Just back from Japan – Jamie Sefton gets over the jetlag and jots down some tips and thoughts about his recent trip…

Anyone who has spent more than five minutes with me will know what a Nintendo fanboy I am. From the welcome at Tokyo’s Narita airport from Super Mario to a fabulous trip to Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios, from a visit to the Fushimi Inari Shinto shrine – the inspiration for Miyamoto’s Star Fox game to getting to see the Nintendo offices in Kyoto – I got my fair fill of Nintendo shrines and temples in Japan.

Whilst there I also got to tour Q-Games meeting Dylan Cuthbert, one of the original Star Fox dev team and creator of games such as X-Scape, PixelJunk Eden and the 3DS version of Star Fox 64 – and watch this space for an online event with them soon. I also got to meet up with old friend and the founder of Video Games Chronicle (VGC) Andy Robinson to discuss all things videogames with Liam Edwards, creator of Cursed to Golf (now living in Kyoto) – and hear about Andy’s stay in the Marufukuro Hotel, the original HQ for Nintendo.

As any fellow gamer or dev would know, no trip to Japan would be complete without a shopping trip or two for game collectables. I found Tokyo to be a bit disappointing in this regard – Kyoto provided a far better range from the Camera shop round the corner from the hotel selling new Switch games, Super Mario toys, Tamagotchis and more, to the fab second-hand shop Furuhon Ichiba Nishjin store discovered by Dr Jackie Mulligan SFIPM (a discovery she later regretted when we were packing our cases for the return journey… I mean who does put a Splatoon water pistol in a case these days?). Book Off stores also provide a great range of retro classics and second-hand games too – the one in Kawaramachi has a good selection and is in the shopping and entertainment district.

Of course, there is more to Japan than videogames. On the trip, my family led me to places that were not pixelated, gamified or virtual in any way – Kawagubichu (Mount Fuji), Hiroshima, Miyajima, Nara and more – I found the boss level Great Buddha at Todai-ji particularly impressive, once you pass through the deer-bowing levels to get there.

The country has an inspiring combination of innovation and automation with tradition and nature – their transport system is also incredible, making the UK and particularly our Northern transport links look shambolic. Innovation is driven by connection, and it really reminded me how important it is to connect, transport is a key part of that. Ideas travel fast in Japan aided by the Bullet Trains no doubt. I will be following up many of the contacts made there for future events. Nature, friendliness, history and connection, Yorkshire and The North has a lot in common with Japan and the Japanese influence on UK culture from fashion to design, is growing. And of course whilst we can’t travel on our trains at 200mph, we do have Game Republic to make those all-important connections in real life.

Anyone interested in visiting the country – if you want an example itinerary ask Jackie, who managed to get the combination of game and non-game activity just about perfect. Happy to share more tips in person with Game Republic and GaMaYo members at GameDevDay on 10th May in Leeds!