The first step to getting your hands on otaku goodies is to be able to find them, but that is easier said than done – especially considering the language barrier presented by Japanese shopping sites. When using a Japanese site, or a proxy shopping and bidding service like FROM JAPAN, it goes without saying that searching in Japanese will yield the most results. It may seem like a daunting task to start searching in Japanese when you cannot read or write the language, but there are a few tips and tricks that make the process incredibly simple!
In this article, we’ll guide you through how to easily search in Japanese on FROM JAPAN in order to get the most from your otaku shopping!
Finding Japanese Title Names on Wikipedia
Let’s say you want to get your hands on some Demon Slayer goodies and you search for the series in English like the picture below:
The English search term gives us just over 300 results. You may think that’s not too shabby, but let’s compare that to a search using Demon Slayer’s Japanese title:
Just by using the Japanese title instead of the English one, we’ve managed to increase the search results from around 300 to over 31,000! Think of all the awesome Demon Slayer goodies you missed out on by searching just in English… but how do you find the Japanese title if you can’t read Japanese?
One of the easiest ways to find and the Japanese title for anime, manga, and gaming titles is to check the Wikipedia page for that particular series.
Written right next to the bolded text is 鬼滅の刃, the Japanese title for Demon Slayer. In the rare cases where the Japanese title is not written in the opening paragraph, you can switch the article’s language to Japanese (日本語) if the option is there.
With this simple Wikipedia trick, you can find the Japanese titles of all your favorite anime and gaming series, which will make your otaku shopping much easier!
My Figure Collection
My Figure Collection is an online database and community for all things related to Japanese figures and merch. Thousands of figures and other otaku-related goods are documented on My Figure Collection, making it an invaluable source for all types of otaku goods, especially when it comes to searching for a particular product.
On the item page you can see lots of useful information that you can use when searching for merch on FROM JAPAN’s site. By clicking the option for Japanese at the bottom of the listing, you can toggle between Japanese and English.
Now you can use this information in Japanese to help with your searches on FROM JAPAN’s site!
FROM JAPAN’s Find It For Me Service
If you can’t find the item you are looking for, even by using Japanese search terms, try using our special Find It For Me service!
On our Find It For Me page you can set up to five items by entering relevant keywords and details about the items you wish to buy. If there are any results, they will appear on the home page within one business day. In the case that a specific item cannot be found, results may show related items in its place.
Basic Glossary
Below we’ve listed up merch-related words in Japanese that can be combined with your favorite series or character to find tons of awesome otaku goodies!
フィギュア – Figures
ぬいぐるみ – Plushies
缶バッジ – Pin badges
マスコット – Mascots
アクリルスタンド – Acrylic Stands
タペストリー – Tapestries
限定 – Limited-edition
Get in touch with our Customer Service team!
If you’re still struggling to find the item you are looking for, then please contact our multilingual Customer Service team! FROM JAPAN’s Customer Service team are happy to help with any Japanese-language related questions and can help you find the item of your dreams. We hope you have a great time with your otaku shopping on FROM JAPAN!
