Retro Games in Asakusa
RETRO GAMES
4 minutes on foot from Kaminarimon10:00–17:00（Wednesdays and Sundays 12:00–17:00）Open every day of the year
Japanzon Asakusa Store sells Japanese home video games — consoles and software both. It sits four minutes on foot from Kaminarimon （雷門）, so it is easy to fit into a walk around Asakusa （浅草） rather than a trip across Tokyo.
What you will find in this retro game shop in Asakusa
The shop deals in Japanese domestic home consoles and their games. Stock is second-hand, so it changes from week to week: what is on the shelves today is what we have. These are the systems we handle:
- Family Computer / Famicom （ファミリーコンピュータ）
- Super Famicom （スーパーファミコン）
- Nintendo 64
- Game Boy and Game Boy Advance
- Mega Drive
- Neo Geo （AES and MVS）
- PlayStation, PS2 and PS Vita
- Controllers and peripherals for these systems
Sega Saturn, Dreamcast and the other machines we sell
Beyond those, we also sell the unit itself for each of the following. All of them are used, so the same ones are not always here.
- Sega Saturn （セガサターン）
- Dreamcast （ドリームキャスト）
- Sega Mark III / Master System （セガ・マークIII／マスターシステム）
- Game Gear （ゲームギア）
- PC Engine （PCエンジン）
- GameCube （ゲームキューブ）
- Virtual Boy （バーチャルボーイ）
- WonderSwan （ワンダースワン）
- 3DO
- PSP
- Game & Watch （ゲーム＆ウオッチ）
- LSI and VFD electronic games （LSI・FL管ゲーム）
- Tamagotchi （たまごっち）
- Japanese retro home computers （レトロPC・マイコン）
Columbus Circle: we are an authorised reseller
If the machine at home has died and only cartridges are left, a compatible machine is one way round it. Columbus Circle is a Japanese maker of game hardware. It builds compatible machines that take Super Famicom cartridges, and Famicom ones as well; portable compatible machines with an HDMI output; and a range of converters. The maker also keeps bringing out new cartridges of its own, playable on the Super Famicom, and on those compatible machines. We are an authorised reseller of its products, and the sticker the maker issued us is displayed on the sign outside our shop. Compatibility differs from model to model, so ask staff which machine your cartridges will fit.
Looking for a Famicom shop in Tokyo
Famicom and Super Famicom are the two systems most visitors come in asking about. If you are hunting for Super Famicom games in Tokyo, or for a console body to go with them, this is a shop where you can pick the cartridge up, turn it over and look at the label before you decide. Staff can take items out of the case for you.
We cannot hold or promise a specific title in advance. Come and see what is in the shop on the day.
Condition: how items are graded
Every second-hand item is handled individually by a member of staff and given one of six grades.
| Grade | Meaning |
|---|---|
| S | Sealed, unopened |
| A | Almost as new |
| B | Very good |
| C | Good |
| D | Acceptable |
| E | Junk |
The grade is a guide, not a substitute for your own eyes. Look at the actual item in the shop before you decide.
These are Japanese versions
Everything here is the Japanese domestic release. Whether a given game will run on the console you own at home depends on your machine, so ask before you buy — staff will tell you what they know. Explanations are available in Japanese, English and French, and on Wednesdays and Sundays in Chinese and Spanish as well.
What else is in the shop
Retro games are one section of the shop; everything else is on the same floor. You will find trading cards sold as singles, plastic model kits both new and second-hand, and figures and plush toys, which together are the largest section here. There are second-hand manga, books, CDs and DVDs too. Outside, the capsule toy machines stand on the pavement and can be used at any hour, even when we are closed.
Cups and lunch boxes carrying Sanrio, Disney and Takara Tomy designs are on sale here as well, and customers from abroad often take one back with them. A souvenir to take home lists them, and More about the shop names the makers and the licences we carry.
We also buy retro games
If you have games, consoles, controllers and accessories at home that you no longer want, bring them to the counter. A member of staff looks at each item in front of you and tells you a price, and you are paid on the spot. Valuation is free, and coming just to hear a price is welcome — you are never obliged to sell.
We buy over the counter only. We do not collect from your home, we do not buy by post, and we do not give valuations from photographs. Please bring identification. The document you show must carry an address in Japan — a residence card, a driving licence or a My Number card. A passport does not show a current address — Japanese passports issued since February 2020 no longer carry the holder’s details at all — so a passport alone is not enough, whatever its country. The law obliges us to record the seller’s address, so we cannot buy from a visitor passing through. Buying is open to everyone, of course. Sellers under 18 need the consent of a parent or guardian. How selling to us works →
Visiting the shop
The shop is directly opposite Asakusa Public Hall （浅草公会堂）, on the ground floor, along Orange Street （オレンジ通り）. If you are standing at Kaminarimon, it is a walk of about 280 metres.
| Shop | Japanzon Asakusa Store （Japanzon Co., Ltd. / 株式会社ジャパンゾン） |
|---|---|
| Address | 1-39-13 Asakusa, Taito City, Tokyo 111-0032, 1F |
| Phone | 03-5830-3421 |
| Hours | 10:00–17:00 （Wednesdays and Sundays 12:00–17:00）, open every day of the year |
| Access | 4 minutes on foot from Kaminarimon （about 280 m, along Orange Street） / 4 minutes from Asakusa Station / directly opposite Asakusa Public Hall |
| Languages spoken | Japanese, English, French （also Chinese and Spanish on Wednesdays and Sundays） |
| Second-hand licence | 古物商許可 第307742116189号 （Tokyo Metropolitan Public Safety Commission） |
The same shop also carries our own brand, COOKING SAN: matcha, bento boxes and chopsticks, all made in Japan.