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[DeaconOfTheDank]

Wife and I will be traveling to Japan next week and the first stop on our trip is Tokyo. This fantastic thread has convinced me to buy a Sega Saturn and some of my favorite games as a souvenir of sorts.

For those who live in Tokyo or have visited - do you have any recommendations for places to visit, things to do, etc. for a fellow lover of retro videogames, particularly Sega? This trip is somewhat of a dream for me, so I'm trying to be purposeful with what could be a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

 

[German Hops]

Make sure you also get some clams at McDonald's.

 

[daffyduck]

You know that isn’t McDonalds, now stop that.

 

[DeaconOfTheDank]

Make sure you also get some clams at McDonald's.

I'm out of the loop on this one - context?

 

[Dr_Salt]

You probably know about super potato but I heard they have inflated prices because of the amount of foreigners they get.

 

[Scotty W]

Akihabara for sure. Super Potato is the best. But there are a lot of places along main street in Akihabara too.

There is a Super Potato in Ikebukuro too. If you go to Ikebukuro, there is a famous Ramen shop one block away from SP. Also, one station away there is Takadanobaba, which has a great retro arcade.

If you are feeling adventurous, look for Book Off or Hard Offs in the suburbs. I have got some insane deals there.

 

[Laieon]

You probably know about super potato but I heard they have inflated prices because of the amount of foreigners they get.

Yeah, I don't think I bought anything at Super Potato but its still a fun place to check out.

I think the best deals I found on retro video games in Tokyo and other cities in Japan weren't stores that marketed themselves as "Retro Game Stores", but used book stores and thrift stores in non-touristy neighborhoods. Obviously the selections weren't as big, but everything was a bit cheaper than what you would find in Akihabara.

If you are feeling adventurous, look for Book Off or Hard Offs in the suburbs. I have got some insane deals there.

See, I'm not the only one!

 

[DeaconOfTheDank]

Akihabara for sure. Super Potato is the best. But there are a lot of places along main street in Akihabara too.

There is a Super Potato in Ikebukuro too. If you go to Ikebukuro, there is a famous Ramen shop one block away from SP. Also, one station away there is Takadanobaba, which has a great retro arcade.

If you are feeling adventurous, look for Book Off or Hard Offs in the suburbs. I have got some insane deals there.

Definitely saw Super Potato come up a bunch in searches. Planning on checking that out for the sheer volume and variety, although I've read reviews complaining about overpriced games.

Hadn't read about Book Offs yet; thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Alex Anderson]

Have fun on your trip!

Oh, and tell Chiaki of cyberjapan dancers hi for me

 

[German Hops]

I'm out of the loop on this one - context?

Check out this thread for context:

https://www.neogaf.com/threads/this-is-normal-in-japan.1661866/

 

[Scotty W]

Definitely saw Super Potato come up a bunch in searches. Planning on checking that out for the sheer volume and variety, although I've read reviews complaining about overpriced games.

Hadn't read about Book Offs yet; thanks for the suggestion!

Remember, it is not just Book Off. There is a whole line of these stores. Home Off, Mode Off. Go for Hard Off.

 

[Sephimoth]

Akihabara is good to check out, but can be touristy and pricey. Sometimes you can find cool stuff in junk bins. Worth for the experience, especially Super Potato and the arcades.
My first trip to Japan in 2014 I came back with a pile of Saturn games for 50-100 yen (30-50p) each from junk bins, all worked fine and looked brand new.

Nakano Broadway is alright, but a lot more models than games.

But as already mentioned, BOOK OFFs and HARD OFFs are what you need to check out. BOOK OFFs are more common (but HARD OFFs better IMO), just google map any nearby. The further away from the city the better. What I usually do is when I take trips out of the city (for Tokyo- Nikko, Kamakura, Mt Takao, Yokohama etc), see if there's any HARD OFFs either mid-route or with a slight detour.

 

[Scotty W]

I haven’t been there in a long time, but the best place I ever found was Hard Off Koganei, but it is a LONG walk from any stations.

 

[Northeastmonk]

Akihabara is good to check out, but can be touristy and pricey. Sometimes you can find cool stuff in junk bins. Worth for the experience, especially Super Potato and the arcades.
My first trip to Japan in 2014 I came back with a pile of Saturn games for 50-100 yen (30-50p) each from junk bins, all worked fine and looked brand new.

Nakano Broadway is alright, but a lot more models than games.

But as already mentioned, BOOK OFFs and HARD OFFs are what you need to check out. BOOK OFFs are more common (but HARD OFFs better IMO), just google map any nearby. The further away from the city the better. What I usually do is when I take trips out of the city (for Tokyo- Nikko, Kamakura, Mt Takao, Yokohama etc), see if there's any HARD OFFs either mid-route or with a slight detour.

