Also in terms of RPGs it'llm be hard at first and depending on what it is it'll stay hard for a long time, but if you use them to study then you'll soon start to learn the words that always come up in certain series (like how they name certain objects) and overall it'll be a very good learning experience if you let it be.
 

Halabane

Member
ix is one of my favorites but I did play it english. It was a ds game but it had a spot pass kind of capability. I remember going to PAX and collecting missions. Man that was a great game.
 

yankee666

Member
Well well well... This was a nice surprise!
I'm gonna set up the system now and try to write some more guides for the OP. After that I will do the data transfer. Probably won't be able to toy it with until tomorrow, but that's okay. I'm just really glad it finally arrived.
Im glad that you finally received it!!!!.
Im still waiting for mine, EMS tracking says it held at customs since the 20th but i have no notification yet from the postal service.
Things here are worst that i imagine since last year when i imported my Jap WiiU. :(
 

Impotaku

Member
Playing games is indeed a good way of learning Japanese despite what the internet says, you just have to remember the Japanese you learn from games can't always be used in a normal conversation as the vocabulary and grammar of some games is pretty odd.

However because games are interactive and engage your interest while you're playing you'll also learn & remember words a lot more. Playing cooking mama games taught me a lot of food words and cooking terminology which i then used in other games, for example i'm currenty playing fantasy life, playing the cooks life i am able to have no problems working out the ingredients for recipes thanks to mama teaching me hehe.
 

Halabane

Member
"Im still waiting for mine, EMS tracking says it held at customs since the 20th but i have no notification yet from the postal service.
Things here are worst that i imagine since last year when i imported my JPN WiiU. :("

This is my fear. Why can't tenso use fedex? Are you in the states or ?
 

Halabane

Member
However because games are interactive and engage your interest while you're playing you'll also learn & remember words a lot more. Playing cooking mama games taught me a lot of food words and cooking terminology which i then used in other games, for example i'm currenty playing fantasy life, playing the cooks life i am able to have no problems working out the ingredients for recipes thanks to mama teaching me hehe.

I thought fantasy life would be too much to try. Cooking mama is a good idea. We found that Animal Crossing had the same effect...nice short sentences, plenty of clues and no real damage if your are wrong.
 

yankee666

Member
"Im still waiting for mine, EMS tracking says it held at customs since the 20th but i have no notification yet from the postal service.
Things here are worst that i imagine since last year when i imported my JPN WiiU. :("

This is my fear. Why can't tenso use fedex? Are you in the states or ?

My order was from Nippon -Yassan and it was shipped on the 14th.
Ive also made another order from them with FedEx and that one i cannot even made a clearance from customs so they will return it to nippon in about a month.

I live in Argentina BTW
 
装甲悪鬼村正;135550465 said:
Picked up my package from the customs office today. Metallic Black New 3DS LL. I think I'll start with Bravely Default after I set everything up.

img_20141023_133836520eczs.jpg

Post some pics of the black console? Can't seem to find video of it online.
 

Halabane

Member
My order was from Nippon -Yassan and it was shipped on the 14th.
Ive also made another order from them with FedEx and that one i cannot even made a clearance from customs so they will return it to nippon in about a month.

I live in Argentina BTW

That is awful. I am in the US and so far all my imports from JPN via FedEx have been smooth. It sounds like its a customs thing in general for you local? I seem to recall that games in SA in general are incredibly expensive compared to NA, guessing maybe customs looks harder at games import. Hope it gets done for you soon and you forget quick because your having so much fun with the new toys!
 
From a busyness stand point Nintendo did a good job with the 2 models and it's exclusive features.

Watching the Blue LL, it is instantly clear how it is the premium model just beyond the large screen size, it's rather apparent it is oriented to other market segment. The face buttons aren't so toy like and the glossy finish for the exterior (even with all of it's draw backs) is quite eye catching. The blue one i think is more striking than the Black because of how much it reflects the light. It doesn't have that "cheap electronics" vibe of the other models.
 

dhlt25

Member
Looks like Toushin Toshi is not a good starting point for my first time with Japanese game lol. I can understand most of the conversation when there's VO but my kanji knowledge is abysmal. The super tiny character with all the stroke muddle together for complicated kanji doesn't help either.
 

Halabane

Member
" The face buttons aren't so toy like" opinions vary but you do know where those button colors come from? Its the reason many folks got it.
 

