Mats come and go, and it’s common for the best of them not to be recognized as such until they are no longer being produced, whereupon they become”rare” and the expensive. We audiophiles are a crazy bunch.
Exactly haha. To be honest though, I've spent most of my life digging for obscure music all over the world, in moldy basements and junk shops, so doing some detective work to find an ultra rare Japanese mat is just exactly the kind of fun challenge that makes me happy. And if it doesn't live up to expectation there is always resale!