Difficult decision...

[Bonobo]

[..]

There are more stores in Europe.

[..]

FWIW, there also Yellow Mountain Imports’ eBay outlet which also ships to Europe, and (IMHO) for reasonable S&H: http://www.ebay.de/usr/ymimports?rt=nc (if this doesn't go to the European ebay page for your country just search for “ymimports”).

I just ordered this set there for our village Go club, for some variety since it was my birthday since I cannot find a source for Ing stones <plink plink>

Yunzi Double Convex Stones and Jujube Kitani Bowls - 9.2mm (Size 33)

[LifeIn9x9]

Kuroki Blossom grade 32 compared to Aoyama Moon grade 32, which for both companies is the middle grade, is 50.000 yen to ...

Here is another Tokyo-based shop, though they are sold out of the size you are looking for:

http://igo-shogi.game.coocan.jp/

I am planning on listing for sale a pair of Kusu bowls from KGT in the near future, that are in line with your budget, once I can find them and photograph them. They have been out of stock for a while at KGT, so not planning on offering a discount over the original pricing, as they are in excellent condition... something to consider.

[Babelardus]

Kuroki Blossom grade 32 compared to Aoyama Moon grade 32, which for both companies is the middle grade, is 50.000 yen to ...

Here is another Tokyo-based shop, though they are sold out of the size you are looking for:

http://igo-shogi.game.coocan.jp/

I am planning on listing for sale a pair of Kusu bowls from KGT in the near future, that are in line with your budget, once I can find them and photograph them. They have been out of stock for a while at KGT, so not planning on offering a discount over the original pricing, as they are in excellent condition... something to consider.

Thanks for mentioning the shop. My preferred size would be 31-34 (my current stones are 31), with 32 as the number one option. I would like to avoid size 31 and 33 if possible, because I don't know where I could get a few spare stones. Mr. Kuroki only sells 32 and 34. And getting 32 over 34 is obviously a price consideration.

When choosing between Jitsuyo and Moon grade, I'd go for the Moon grade because it sits in the middle of the spectrum, and because (according to Erythen on this board) they're stronger because they have more and straighter grain.

[Blue Three]

You already seem to have made your decision/ordered, so i guess this isn't really necessary, but another pretty well-respected store is Oishi Tengudo in Kyoto. Below their catalog.

http://www.tengudo.jp/go/images/catalog.pdf

They do show some of their stuff on their English site, but as you can see, the English is an abomination. Thing is you can't really expect more than that in Japan. Oftentimes the biggest stores won't be able to help you in anything other than Japanese, so I'm not surprised that something as niche as a Go shop doesn't seem to cope too well. It's very possible that none of the people at Kuroki speak English themselves and have an acquaintance translate e-mails for them. I doubt they'd pay a professional for that, so it's probably dependent on whenever their contact has some time to spare.

As other members have already written, these people are artisans/craftsmen. They're proud of their work and will gladly show you around. As impractical as it may sound, at the end of the day the best way to shop would be to actually visit in person and look at the products yourself (and then have them send it). Ideally take someone with you that can translate for you. If you can't speak Japanese yourself, it's going to be exceedingly difficult to convey exactly what it is you want without a middleman.

I assume you sent your e-mail in English and of course there's nothing wrong with that at all (especially considering Kuroki have an English language site themselves), but I know enough people who would go the extra mile and get someone to translate their e-mails prior. Just to avoid mistakes, you know. It's no good if later on you find out that there's been a misunderstanding and that you'll have to send a heavy Go table back to Japan because you got x instead of y. No doubt the decision is going to be easier too if you can actually hold the stones in your hand.

My own experiences have only been good. They're all friendly, helpful and appreciative. Then again I speak the language. I could very well imagine that if, as a customer, you come in speaking fast English and give the impression of wanting much for few, possibly even heckle/ask them to give discount, they're going to be somewhat less, uh... enthused. Not trying to be overly negative here, but you kinda have to meet them halfway, if you know what I mean.
Personally, I don't think Kuroki or Oishi would treat any customer that way, but you never know. It's the unfortunate reality that recently many Japanese retailers are making bad experiences with often rude, newly-rich Chinese tourists, who come in droves and buy half their place out in a binge, only to sell the things at a higher price back at home. Not Go shops in particular of course, but it's a thing that happens. Not everyone is happy about that. Then again Oishi on their blog actually invite tourists to go on a binge.