Are there good game stores miles and miles away from the city or does it become hard to find at a certain point? I plan to go someday and the thought of checking out a game store in some small town far away, may or may not be a good idea. Do travel agents consider price inflation? I hope there’s some sorta video game travel agent, but it sounds like knowing someone who lives there is a lot more helpful. I was once told that Yahoo Auctions is where you look for rare video game stuff, but that’s also a website.

 

[Lunarorbit]

This sounds like a great trip. My wife and I wanna go to Japan at some point too; the nature there looks amazing and we both like cherry trees.

I heard that stores like super potato are worth going to but maybe don't spend all your money there cause it's expensive.

Heard that shit was very well marked and taken care of and that the same game can be priced differently based on condition (which sounds like a duh moment but the video game stores here in the states don't usually give too many fucks about what state a game is in, just that they want the most money for it).

 

[DeaconOfTheDank]

Akihabara is good to check out, but can be touristy and pricey. Sometimes you can find cool stuff in junk bins. Worth for the experience, especially Super Potato and the arcades.
My first trip to Japan in 2014 I came back with a pile of Saturn games for 50-100 yen (30-50p) each from junk bins, all worked fine and looked brand new.

Nakano Broadway is alright, but a lot more models than games.

But as already mentioned, BOOK OFFs and HARD OFFs are what you need to check out. BOOK OFFs are more common (but HARD OFFs better IMO), just google map any nearby. The further away from the city the better. What I usually do is when I take trips out of the city (for Tokyo- Nikko, Kamakura, Mt Takao, Yokohama etc), see if there's any HARD OFFs either mid-route or with a slight detour.

Thanks for the advice, will definitely keep this all in mind! I'm trying to find some fairly popular games like the Virtual ON, Nights, Sonic R, and Grandia. If I can find some peripherals like twin sticks for Virtual ON then that would be the icing on the cake (assuming I can fit it in my luggage, that is).

This sounds like a great trip. My wife and I wanna go to Japan at some point too; the nature there looks amazing and we both like cherry trees.

I heard that stores like super potato are worth going to but maybe don't spend all your money there cause it's expensive.

Heard that shit was very well marked and taken care of and that the same game can be priced differently based on condition (which sounds like a duh moment but the video game stores here in the states don't usually give too many fucks about what state a game is in, just that they want the most money for it).

We're really looking forward to this trip. It'll be our 5-year anniversary, so it's something we're definitely going all out for. While we plan to spend a decent amount of time in major cities, we have long stretch of our trip just focused on hiking and nature. The autumn color forecast suggests that fall foliage season is coming a bit later this year, but I'm hoping we hit it at just the right time when visiting places like Takayama, Kurobe Alpine route, etc. By the way, if you do intend to visit at some point, japan-guide is a phenomenal resource for planning everything - possibly the best I've come across.

And yeah, from the pictures I've seen it looks like shops take excellent care of games. With all the packaging, it looks convincingly brand new to my untrained eye.

 

[Sephimoth]

Are there good game stores miles and miles away from the city or does it become hard to find at a certain point? I plan to go someday and the thought of checking out a game store in some small town far away, may or may not be a good idea. Do travel agents consider price inflation? I hope there’s some sorta video game travel agent, but it sounds like knowing someone who lives there is a lot more helpful. I was once told that Yahoo Auctions is where you look for rare video game stuff, but that’s also a website.

I'm not sure, I never use travel agents, just Google Flights, Booking.com, Google Maps.

But there are BOOK OFFs scattered all over Japan (fewer HARD OFFs). Most areas have one not too far away, and most have games. I use Google Maps to find nearby ones to where I will be, and search the stores reviews for "games" and it'll give you an idea if it's worth visiting. The public transport/train network is really good so they're usually easy to get to.

If you're in Osaka, they have DenDen town which has a Super Potato and a few other retro game stores.

That's just my routine anyway from the times I've been to Japan. Can't remember the names but there are Youtube channels that cover game hunting in random OFF stores. I'm pretty sure Adam Koralik has done a few Japan shopping guides over the years as well.

 

[NecrosaroIII]

Akihabara isn't what it was in the 90s and 2000s, but it's still worth checking out. It has become just another ward of Tokyo.

 

[ULTROS!]

Super Potato is great, though most of the games are in Japanese.

I wanted to buy some games but it would just clutter the house and I wouldn’t really play them lol.

 

[TransTrender]

They're are soo many places off the strip in Akihabara with treasure.
Also some of the rather shitty malls have good stuff as well.

 

[DeaconOfTheDank]

Super Potato is great, though most of the games are in Japanese.

I wanted to buy some games but it would just clutter the house and I wouldn’t really play them lol.