Impotaku

Member
It was one of the big factors why i went for the smaller version that along with the faceplates. Already have an XL so i didn't want another.

Always loved the SF pad and it's logo/buttons. I hope one day Nintendo or some 3rd party make a SF faceplate.
tumblr_lrlxrzSwXd1qhgn7k.jpg
 

ramyeon

Member
If premium means a fingerprint-ridden glossy surface I'll stick with non-premium matte any day.
Seriously. I wish companies would stop making electronics with glossy finishes. They look good straight out of the box but then terrible as soon as they're actually used.
 

kubus

Member
Im glad that you finally received it!!!!.
Im still waiting for mine, EMS tracking says it held at customs since the 20th but i have no notification yet from the postal service.
Things here are worst that i imagine since last year when i imported my Jap WiiU. :(
Man that sucks :(. Can't you call them or something and ask why it's taking so long? I've had a few cases where customs would hold a package for over 2 weeks for no reason at all. It's so random and annoying.

--

Well both amazon orders arrived at Tenso (the case was from a marketplace seller and the screen filter was fulfilled by amazon) and I've just requested package consolidation. Usage fee comes down to ~€20. Still pretty expensive, but hopefully I'll get the items soon. I can see this Tenso+Amazon JP combo becoming a threat for my wallet soon... Already caught myself browsing Kino no Tabi novels...

BTW what do people think of Gaist Crusher?
 

Impotaku

Member
From what i have heard gaist crusher heavily relies on the toys to get the most from it not sure how much content you'll get with the base game although i see that one of them is going for like 300 yen at the moment so might be worth a risk. I'm sure there are loads of the gaist toys on amazon if you felt like going for it.
 

kubus

Member
From what i have heard gaist crusher heavily relies on the toys to get the most from it not sure how much content you'll get with the base game although i see that one of them is going for like 300 yen at the moment so might be worth a risk. I'm sure there are loads of the gaist toys on amazon if you felt like going for it.
There's an ebay auction for the first game ending soon which is now at ~4$ so I was thinking about grabbing it as I could combine shipping with some other games I bought from the same seller. But now I look at amazon.co.jp and I see that the game is going for 300 yen new LOL. Too bad I already applied for consolidation at Tenso, otherwise I would've thrown it in as well. But there's always next time :p.

My import pile is getting bigger and bigger... I'm addicted to buying cheap games from eBay. Just won Medarot Dual Kuwagata and Inazuma Eleven GO Shine for $9 each, and I got Danball Senki Baku Boost a couple of days ago for about the same price. Unfortunately I don't have any time to play those games right now as I got midterms coming up :(. But once those are over I can finally start my Youkai Watch playthrough :D
 

Halabane

Member
BTW what do people think of Gaist Crusher?

Haven't been playing it long but its a very pretty game and the combat is fine. But I do wonder when the toy stuff comes in... It was dirt cheap so I threw it in just to give it a whirl.
 

Halabane

Member
Amazon / Tenso Test is not going well.

Amazon promised delivery by 10/24 and did not make it. I paid a bit extra for that. Right now I have an odd message about changing delivery dates but they don't give me a new date. I bet they tried to deliver it after Tenso working hours.

My guess its on the truck for delivery but Today is Saturday and Tenso I believe is closed. I don't know if they will redelivery or what they will do. Guessing Tenso has had this happen before...I hope they have a way of handling it?

This was the part that I thought was going to be easy. Guess not.

Additionally Amazon broke it up into four orders. Guess it came from different warehouses. So I get to play with combing orders. Probably still split it into two deliveries to keep the overall value down.

Sigh....
 

kubus

Member
BTW what do people think of Gaist Crusher?

Haven't been playing it long but its a very pretty game and the combat is fine. But I do wonder when the toy stuff comes in... It was dirt cheap so I threw it in just to give it a whirl.
Thanks, I just bought it at $8 :). Can't really go wrong at that price.
 
" The face buttons aren't so toy like" opinions vary but you do know where those button colors come from? Its the reason many folks got it.
As an homage to the Super Famicom i presume?

The thing is, the LL model handles this a lot better. The face buttons are a solid color that don't clash with the other ones, but since the labels are in the Super Fami colors, that little throw back is still there for the few that will apreciate it.

