Buying retro games and consoles in Japan: region locks, TV and power, second-hand shops, tax-free and flying home

Whether a Japanese game works on your console at home depends on the system. Nintendo's own support pages are clear about the 3DS family: Nintendo Japan says a Japanese 3DS plays only games made for Japan and that software sold abroad can't be used, and Nintendo UK says a 3DS bought in the PAL region only plays software from that region. So a Japanese 3DS cartridge won't run on a European or American 3DS. For the DSi, Nintendo of America says DSi-only game cards are region locked, while older DS and DS Lite software is region-free, so most of it plays on a DSi from any region. Its tip for spotting games made for another region: read the compatibility line on the back or side of the box.

Newer consoles are more relaxed, but there are no guarantees. Nintendo of America says Switch 2 game cards are not region locked, though it hasn't tested all overseas software and recommends buying games made for your console's region. Nintendo Japan says the same about original Switch games: overseas software runs on a Japanese Switch, but without a guarantee or after-sales support, and downloadable content from another region's eShop may not work with it. Watch out for the Switch 2 sold in Japanese game shops: Nintendo says it is the 'Japanese-Language System (Japan only)', which offers Japanese as its only system language and links only to Nintendo Accounts set to Japan; the multi-language model is sold only through Nintendo Store.

Sony has a similar model. Its Japanese site describes the 'PS5 Digital Edition Japanese only' as offering Japanese as the only console language, working only with PlayStation accounts whose country or region is Japan, and playing games downloaded from the Japanese PlayStation Store. We couldn't find a Sony support page on region coding for older PlayStation consoles, so ask the shop before you buy a PS1, PS2 or PS3 game for a console from another region.

JNTO, Japan's national tourism organisation, says the voltage throughout Japan is 100 V AC, with 50 Hz in eastern Japan and 60 Hz in western Japan (including Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka). It says some appliances need a step-down transformer and that plug adapters and transformers are sold in Akihabara in Tokyo, Nipponbashi in Osaka and big electronics chains such as Yodobashi Camera and Bic Camera.

Read the power adapter's label before you buy, because Japanese adapters differ a lot. Nintendo Japan says the Japanese Switch AC adapter (HAC-002(JPN)) works on 100 to 240 V but has a Japanese Type A plug, so abroad you need a plug adapter, which Nintendo hasn't tested. The Japanese 3DS adapter (WAP-002(JPN)), by contrast, only supports 100 to 120 V, and Nintendo says the dedicated adapter needed in 200 to 240 V regions isn't sold in Japan and has to be bought locally. Older hardware can be stricter: the Japanese Wii manual says its AC adapter is for Japanese 100 V household power only and tells owners not to use it with travel transformers. If a label says 100 V only, check with the maker before connecting it to anything else.

The picture is the other question. The Japanese Wii manual lists the signal format as NTSC and says the product is for use in Japan only, because TV structure and broadcast systems differ abroad. For the Nintendo Classic Mini Famicom, Nintendo Japan says it was designed for use in Japan and that operation isn't guaranteed with TVs sold overseas. Check what your TV at home accepts before you buy a console that only has the older video outputs.

Akihabara is the obvious first stop. Super Potato's Akihabara store occupies the 3rd to 5th floors of the Kitabayashi Building at 1-11-2 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, and is open 11:00 to 20:00 every day of the year, according to its own page. The store lists systems from the Famicom, Super Famicom, Mega Drive and PC Engine to the PlayStation, Saturn, Dreamcast and Neo Geo, plus soundtracks, strategy guides and snacks, and runs a retro game centre with a rest area on the 5th floor. The chain's website lists four other stores, including Ikebukuro and Nagoya.

Outside the big cities, HARD OFF is the name you'll see most. The company says its group runs 1,078 stores (fiscal year to March 2026) in all 47 prefectures, and its FAQ lists game consoles among the items HARD OFF stores buy and sell, adding that items vary by store. Prices vary too: the FAQ explains that the same product can be priced differently from store to store, depending on condition, local stock and how well it sells in that area. There's a store finder on its Japanese site.

If you want to photograph the shelves, follow the shop's rules. HARD OFF lets individual customers take photos and videos of the shop front and sales floor without asking first, but bans filming other customers' or staff's faces, blocking aisles or setting up tripods, and using photos of unpurchased items on auction sites.