That's fine by me. Japanese boxart is worth it on its own

I've also played through the games I want to buy multiple times at this point (via emulators), so the language barrier isn't really an issue for me

 

[Tams]

Akihabara for sure. Super Potato is the best. But there are a lot of places along main street in Akihabara too.

There is a Super Potato in Ikebukuro too. If you go to Ikebukuro, there is a famous Ramen shop one block away from SP. Also, one station away there is Takadanobaba, which has a great retro arcade.

If you are feeling adventurous, look for Book Off or Hard Offs in the suburbs. I have got some insane deals there.

Akihabara has for a good decade been an utter shadow of its former self. It's not the 00s anymore. The good shops have either shut down or jacked up their prices.

Book Offs, Hard Offs, and the various other second-hand stores in the suburbs are a good shout for good deals. There should be plenty of stuff that would be hard to get, let alone for a good price in them. A bit of a chore to find and get around a lot of them though.

You could find some good neighbourhood places to eat as you go around them, mind

 

[Scotty W]

Akihabara has for a good decade been an utter shadow of its former self. It's not the 00s anymore. The good shops have either shut down or jacked up their prices.

It must have been incredible, because it is still amazing. I lack your frame of reference. I find the process to be fairly reasonable at most places. I can see the prices rising. However, the inflation here is pretty bad at the moment, so to some extent it must be keeping pace with that.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

Besides the gaming mecca I'd also recommend you take the bullet train to Kyoto and the old world offerings it has.

 

[NikuNashi]

Always check out 'Book Off' and 'Hard Off', they always have game sections and prices are reasonable, also check out Tsutaya stores when you see them as the have large game sections with used games and hardware.

But yeah, Super Potato is a must and just wonder around Akihabara and go in everywhere that has games.

 

[DeaconOfTheDank]

Besides the gaming mecca I'd also recommend you take the bullet train to Kyoto and the old world offerings it has.

We'll be spending quite a bit of time in Kyoto, too. That's probably the stretch of the trip that I'm looking forward to the most

 

[Scotty W]

We'll be spending quite a bit of time in Kyoto, too. That's probably the stretch of the trip that I'm looking forward to the most

https://www.neogaf.com/threads/scotty-w-visits-nintendo-hq.1585440/

 

[DeaconOfTheDank]

Just got back last night and wanted to post an update. Needless to say, this was a very successful haul - I got every single game that I was looking for, including the fairly rare Azel: Panzer Dragoon RPG (i.e. "Panzer Dragoon Saga")

Ended up going to quite a few stores to find everything I wanted. I've always enjoyed walking into old school gaming shops here in the USA, but I think I may have discovered a new passion for hunting down retro video games as a result of this experience. Super Potato was cool spot, but holy hell does that first room get stuffy with the limited aisle space and tons of folks crammed in there at all times. Traders and Retro Game Camp were pretty cool, but Suruga-ya has to be my favorite out of all the stores I visited. Surprisingly, the shop in Shinjuku was better stocked than the one in Akihabara; it's where I managed to find the elusive Panzer Dragoon RPG in practically mint condition (and for a fraction of the cost you would find on Amazon).

Funny side-story: I made the mistake of thinking there was only one Suruga-ya in Akihabara - my wife and I accidentally walked into the store dedicated to hentai which was pretty damn hilarious. She was a bit traumatized after that, so I treated here to some extra special katsu at a shop around the corner.

I've got a 3D controller scheduled for delivery on Sunday, so I'll be able to enjoy Nights in all its glory when that arrives. I also came across some twin sticks for Virtual ON which I would have bought if I had space in my luggage, but I'll have to get that imported at a later time. I have a feeling I'm gonna be hunting for a good CRT in the near future...

Anyway, that's a wrap folks. Thanks for the suggestions from the people in this thread!

 

[AJUMP23]

Looks like you found success DeaconOfTheDank

 

[Tams]

Glad you had a good time and it all worked out! That's quite the haul you got there.

It's always best to look around less popular places, even though I wouldn't call Shinjuku less popular.

As for hentai/ecchi stuff... yeah, I ince went into a bookshop absentmindedly and look up to be greeted with quite the eyeful.

I also once say a couple of women admiring a Tenga.

 

[DeaconOfTheDank]

Glad you had a good time and it all worked out! That's quite the haul you got there.

It's always best to look around less popular places, even though I wouldn't call Shinjuku less popular.

As for hentai/ecchi stuff... yeah, I ince went into a bookshop absentmindedly and look up to be greeted with quite the eyeful.

I also once say a couple of women admiring a Tenga.

Thanks! Yeah, I might have overindulged a little bit and got more games than I originally intended hehe

We did a bit of shopping in Kyoto, too (another Suruga-ya). That's where I picked up Sonic R