Going to Tokyo in about a month...store suggestions?

[Blue Mary Mania 8]

Hey all,

Looking for some good spots to find SNK goods and other vintage gaming gear. Anyone have any suggestions???

I live in Japan, but pretty far from Tokyo, and rarely get any time to travel or do anything. I am stupid busy all the time, but finally getting a vacation at the end of July.

I think people have an incorrect impression that vintage gaming stuff is everywhere here, but it is simply not the case. People that have/want that sort of stuff sell it online, to us, obviously. I do see NES and SNES stuff constantly at recycle shops and thrift stores though...cellophane wrapped bricks of 'em!

Anyway, would love the input!

 

[Atro]

Mr. Potato!

 

[68k]

Mr. Potato!

Is that next door to Super Potato?

 

[_rm_]

Mr. Potato!

I went there on my very first day in Tokyo (the Akihabara store) and they had one AES complete in box and 2 loose. I went there 2 days later to pick one up, and guess what? No AES for you (insert face palm here).

They also had very few titles available and only common stuff.

This was last month.

 

[SuperDeadite]

Don't bother with SuperPotato. Any one that lives here will answer the same. The prices are shit, the stock is shit, the stores are stuffy, hot, and smell like shit. They have walls of common stuff, but the prices are always the highest compared to everywhere else. If you are a tourist to Japan and you have little time, it's worth a visit, but living here? Don't bother.

Mandarake, Trader, and Friends are really the only decent stores left in Akiba. Though if AES carts are what you want, be aware the fakes are everywhere these days, so do your homework first, don't impulse buy any of the pricey ones. If you are more into MVS, there's Mak, Try, and if you are desparate G-Front. But all those stores do mail order, so if you live in Japan, not much reason to actually visit them outside of window shopping.

 

[Blue Mary Mania 8]

I was sorta thinking about buying some AES carts. I mean, they aren't going to let me pry these open to check boards will they? In particular, was looking to pick up Last Blade 2 and Metal Slug 3, but I am not desperate for anything really. This is just for the fun of looking around and maybe find a nice score.

I'm going to take a big guess that no one here has even ever heard of Yamaguchi. The standard of living is lower, so you can save more money though. Anyway, there is very little here in terms of vintage gaming, but of course there is online shopping. However, there is a great shop in Yamaguchi-shi that often has nice boxed famicom and super famicom games. But I have never seen an AES cart or a NGCD there.

 

[SuperDeadite]

Last Blade 2 and Metal Slug 3 are typically safe carts. They don't sell for enough to really be converted here.

 

[ESP_SVT]

Hard Off

 

[WoodyXP]

Keep an eye out for 'Manga Souko' and 'Game Souko' stores. They're recycle centers that usually have a good selection of games.