Founder’s Story

How Seriously Japan Began

I grew up in the 1990s, like many people who were shaped by anime, games, and Japanese pop culture without fully realising it at the time.

Pokémon, Dragon Ball Z, and Naruto were part of everyday life. As I got older, that interest didn’t disappear — it evolved. Japanese sports cars became another obsession, particularly models from Nissan, Toyota, and Mazda. What started as interest slowly turned into skill.

That path led me into an apprenticeship with Mazda, where I became a qualified light vehicle mechanic. Through working on Japanese engineering every day — and travelling to Japan multiple times — my appreciation for how Japan approaches design, precision, and quality deepened.

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Eventually, I made the decision to move to Japan.

I spent two years studying the Japanese language before working at a marketing solutions company whose primary client was Toyota Motor Corporation. Living and working in Japan wasn’t romanticised — it was practical, demanding, and eye-opening. It taught me how seriously detail, functionality, and long-term thinking are taken in everyday work and manufacturing.

During that time, I began selling Japanese pop-culture items on eBay as a side project. What started casually quickly became something more meaningful. I spent countless hours visiting stores across Japan — not just well-known areas, but local shops, regional towns, and places most visitors never see.

That’s when one thought kept coming back to me:

“I wish I could have been a kid in Japan.”

The toys and collectibles weren’t just visually appealing — they were thoughtfully made. Durable. Functional. Designed with intention. They reflected a level of care that felt very different from what I’d grown up with elsewhere.

I realised how unique Japan’s toy and collectible culture really was — and how limited access to it was outside Japan.

That insight became the foundation for Seriously Japan.

Seriously Japan wasn’t created to chase trends or mass-produce products. It began as a way to share access — to bring the kind of Japanese toys and collectibles I discovered through lived experience to people who value quality, design, and meaning.

What started as a personal journey gradually became a business built on trust, experience, and respect for where these items come from.

Seriously Japan exists because of that journey — and everything we do today is still guided by it.