About
Dorian Takahashi
I run a trading card business in Honolulu with my son Isaiah and his friends Reece and Eli. We started in a 400-square-foot shop. Today it’s a multimillion-dollar business with four locations in Hawaii and a store in Osaka.
The short version
- What I do: run and grow a trading card, collectibles, and comics business.
- Where: four stores in Hawaii, plus Osaka, Japan (opening November 2026).
- The team: more than 30 people. Isaiah, Reece, and Eli are part owners.
- Shows: we host Hawaii Pop Con and the Aloha Card Show, and travel to The National, Fanatics Fest, and New York Comic Con.
- Comics: 10–15 exclusive variant covers with well-known artists, including Mitsuhiro Arita.
- Tech: we build our own software for inventory, graded card intake, buying in Japan, PSA grading submissions, and running conventions.
- Before cards: I owned a solar panel maintenance company.
- Why “Not The Type”: I don’t look like someone who stays at five-star hotels, or like someone running a multimillion-dollar business. People make assumptions. I’ve learned a lot from watching them.
Why I review hotels
I travel constantly, and I stay at very nice places. But I don’t dress the part — and how a hotel treats someone who doesn’t look the part tells you more about it than the thread count does. So every review here includes a score you won’t find anywhere else: how they treated me.
Work with me
I consult with card shops and collectibles businesses. Here’s how that works.