What surprises me is that even though Kuroki are clearly willing enough to sell abroad to have someone with proper knowledge of the language translate the website for them, their response to you was as slow. Because yes, three weeks is indeed slow.

In any case, the actual products Kuroki sell are absolute top-notch, but Oishi's worth consideration as well. The actual buying part just can be an inconvenience sometimes.

[Babelardus]

New ongoing review/picture thread of the equipment I'm receiving as a result of this thread

[Babelardus]

Hi Blue Three,

As other members have already written, these people are artisans/craftsmen. They're proud of their work and will gladly show you around. As impractical as it may sound, at the end of the day the best way to shop would be to actually visit in person and look at the products yourself (and then have them send it). Ideally take someone with you that can translate for you. If you can't speak Japanese yourself, it's going to be exceedingly difficult to convey exactly what it is you want without a middleman.

Not possible. I'm halfway around the world in another country

I assume you sent your e-mail in English and of course there's nothing wrong with that at all (especially considering Kuroki have an English language site themselves), but I know enough people who would go the extra mile and get someone to translate their e-mails prior.

Sometimes that would be best. If I was buying stuff costing thousands of dollars, OK... but I think in this case, that would be over the top.

My own experiences have only been good. They're all friendly, helpful and appreciative. Then again I speak the language. I could very well imagine that if, as a customer, you come in speaking fast English and give the impression of wanting much for few, possibly even heckle/ask them to give discount, they're going to be somewhat less, uh... enthused. Not trying to be overly negative here, but you kinda have to meet them halfway, if you know what I mean.

I know exactly what you mean. My e-mail was therefore short, and to the point, in English as easy as I could make it. I stated the products I wished to buy by providing links to their own website, and I also provided links to the sets in which these products had discounts. Then I asked if Mr. Kuroki would consider applying those discounts to my set as well.

(In the end, that set would still have been more expensive than Mr. Kuroki's pre-made sets.)

What surprises me is that even though Kuroki are clearly willing enough to sell abroad to have someone with proper knowledge of the language translate the website for them, their response to you was as slow. Because yes, three weeks is indeed slow.

I think that this is a pity. Mr. Kuroki seems to be the only seller that is also a manufacturer, and he has a good website in good English. He must have noticed that he has a good name outside of Japan. I, if it were me, would certainly get someone working for me who'd be able to answer questions in English.

If Mr. Kuroki's store would have answered the e-mail a few days earlier, I may have just bought the board, stones and bowls at his place, as he seems to have agreed to the requested discount. Alas, I decided to go the European route for the board (and bowls for my cheaper set) just a day before I received the answer, to save on shipping costs and taxes. While I'm quite patient in most matters, e-mailing back and forth at a speed of one e-mail per three weeks is a bit too much.

I could go for European stones as well, but the only ones obtainable here are Jitsuyo at prices for which I can get Moon/Blossom grade in Japan (even including taxes), or Yuki stones costing over €1000 if going for anything bigger than size 30. I'm going to wait and see if Aoyama responds, as they have the best price/grade/thickness of stones at the moment, as far as I could find.

PS: The English on Oishi's website is actually good enough for me. In Japan they should just stop using Kanji, and write everything phonetically, using the Western alphabet, or Hiragana. I possibly know enough words or be able to translate enough to be able to read the most important parts

PS2: Oishi also doesn't list any moon grade stones. It seems they're dying out everywhere. However, with the Yuki stones, they are in the same price range as Aoyama; their Yuki stones are less expensive than Mr. Kuroki's Blossom grade stones.

[Blue Three]

Not possible. I'm halfway around the world in another country

I know. It wasn't a serious suggestion. It would only make sense if you were planning to go on a trip anyway and could wait a bit for your new set. Like... I definitely want one that's better than the one I got now, but that's gonna cost me more than I can throw at my hobby at this moment with good conscience. I don't the think the wife would be too excited having to live off Cup Noodles for a month or two in exchange for nice-looking goishi.

While I'm quite patient in most matters, e-mailing back and forth at a speed of one e-mail per three weeks is a bit too much.

Oh, I can totally understand that. I too want my stuff when I want my stuff.