In Japanese second-hand shops, a 'junk' (ジャンク) label is a warning, not a bargain sticker. HARD OFF's FAQ says it issues a used-goods warranty certificate with items it sells, with a warranty period of one, three or six months or a year, or a 10-day money-back guarantee, and repairs covered faults free of charge; junk items are excluded from that warranty. Read the label and ask what was tested before you pay, because a junk console may not work at all.

Don't count on the maker to fix an old console either. Nintendo Japan has ended repairs for a long list of products, among them the Famicom and Disk System, Super Famicom, Nintendo 64, GameCube, Virtual Boy, every Game Boy model, the DS and DSi families, the 3DS family, Wii and Wii U, and both Classic Mini consoles. It adds that repairs for other older products and accessories may also have ended.

A maker's warranty is also tied to its own country. Nintendo Japan says Japanese Switch consoles used abroad aren't covered by its warranty or service, and Nintendo of America says the Switch 2 limited warranty only applies in the country or region where the console was meant to be sold. The Japanese Wii warranty card adds that free repair under it doesn't apply to products that were passed on second-hand. For a used console, the shop's own guarantee is usually the only one you have, so keep the receipt and the warranty slip until you've tested it.

The Japan Tourism Agency says that for purchases made on or after 1 November 2026 you pay the tax-inclusive price, and an amount equal to the consumption tax is refunded after customs confirms at the airport or seaport that the goods are leaving Japan. The minimum is ¥5,000 or more, excluding tax, per day at the same store, and you can only buy quantities you can carry out of Japan yourself. Within 90 days of the purchase date you must present your passport at a tax-free procedure terminal with all the goods in hand, before you check in your luggage. Customs works per receipt: if one item from a receipt is missing, nothing on that receipt qualifies.

A console or game is not a consumable like food, drink or cosmetics. For non-consumables, the agency's FAQ says you can use them in Japan and still get the refund, as long as you take them out of the country. The FAQ also says some tax-free shops can ship your purchases abroad directly or hand them to a carrier at the shop, but that this varies by shop.

Shops publish their own conditions, and second-hand chains are no exception. Mandarake, for example, says tax-free shopping is available in all its stores for visitors staying in Japan for up to six months; it requires your original passport (no photocopies), a card in the same name as the passport if you pay by card, and at least ¥5,000 before tax; it processes the paperwork only on the day of purchase and only at the store where you bought; and it sends you to the JP Refund service to register for the refund. Other shops differ, so ask how the refund is paid before you pay.

Old plastic and fragile boxes travel best with you. ANA's damaged-baggage page says it isn't liable for damage caused by improper packing or by the fragile nature of an item, and gives delicate equipment such as cameras and computers as examples. On ANA international flights you can bring one carry-on bag and one personal item, together no more than 10 kg, with the bag's three sides adding up to no more than 115 cm and each within 55 × 40 × 25 cm. Other airlines set their own limits, so check yours.

Batteries follow Japan's dangerous-goods rules. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) says devices with lithium-ion batteries of 160 Wh or less can go in carry-on or checked baggage, but in checked baggage they must be completely switched off and protected from accidental activation. Spare lithium-ion batteries, including batteries removed from devices, are carry-on only and must be protected against short circuits, and anything over 160 Wh can't be carried at all. MLIT also limits power banks to two per passenger. It notes that airlines may add their own rules.

If you bought tax-free, the order at the airport matters: take the console, games and accessories to the tax-free terminal first, then check in your suitcase. Customs may ask to see the goods, so don't seal everything deep inside your luggage.

You may not need to wait until you get home to play. Some of the larger inns in our directory have their own game corners: Awara Onsen Grandia Housen, Kinugawa Onsen Asaya Hotel, Kotohira Onsen Kotosankaku, Misasa Onsen Misasakan and Shuzenji Onsen Katsuragawa all have one alongside karaoke, and Kusatsu Onsen Daitokan has a kids' corner and game rooms. Yumura Onsen Tomiya has a retro games console in its rest room. These are lively family houses rather than quiet retreats, so pick accordingly.

If you're buying a lot, think about the route home. A boxed console bought on the first day of a trip has to travel through every train and inn on your itinerary. If you shop early, one option is to pack the haul properly before you move on, and to have small accessories such as storage cases or cushioning delivered to the hotel or inn for that night, as explained in our guide to delivery to your ryokan. Ask the inn in advance whether it accepts parcels for guests.