Japanese Cigarettes? Need Help!

[69monaro]

I'm trying to find a pack of Alphabet (or HRC) cigarettes. They have a distinctive side slide box and are made by Japan Tobacco (JT).

Here is a link:
http://www.shibuyabunka.com/img/cult...1140748195.jpg

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
69 Monaro

 

[dtmt]

Funny, I was just telling people about these on another forum. Other than actually going to Japan, the only place to buy them would be small independent import shop, but it won't be cheap. Japan is increasingly importing American cigarettes rather than producing themselves, so I wouldn't expect any official exports anytime soon. Googling "japanese cigarettes" yields this result: http://www.buyjap.com/

 

[69monaro]

I saw that website also. The only thing is that there is no information about the company at all. I started to wonder if it is a real company or just some sort of scam.

Thanks for the input. I may have to see if someone from Japan can score me some and ship them over.

Cheers,

69 Monaro

 

[injung]

If you live near LA, little tokyo shops often have japanese cigarettes, although no guarantees about the selection (I was able to get seven stars there)

 

[dtmt]

Originally Posted by injung

If you live near LA, little tokyo shops often have japanese cigarettes, although no guarantees about the selection (I was able to get seven stars there)

Seven stars/mild sevens do have official distributors in the US though, and the seem to be fairly common at most smoke shops.

In order to import other brands legally, there would probably be a lot of hassle and expense to get all the tariffs and such paid. Considering nobody knows about "alphabet" cigarettes here, it's probably not worth the trouble for most stores. You could probably get away with doing it illegally as long as you don't sell too many of them, which is probably what that website is doing, and why they're charging $10/pack.

 

[geoff]

Wow, 10 bucks for a pack... Plus the estimated 15 dollars for flat rate shipping.

Seems like quite a rip, especially when the pack is a maximum of $2.73 RETAIL here.

If they were actually getting these wholesale, they'd be making one hell of a profit.

I don't smoke these, so I don't know the price but the maximum I've ever seen is only 320 yen, and most cigarettes are 300 which is equivalent to $2.56


What do you want these for anyway?

 

[69monaro]

Two reasons. The packaging is very unique and I would give it to my brother-in-law who works in advertising. The "slide box" has garnered some press and perhaps won an award or two. Second, I don't mind having some distinctive looking cigarettes around for myself on a cold Oregon day (I'm a social smoker at best).

Geoff, you have a PM.