Photo by JoshBerglund19

Super Potato is pretty much heaven for retro gaming fans. The main Akihabara store has about 5 floors, each dedicated to a different console/manufacturer. The Nintendo floor was obviously our favourite and is crammed with secondhand games for the whole history of Nintendo as well as toys and other merchandise. There are also old consoles dotted around set up ready to play – yay!

The top floor is the most exciting though, full of retro arcade machines and vending machines and a great place to stop and rest your feet. There was even a huge original Game Boy and a chair made out of game carts!

Even if you can’t afford to buy anything, it’s worth a trip just to marvel at all the Japan-only games and limited edition consoles.

I’ve also visited the branch in Den Den Town, Osaka, which is not quite as exciting but it does have a big range of secondhand games, plus all the new releases. There are lots of other stores across Japan – see the Super Potato website for maps and addresses.

If you’re a fan of old skool Nintendo or Sega gaming then Super Potato is a must-see. It’s pretty much as good as a museum.

Walls of old games. Photo by nubero

Nintendo plush toys. Photo by Dacobah

It’s a Toad frenzy! Photo by L’oeil de verre du Captain

Super Potato, Akihabara. Photo by Dacobah

How to get there

Akihabara is on the JR Yamanote Line, and then take the Electric Town exit to get to the main street. After that, it gets tricky – even though I know where it is, it took me a few tries to find it the second time around. It’s in the back streets behind the Club Sega building so just walk about and keep looking up for the potato character sign.

The Osaka branch is a lot easier to find. Just take the subway to Ebisucho (Sakaisuju Line – K18) and you should come out beside or opposite Super Potato, depending on the exit.

Area Guides

- Akihabara
- Osaka (Den Den Town)

Last updated: 24 April 2011

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All content in this blog post is by Marceline Smith, unless stated otherwise. Licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

Posted by Marceline Smith on Thursday, January 3rd, 2008 at 4:24 pm in Japan, Tokyo Shopping Guide.