Card Rush or Yuyu-tei: which is cheaper for Pokémon cards?
The short answer
Yuyu-tei (遊々亭) is usually the cheaper of the two Japanese shops CardMochi reads for Pokémon, but mostly on cheap cards. Of 8,537 cards both shops had in stock on 3 Oct 2026, Yuyu-tei asked less for 55%, the same for 34%, and Card Rush (カードラッシュ) asked less for only 12%. Above ¥3,000 its lead narrows to 47% against 32% for Card Rush, so check both shops before you buy any card over ¥3,000.
This matters to anyone buying Japanese singles, in Japan or through a forwarding service, who wonders whether one shop is always the better bet. CardMochi reads both shops' listings for most Japanese Pokémon cards (12,422 of the 17,687 in our data), version by version, so we can compare like for like.
What we compared
We took every Japanese Pokémon card in our data where both shops list the same card and version, then kept the pairs where both had stock and we read both asks on the same day, 3 Oct 2026. We leave out pairs more than three times apart, as a guard against matching two different versions. That drops 108 pairs, all cards under ¥500 where Yuyu-tei is over three times cheaper; with them back in, Yuyu-tei is still cheaper for 55%. That leaves 8,537 pairs.
These are asking prices, what each shop charges, not what cards sell for; on Yahoo! Auctions, cards close at a median 65% of the ask (our study). How we tell versions apart is in our version guide.
Yuyu-tei wins on cheap cards
| Lower ask of the two | Cards | Yuyu-tei cheaper | Same price | Card Rush cheaper | Median Yuyu-tei ÷ Card Rush |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under ¥500 | 6,801 | 53% | 37% | 10% | 0.79 |
| ¥500 to ¥2,999 | 1,298 | 68% | 18% | 14% | 0.87 |
| ¥3,000 to ¥29,999 | 363 | 47% | 21% | 31% | 1.00 |
| ¥30,000 or more | 75 | 44% | 19% | 37% | 1.00 |
| All | 8,537 | 55% | 34% | 12% | 0.88 |
CardMochi data: Card Rush and Yuyu-tei asks for the same card and version, both in stock, read 3 Oct 2026; 108 pairs more than three times apart left out.
Below ¥3,000 Yuyu-tei's median ask is 13% to 21% under Card Rush's. One of each of the 6,801 cards under ¥500 would cost ¥988,930 at Card Rush and ¥732,890 at Yuyu-tei, about a quarter less. Across all 8,537 cards the difference shrinks to 4%: ¥14,079,770 against ¥13,527,250, because the expensive cards carry most of the yen and there the two shops trade places.
The same card number can go either way. The Pokemon 151 Pikachu (ピカチュウ) from our version guide asked ¥280 plain at Card Rush and ¥120 at Yuyu-tei; its Master Ball mirror asked ¥69,800 at Card Rush and ¥79,800 at Yuyu-tei.
Above ¥3,000, check both
Among the 438 pairs where the lower ask is ¥3,000 or more, the median gap is zero, but where the shops differ on a chase card the gap can reach ¥25,000 or more. Some examples from 3 Oct:
| Card | Card Rush | Yuyu-tei | Cheaper by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Umbreon VMAX (ブラッキーVMAX), Eevee Heroes | ¥528,000 | ¥598,000 | ¥70,000 at Card Rush |
| Pikachu ex SAR (ピカチュウex), Super Electric Breaker | ¥69,800 | ¥79,800 | ¥10,000 at Card Rush |
| Mega Rayquaza ex (メガレックウザex), Storm Emeralda | ¥94,800 | ¥69,800 | ¥25,000 at Yuyu-tei |
Umbreon VMAX was the biggest yen gap in Card Rush's favour; Mega Rayquaza ex, among the biggest in Yuyu-tei's. Neither shop is consistently cheaper on chase cards.
Stock: Yuyu-tei more often has it
Price only matters if the card is there. Of the 12,422 Japanese Pokémon card versions both shops list, both had stock on 3 Oct for 8,645. Only Yuyu-tei had it for 2,551, only Card Rush for 682, and neither for 544. If one shop is sold out, it is more likely to be Card Rush.
Shipping changes the small orders
Yuyu-tei's standard delivery (おまかせ便) is free anywhere in Japan, from a single card ("全国一律 送料無料", its FAQ); choosing a time slot or cash on delivery costs extra. Card Rush charges by thickness for ゆうパケット (Yu-Packet): ¥180 up to 1 cm, ¥230 to 2 cm and ¥320 to 3 cm, per its information page. For a ¥120 card, that ¥180 is more than the card. On a ¥60,000 card it doesn't matter.
For a buyer abroad, both shops mean a forwarder. Card Rush doesn't ship overseas itself but takes orders sent to a forwarding company, with no returns for change of mind. Yuyu-tei's FAQ says it doesn't ship overseas, and we couldn't find whether it accepts a forwarder's address; ask before you order. Either way, the forwarder's fees come on top.
One Piece
One Piece gets its own comparison later. On 3 Oct most One Piece cards above ¥500 were out of stock at Yuyu-tei, so for now we could only compare cheap ones.
What this means for you
If you're filling a binder with commons and cheap rares: start at Yuyu-tei. It asks less on most cheap Pokémon cards and ships free in Japan. From abroad, check that Yuyu-tei will take your forwarder's address first.
If you're buying a chase card: check both on the day. Above ¥3,000 the cheaper shop changes card by card, and a single gap can be tens of thousands of yen. Each CardMochi card page shows the cheapest Japanese shop ask, with buttons to search both shops.
Valuing a binder? The collection tracker uses the cheaper shop's ask for a near-mint copy each day, so this post's shop gap is already in its total. A sale would fetch about two thirds of that (our study).
Method and limits
- Asking prices at Card Rush and Yuyu-tei for Japanese-language cards, read by CardMochi's scanner on 3 Oct 2026; both shops in stock, same-day reads only. Not sales.
- A shop can hold several copies of a card at different conditions (for example 状態A- or 傷あり). We compare the listing our scanner matched to each card and version, not every copy the shop holds.
- 108 pairs more than three times apart were left out as a guard against version mismatches. All are cheap cards where Yuyu-tei is far cheaper, so the cut, if anything, understates Yuyu-tei's lead.
- Shipping, payment fees and forwarding costs aren't in the comparison. Shipping terms are from the shops' own pages, read through search results on 4 Oct 2026.
Sources
- CardMochi data file card-rush-vs-yuyu-tei-2026-10-04: 8,537 Pokémon card-and-version pairs in stock at both shops, with each shop's ask, read on 3 Oct 2026.
- Card Rush (Pokémon), listings: cardrush-pokemon.jp; shipping by ゆうパケット and returns: information page; forwarding companies: help page.
- Yuyu-tei, Pokémon singles: yuyu-tei.jp/top/poc; free shipping: FAQ 116 and おまかせ便; no overseas shipping: FAQ 272.
Researched with AI tools, checked and edited by the CardMochi team. Prices are Japanese shop asking prices on the date shown. About CardMochi · How we price