Do you live in Japan? Do you have a Tsutaya membership card?
Tsutaya is the biggest video-rental (I guess I should call it DVD rental now) chain in Japan.
It’s kinda like Blockbuster Video in America. (Is Blockbuster still in America? Is it still popular?)
I’ve had a membership card with Tsutaya for years now…ever since the one near my house opened.
I don’t remember what they have at Blockbuster Video in America (I don’t recall anything except videos)…but Tsutaya in Japan has rental DVDs (used to be VHS), and rental CDs (in Japan, you can rent a CD after it’s been on sale for one year (it used to be rental LPs and cassettes!)), and many branches of Tsutaya also sell CDs, DVDs, magazines, books, video games, etc.
Also in Japan, many credit cards also double as point cards / membership cards for a store. Do credit cards in your country work like that?
I have a Visa, Master Card, and a JCB credit card. They’re all point cards at different stores, too. Meaning, if I either shop at that store or use the credit card, I get points on the store’s membership card!
My JCB credit card is also my Tsutaya membership card. So, anytime that I buy or rent a CD or DVD from Tsutaya or I use the credit card…I get points on the Tsutaya card.
If I get 190 points, I can rent a DVD or CD for free. Recently, I rented the new “Indiana Jones” movie for free (I’m glad it was free! That movie’s a disappointment! 😦 ).
Did you know, though, that Family Mart convenience stores, Lotteria Fast Food restaurants, and a few other stores have recently started giving Tsutaya points to their customers who show their Tsutaya card when they purchase something?
If you live in Japan and have a Tsutaya card, don’t forget to show it when you shop at places that have Tsutaya‘s “T” logo displayed!
(Looks like mine, but this image is from Tsutaya’s website)
Tokyo Five 
I saw a list of shops that now give points on TSUTAYA card.
Here’s part of the list:
Family Mart convenience store,
Book-Off used book store,
Lotteria fast-food,
すかいらーく レストラン (Skylark Restaurant),
ガスト レストラン (Gust Restaurant),
バーミヤン レストラン (Bamiyan Chinese Restaurant),
スリーエフ コンビニ (3-F convenience store),
Fuji スーパー (Fuji Supermarket),
Nippon Rent-a-car
Shidax カラオケ (Shidax Karaoke),
Pizza Hut,
Autobacs auto parts store,
メガネスーパー (Megane eyeglasses superstore),
Virgin CD,
Eneos Gas Station,
カメラのキタムラ (Kitamura Camera),
Warner Bros MyCal,
etc
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corre!
>is this the same Tsutaya as the bookshop chain..?
It’s the same store that you’re thinking of. There’s only one “Tsutaya” chain.
But they’re not a “bookshop chain”…they’re a DVD / CD rental chain foremost.
All of their stores rent out DVDs and CDs…and the bigger ones sell books, magazines, software, CDs and DVDs too.
(As I wrote above: “Tsutaya…has rental DVDs…and rental CDs…and many branches of Tsutaya also sell CDs, DVDs, magazines, books, video games, etc.”)
BTW, do you live in Japan?
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is this the same Tsutaya as the bookshop chain..?
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I guess nowhere’s as convenient as Japan (especially the big cities like Tokyo)!
I’ve become spoiled! 😉
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Haha, yes it is VERY inconvenient… but I’m kinda used to it (I had to…) :p
so every time when I go back to Japan I get shock “Wow the shops are open on Sunday?” :p
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Stores close at 5:00 and don’t open on Sundays??
How inconvenient!
You know, when I first came to Japan I was surprised at how New Years here is similar to Xmas in the U.S.
The New Years cards (年賀状) are kinda like Xmas cards…and it used to be in Japan, that most stores were closed at New Years—like Xmas in America (although nowadays, most stores stay open at New Years in Japan).
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I see.
There is something that you think it’s normal, but actually in other countries it is unique.
But I think Japan is quite different from other countries?:p Like vending machines, auto toilets, culture, food…
The most shocking thing that I experienced when I came to Perth was that shops close at 5pm and don’t open on Sundays(><).
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No, at least when I lived in America, there was no such thing as “CD rentals” there. The first time I saw it was when I came to Japan.
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I thought CD rental was a common thing in other countries too:p There was not such a thing in America?
… to think about it, I don’t think any shop in Perth do that either!
When I was in Japan I didn’t think it was unique:)
Yes I have Tsutaya card and always rented DVD there, but I didn’t know Family Mart and Lotteria started giving the point!
Tsutaya is the biggest chain in Japan!
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