More over, for those that want something more "out of the norm" then there's the swapping face plates, so there wasn't much of a need for any compromises. You want something that looks "wacky and playful"? Put an Animal Crossing face plate in there. Want something more sober? Use a solid color one.
If premium means a fingerprint-ridden glossy surface I'll stick with non-premium matte any day.

Seriously. I wish companies would stop making electronics with glossy finishes. They look good straight out of the box but then terrible as soon as they're actually used.
Exactly. "They look good straight out of the box" and i will add it also does so in a display window at the store. When you are making cheap consumer electronics the last thing you want to comunicate the potential buyer is that he is in fact buying a cheap product. The first thing that LL needs to do is catch the person's eye, after the purchase is made it doesn't matter if he or she realises how much of a finger print display was acquired. XD

The Monster Hunter model as well as the Blue one get a lot of attention. Even people that don't know about the 3DS were inquiring to me about them.

There's an important lesson about perception Nintendo should have learned from the GameCube. Some times it seems they do, other's like they dont.
 

Yasawas

Member
I said I wasn't going to do this but it's my birthday soon! And I just got a new job! And I fucking want one dammit.

I'm in the UK. I'm looking at Nippon Yasan's shipping calculator and their transi-logistic option where you pay the fees up front is about £50 and takes a week or a little longer. Fed-Ex takes three days and you don't get charged up front for fees but how does that work exactly - do Fed-Ex deliver it directly to my actual Scottish door then retrospectively bill me for VAT later, or do they just bring it to the UK and leave it with customs who'll spend a week or more sending me a note saying I owe them money before they'll deliver it?
 

kubus

Member
I said I wasn't going to do this but it's my birthday soon! And I just got a new job! And I fucking want one dammit.

I'm in the UK. I'm looking at Nippon Yasan's shipping calculator and their transi-logistic option where you pay the fees up front is about £50 and takes a week or a little longer. Fed-Ex takes three days and you don't get charged up front for fees but how does that work exactly - do Fed-Ex deliver it directly to my actual Scottish door then retrospectively bill me for VAT later, or do they just bring it to the UK and leave it with customs who'll spend a week or more sending me a note saying I owe them money before they'll deliver it?
That's the spirit! I've learned that a New 3DS makes for a perfect birthday gift :) (I ordered mine on my birthday)

Personally I wouldn't bother with the transi-logistic option and just go with either FedEx or EMS Express. Nippon-Yasan are wizards when it comes to packing your items as efficiently and light as possible and they will mark down the value on your package so it slips by customs. So far I haven't heard anyone here say they got a VAT bill from ordering from Nippon-Yasan. My 3DS also went through customs duty-free (I chose EMS).

Also from what I've heard, if you choose FedEx your package will not be delayed in customs, they will deliver it asap and they will only send you a bill later in case you need to pay any customs duties. So that seems like your best option.
 

Yasawas

Member
In the uk Fedex usually deliver to my house then a week or so later you'll get a customs bill.

That's the spirit! I've learned that a New 3DS makes for a perfect birthday gift :) (I ordered mine on my birthday)

Personally I wouldn't bother with the transi-logistic option and just go with either FedEx or EMS Express. Nippon-Yasan are wizards when it comes to packing your items as efficiently and light as possible and they will mark down the value on your package so it slips by customs. So far I haven't heard anyone here say they got a VAT bill from ordering from Nippon-Yasan. My 3DS also went through customs duty-free (I chose EMS).

Also from what I've heard, if you choose FedEx your package will not be delayed in customs, they will deliver it asap and they will only send you a bill later in case you need to pay any customs duties. So that seems like your best option.

I order with Nippon Yasan and goods are delivered directly with vat/custom fees arriving some weeks later in the mail, now Nippon Yasan do mark down the value of goods on the invoice so vat/customs paid will be minimal, but FedEx do charge an admin fee of around £10 on top of the bill.

Thank you very much! FedEx it is. Now I think of it I remember I used them for importing my DS Lite way back in the day from YesAsia and I'm pretty sure I got away with it then so even if they do get me this time I suppose I can't complain.

I don't get paid until Monday so now I have two whole days to debate regular vs LL. I have a Euro XL and will likely upgrade to another when it launches here so I think I'd rather have the wee Japanese one this time for a change and also I imagine DS games will look downright lovely on it. I can play the second DS Fire Emblem now too, bonus!
 
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