What to expect from Japanese Pokémon Cards
Quality and design — Japanese Pokémon products are recognized for their amazing print and paper quality while offering stunning visuals.
While newer English Pokémon Cards have adopted the silver border, many still prefer to collect and purchase Japanese cards as they believe that they can hold a higher value over time.
Print runs tend to be shorter for Japanese prints as they release new sets more frequently, making them less available over time than English products that now have a release cycle of 3 months.
Difference between English and Japanese Pokémon Cards
Aside from quality and visuals, the main differences are found with Booster Packs and Booster Boxes.
A Japanese Booster Box is seeded to guarantee at least one Secret Rare card in each box — something that isn't the case with English products.
Japanese Booster packs also only contain 5 cards as opposed to 10 (except in special sets) and a Booster Box is comprised of 30 packs instead of 36.
Special Japanese sets are also unique. For example, Vstar Universe had 10 packs per Booster Box, and each pack guaranteed 3 Holo / Reverse Holo cards including one hit per pack.