Retro Game Store Reviews: The Atusgi Area

First off I’d like to apologize for the lack of updates between this post and the last one. Work, the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, and interviews have been keeping me busy. But I’m back now and with the holidays coming soon I really hope to get out a few more of these for all of your.

For today’s post I thought I’d talk about the Atusgi-city area in Kanagawa prefecture. My job takes me to all sorts of places in the Kanto area of Japan which allows me to explore a lot of places. Atsugi is one of those places. Initially I visited the city to check out the Hard Off and Book Off there, but on a more recent visit to the area I found another retro game show, Game Station. The close vicinity of these stores to one another make Atsugi a great place for a day trip of retro game shopping.

Game Station

Not going to lie, I always thought this was an adult video place because it was on a side street and the building looked run down and gaudy. It wasn’t until my 3rd or 4th visit to Atsugi that I looked closer and saw the words for “game” in katakana on signs. I finally thought “what the heck” and went in.

The Selection

To say that I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement. This store had an amazing selection of retro games and quite a bit of newer games too. There were a lot of neat accessories and boxed sets you usually don’t see at retro shops, and the amount of games complete in boxes was impressive as well. I also thought that they had a higher concentration of rare games here than you would usually find at a Book Off or Hard Off. It’s not as big as a Surugaya, but it’s definitely worth checking out.

The Pricing

Rare games, complete in box, and pristine condition games means you’re going to pay a little more here than at normal shops. For a collector, it’s totally worth it in my opinion. The prices are going to be around what you’d pay for them at Surugaya or between them and Super Potato. The prices aren’t exorbitant but you’ll definitely have to consider that you’re paying for quality at this place. I bought a Kirby’s Canvas Curse on the DS here that I had trouble tracking down at other places and I paid about 1800 yen ($14) for it (in amazing condition with all the extra components btw).

Access

One of the best things about shopping in Atusgi is that everything is close to everything else. To get there, take the Odakyu Line from either Tokyo or Machida to Hon-Atsugi station. From there its a short 5 minute walk to Game Station. The train ride is a little long, but it’s not bad if you’re already in the area checking out other stores like in Machida. You can find directions to the store here.

The Verdict

A good selection, good quality, and a good location is usually good enough for me. If I was looking for something and couldn’t find it at other stores in the area, I’d check out Game Station. I’d also probably hit it up first before going to a Book Off or Hard Off since it’s inventory tends to be more complete. Sometimes you go to a store and it has 10 copies of Mario Party 7, or 20 Mario Karts on the Super Famicom, but with Game Station you will find more variety. And being able to walk to it from the station is a definite plus. I don’t mind a long train ride but I don’t want to have to walk 20+ minutes to get to a shop.

• Selection 4.5/5
• Pricing 3/5
• Ease of Access 5/5

Hard Off Atsugi Ichibangai (Closed-Moved to Zama)

Not too from Game Station is the Hard Off and Hobby Off in Atsugi. It was the first place I visited when I stopped into the city and it definitely made a good impression on me.

The Selection

This store really knows how to use their limited space well. All of their retro gaming stuff is jammed into the front of the store. They have their high ticket items in cases at the end of the shelves, but what impressed me the most about this store was their selection of handhelds and consoles. While this picture is a little old, the last time I visited they still had a good amount of Nintendo DS, PSP, Gameboy, and Gameboy Advances. They had a lot of accessories too. I’ve found some rare things there such as DS Lite cases. There was even seen an El Gato capture card there that had the function to stream PS3 games. Some cool items pop up there from time to time.

Their selection of other retro games was rather limited though. They have a little bit of everything but due to the limited space they don’t have a large amount of software for any one system aside from Famicom and Super Famicom. You’d probably have more luck finding a game over at Game Station but you should still check their inventory out.

The Pricing

I thought that Hard Off Atsugi’s rare stuff like this Rayquaza GBA SP was a little overpriced, but for each over-priced item I found good deals on stuff as well. I ended up buying my replacement DS Lite here for about 4000 yen after I sold my special edition one for 10,000 yen. It didn’t come with an power adapter so I had to spend about 700 yen to buy one somewhere else, but I was satisfied with the quality and the price. Overall I think their pricing was okay.

Access

Just like Game Station, Hard Off Atsugi is a brief 5 minute walk from Hon Atsugi station on the Odakyu line that you can catch from Machida or from Shinjuku in Tokyo. It’s very easy to get to and one of the strong points of the store. You can be in and out and off to another place in no time at all.

The Verdict

The non-software offerings make this a great store to visit. If you’re in the market for Japanese handhelds or consoles you’ll definitely want to stop in. It’s also a good place to compare prices if you’re looking for a game and go between here, Game Station, or the Book Off Plus which is also nearby. Be sure to check in from time to time after your first visit to see what kind of new accessories they have as well!

• Selection 3.5/5
• Pricing 3/5
• Ease of Access 5/5

Book Off Plus Amyu

There really isn’t a lot of signage to help you get to the Book Off Plus Amyu store, but if you walk another block or two down the street from the Hard Off you’ll see this building on the right side. If you go to the 4th floor you’ll be able to find it pretty easily.

The Selection

Being a Book Off Plus and not a Super Bazaar means that the selection at this store is a lot less than what you usually see in my blog articles. This location has a few shelves of retro goods but most of their inventory tends to skew towards newer systems. To be honest the only reason I went to this store was because I was already in the area for the Hard Off and figured I might as well check it out. Go in there with low expectations and you might get lucky though.

The Pricing

I managed to snag a copy of the RE:4 Remake for $12 at this location which was an absolute steal. I think I lucked out here, but if you consider this store as another place to compare prices you might find some good deals. As I stated above though, don’t expect to find much here.

Access

This location is slightly farther from Hon-Atsugi station than the other stores, but still in walking distance at about 6 minutes. To get to Hon-Atusgi station you’ll need to catch the Odakyu line from either Shinjuku in Tokyo or Machida.

The Verdict

This store is really only worth it as a time killer but not necessary to stop into if you’re strapped for time. You’ll probably spend a few minutes in here and leave disappointed most of the time, but sometimes you might luck out with a good deal.

• Selection 2/5
• Pricing 3.5/5
• Ease of Access 5/5

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