So I am currently planning to go to Japan for the 2020 olympics and I was wondering if anyone has been to Japan and has any video stores that they would recommend! I am currently compiling a list of wants to keep an eye out for (such as the Rayquaza GBA SP) and I was wondering what stores would give me the best chance in finding one!

I guess this would be a good thread to compile a list of all of the video game stores in Japan as well.

There was a thread about this recently that covered it pretty well, maybe whereabouts in Japan would provide some more insight though (akiba?)

MetalJesusRocks just posted a videos on YouTube chronicling his game hunting in Japan. Worth a watch.

Hard Off and Book Off are both very good places to find games, current and retro. I highly recommend ハードオフ 八王子めじろ台店 if you get up that far, as it's the biggest one I've seen. Locate the Book Off and Hard Off stores outside of downtown Tokyo as they're usually much bigger and are less picked over.

Everything you're going to find in Akihabara is going to be overpriced. You'll find a lot of articles online talking about Super Potato and Retro Game Camp. While they both have a ton of stock and consoles and other neat things, their reputations comes with a high price. My personal favorite in Akihabara is Surugaya Specialty Store. You won't see this one mentioned too much, but I felt their prices were the most reasonable out of all of the local stores.

me visiting the Super Potato in Osaka, probably the best retro videogame store in existence (2014):




I dont know whats going on there today but you should definitely check it out if you have the possibility...retrovideogame heaven!!!  

I second Book Off/Hard Off. From everything I've researched (and I've been doing this for about three years now...it's a life long goal of mine to go to Japan), those two stores are easily the best place for cheap games. Akihabara you go for the experience, not to game hunt. It's a tourist trap and the prices reflect that. It's an amazing place and you should totally go, just don't spend money on buying games...spend it in maid cafes or arcades. However if rare is what you're after...Akihabara is the best place for super rare stuff. Just know you'll pay an arm and a leg for it.

I recommend checking out this channel, he lives in Japan and often game hunts in Book Off/Hard Offs and it'll give you an idea of prices and what you can expect to find: https://www.youtube.com/user/KidS...

If you go to those stores, dig through the junk bins! Often games are labeled as "junk" if the condition is off or they happen to have to many copies of the game (think Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest stuff). And when I say the condition is off? I mean it's near mint...lol. The Japanese are amazing with their condition of items. They mark the prices down accordingly if something is wrong. Watch the channel I linked to, to see. You can really get an idea of the condition Japanese games are kept in. I mean sure there will be some yellowed cartridges or the odd one where someone wrote their name on it but from what I've seen in his videos, 80% of games look perfect.

You should check this thread.
It has really good info.

http://nintendoage.com/forum/mess...

Thanks for the recs guys! Will note everything and prepare for the trip.