I'm looking for a new go board, either shin kaya or agathis. Does anyone recommend the shin kaya boards from YMI? The thinner is significantly less expensive.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-1-8-Solid-Shi ... 485b6b41f8

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-3-8-Solid-Shi ... 485a95e419

Also might do an Agathis board which is cheaper. Anyone think shin kaya is significantly better? I like this set because it comes with the Yunzi stones. I already have glass ones but kind of curious about yunzi...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Go-game-set-2-i ... 3cd75fe052

Any thoughts what is better combo? Shin kaya and glass or agathis and yunzi? Unfortunately I have not had the opportunity to try out many sets so I'd like to hear some advice!

My experience is that the thinner the board, the more likely it is to warp. I don't have any specific experience with YMI's boards apart from their 3/4" bamboo one, though.

I purchased this one awhile back: http://www.ymimports.com/p-2339-shin-ka ... board.aspx and also purchased their portable shin-kaya board (no longer available) as well.

Here's my review for the floor board: http://www.bengozen.com/equipment-revie ... oor-board/

Overall, I find that they are excellent quality for the price and well worth it. Let me know if you have any additional questions about it.

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I'll admit that I'm not a fan of "Shin-Kaya". It's also a terrible misnomer since it's a kind of spruce and not Japanese (or Chinese) nutmeg.

$199 seems a bit steep for a spruce table board. Mr. Kuroki tends to have Kaya boards around that price from time to time so it might be worth sending him a message before you buy any spruce products.

That said, I'd go with the Agathis board. It's a strong, hard wood and would certainly last longer, the big problem with Agathis is that it may not be adequate for slate and shell stones because of it's hardness.

Also, solid one piece blocks are generally better than composite boards.

As a side note, all of the links for Yellow Mountain that you provided are going to their E-bay auctions. I suggest buying the items directly from their website since they're generally cheaper than the e-bay or Amazon postings.

Yeah, I think that the 2" spruce table board is a bit much also. I looked at the Kuroki website and it had spruce and hiba boards for lower prices. Is the quality from Kuroki higher than YMI?

I have the 2 3/8 shin kaya floor board. I love that baby

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Brandon
Hailing from the Heart of Dixie (ROLL TIDE!)
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Huh, I never noticed the Hiba board on his site before (just found it). I don't know much about Hiba so I can't really make a comment other than from my understanding, it's superior to spruce.

Mr. Kuroki deals mostly in Kaya and Slate/Shell stones. I've visited with his go/shogiban artisan and the guy was very nice and knew a lot about the craft.

I couldn't really comment on the quality of his spruce boards since I only discussed and paid attention to his Kaya and go stones. If your inside the U.S. though, shipping would be much cheaper through Yellow Mountain. If your outside then I suppose it'd be about the same.

Anyway, hope that helped

May I ask was this in Japan ? Which city ?

I visited his shop/factory in Hyuga, Miyazaki-ken back in May 2012 as part of my last major road trip before leaving Japan. There's a small building out in front where the board artisan works; you can smell the Kaya from across the parking lot .

Mr. Kuroki's shop itself is divided into four parts. The display of the boards and goods for sell (the section was surprisingly small, at least compared to what I expected), the stone factory, a typical Japanese omiyage (small souvenir) store for the tourists buses that pass through town (usually on their way somewhere else) and an all you can eat restaurant upstairs with a pretty decent selection of food.

Mr. Kuroki said that usually he sees "old man or rich man," so seemed very happy to have some poor, random white guy drop by

I'll be happy to post some pictures in a different thread if you'd like.

That would be wonderful -- thanks!

I'd second that request - thanks!

I third that (and don’t anybody tell me you’d expect ANYTHING else here ) thanks in advance, Erythen!

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