Guide · Akihabara

Part of: Akihabara Figures: Where to Buy New vs Used

Akihabara Retro Game Stores: Super Potato, Surugaya, Retro Game Camp and BEEP, and What to Check Before You Buy

Four shops cover almost everything: Super Potato for the famous three floors and a retro arcade on top, Surugaya Game-kan for the deepest stock and an online stock search, Retro Game Camp for Famicom and Super Famicom cartridges, and BEEP for retro PCs and arcade boards. Before you buy, check that the game will run on your console at home. I run private anime tours here most weeks, and the retro floors are where the adults in a group tend to disappear.

Akihabara is still the best place in the world to buy Japanese retro games, and not because of prices. It is the density: four specialist shops within a short walk, each with stock that would take months to find online.

Which retro game stores in Akihabara are worth visiting?

Super Potato first if you want the experience, Surugaya Game-kan first if you want a specific game. Retro Game Camp and BEEP are the specialists: Famicom-era cartridges in one, Japanese home computers and arcade hardware in the other. All four are within walking distance of each other north of the station.

This is the comparison I give guests on my Akihabara anime tour when retro games are on their list:

Super Potato is the one in every travel video, and it deserves it: three floors, the stock packed to the ceiling, and a top-floor arcade where a play starts from ¥100. Surugaya is the one I would go to with a list. Retro Game Camp and BEEP are for people who already know what an X68000 is.

Is Super Potato Akihabara worth it?

Yes, for the experience and the range. It calls itself Japan's largest retro game stock, it covers consoles from the Famicom and Mega Drive to the PlayStation 2 and oddities like the Pyūta, and the top floor is a small retro arcade with two-player games and a sweets counter. For bargains, compare with Surugaya first.

The 3rd and 4th floors are the shop; the 5th is the arcade and rest space. Super Potato's own page also lists strategy guides, game soundtracks and character goods. Prices are collector prices, labelled clearly, and on rare items they are not low. That is not a criticism: the condition is stated and the stock is real. It just means Super Potato is where you find the thing, and Surugaya is where you check what the thing costs elsewhere.

Where can you find a specific retro game?

Surugaya. Its Akihabara Game-kan reopened in a new location on 25 September 2026 at 3-15-4 Sotokanda, 2nd floor, two minutes from Suehirocho Station, and Surugaya's site lets you search that shop's stock before you walk over. The site notes that online prices are the web prices and that stock in the shop can change.

That search is the most useful tool on this page. Look the game up the night before, note the price, and you walk into the district knowing what a fair price is. If Super Potato has it for less, buy it there. If not, you know where to go.

Will Japanese retro games work on my console at home?

Sometimes. Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS and Switch games are generally region-free. The Nintendo 3DS is region-locked, and most older home consoles either lock games to their region or use a different cartridge shape, so a Famicom game will not fit an NES without an adapter. Japanese hardware also runs on 100 V.

This is the honest section, and the one that saves the most money. The classic mistake is a beautiful boxed Super Famicom game bought for a console at home that cannot run it. Before you buy:

• Handhelds are the safe bet. The Game Boy family and the DS travel well.
• Home consoles need a plan. Either buy a Japanese console too, or know which adapter or modification your console needs.
• Consoles bought in Japan expect 100 V. Check the power supply before plugging into a 220–240 V socket at home.
• Japanese text. Many RPGs and adventure games are unplayable without reading Japanese. Action games are not.

Can tourists buy retro games tax-free?

Only at shops registered for tax-free sales, with ¥5,000 or more before tax in one shop on one day, and with your passport. Ask at the counter before paying. From 1 November 2026 the tax is no longer taken off at the till; you pay full price and get the tax back at the airport.

The step-by-step version is in tax-free shopping in Japan after November 2026. If you are buying a console and several boxed games, it is also worth reading luggage forwarding in Japan before your suitcase fills up.

How do you plan a retro game afternoon in Akihabara?

Start at Super Potato near Chuo-dori, then walk north to Surugaya Game-kan and Retro Game Camp, which are close to each other near Suehirocho, and finish at BEEP if retro PCs are your thing. Allow two to three hours for the first three. Bring cash for the smaller shops.

Doing it in this order means you see the famous one first, then compare prices at the deep one, then dig at the specialists. How cash and cards work in the smaller shops is in cash or card in Japan. If you also want the arcades, things to do in Akihabara puts them in the same day.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Super Potato in Akihabara? On the 3rd to 5th floors of the Kitabayashi Building, 1-11-2 Sotokanda. The shop is on the 3rd and 4th floors and the 5th floor is a retro arcade.

Did Surugaya's game shop in Akihabara move? Yes. Surugaya Akihabara Game-kan reopened on 25 September 2026 at 3-15-4 Sotokanda, 2nd floor, two minutes from Suehirocho Station and seven from JR Akihabara.

Are retro games cheaper in Akihabara than online? Often, for Japanese editions, because there is no international shipping and the stock is local. Famous rare games are priced at collector rates wherever you buy them. Check Surugaya's online stock search for a fair price before you shop.

Can I play retro games in Akihabara, not just buy them? Yes. Super Potato's 5th floor is a retro arcade, with plays from ¥100.

Do I need to speak Japanese to buy retro games? No. Prices are on the boxes and in the cases. A few phrases help everywhere; see travelling in Japan without Japanese.

Retro floors in the afternoon, the rest of Akihabara around them

If your list is longer than retro games, Adventure in Akihabara with Anime is my private half-day walk, three to four hours, built around the anime and games you name when you book and never shared with other guests. The price is on the tour page.

About the author. I am Yuuki, a Japanese teacher and Akihabara anime tour guide based in Tokyo. I run private anime tours here most weeks, rated 4.96★ on Airbnb across 171 reviews. I have watched over 1,500 anime series, and the retro floors are where I lose track of time myself.

See the Akihabara anime tour →

Sources: Super Potato, Akihabara shop (1-11-2 Sotokanda, Kitabayashi Building 3F/4F/5F; systems carried; 5F retro arcade and rest space); Chiyoda City Tourism Association, Super Potato Akihabara (3F and 4F sales floors, 5F arcade from ¥100 a play, sweets counter); Surugaya, Akihabara Game-kan (3-15-4 Sotokanda 2F; relocation and reopening on 25 September; 2 minutes from Suehirocho, 7 from JR Akihabara; items carried; shop stock search); Retro Game Camp, official site (3-14-7 Sotokanda, Shin-Suehiro Building C; Dungeon shop at 3-14-6, B1); BEEP Akihabara, official site (15-1 Kanda Neribeicho, inside SEEKBASE; closed Wednesdays). All checked 4 October 2026. Region compatibility notes are general hardware facts, not shop claims. Opening hours are deliberately not given.