Retro Game Store Reviews: Hard Off Kichijoji
It’s starting to get a little harder to choose places for my game store reviews. I’ve been to more than a hundred shops, but not all shops are made equal. When it comes down to it, the only stores I’m going to bother talking about are going to be the ones that have something special. This usually means either a great selection or great prices. Having a great location isn’t enough to make an article about, but being in a horrible location can be a deal breaker sometimes. So how does Hard Off Kichijoji (which is next to the Mode Off and Hard Off Audio in Kichijoji) check out?
The Selection
The store doesn’t have a big selection of games, or even a great one, but as you can probably guess from these pictures, that’s not the reason people go here. Handhelds, handhelds, and more handhelds. This place had an insane amount of handhelds and a good amount of consoles as well. And it’s not only the amount of handhelds and the variety, but also the amount of rare ones they got their hands on. The really impressive stuff was locked away in the first case, and they also had a lot of Pokemon themed stuff that seemed more like it was for bragging than for selling. Whatever handhelds you’re looking for though, stop by this store first. Gameboy, Gameboy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Playstation Portable, Playstation Vita, and all the accessories that go with them were in large supply in Kichijoji. To be honest, you’d be lucky to find more than 10 handhelds at most other stores. They are usually sparse at Hard offs and Book Offs, so being able to see so many in one place is a treat.
The Pricing
How about a boxed Japanese Pikachu GBA SP for almost $1300? Or one of those Silver Panasonic Gamecubes for about $1500? Or maybe you just want to show off a Cowboy Bebop Playstation for about $180 cause why not? I didn’t know many of these systems or handhelds even existed before stopping into the store. There’s also a chance you’ll be able to find some of these at the store still even though it’s been almost a year since I visited the place. The reason behind that is because these prices are kind of insane for people living in Japan and Hard Off/Book Off don’t really change their prices that often on retro games. Aside from retro gamers being few and far between in Japan, nobody really wants to spend this kind of money on hardware. These prices are inflated to take advantage of the weak yen and strong dollar in my opinion, but even then I think some tourists will be turned off by how much Hard Off wants for some of these systems. You’ll usually only find good deals on things at these type of stores when there is a glut of merchandise and they want to move the inventory. Probably never gonna happen at this shop though.
Access
Kichijoji is a very popular station on the JR Chuo/Sobu line and can be easily reached if you’re coming from Shinjuku station in Tokyo. The Chuo line is the same line you’ll find Nakano Broadway on, and not too far away from it either if you’re nerding out for the weekend and doing lots of shopping. And maybe you’ve heard about the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo? You can literally walk there from Kichijoji or take the train to the next stop, Mitaka to get to it. While the Chuo and Sobu lines aren’t the most well known train lines for tourists, getting there is incredibly easy. It only takes 15 minutes from Shinjuku on the rapid, and once there, it’s a short 7 minute walk from Kichijoji station. It’s a very cool area and you should check it out after you’re doing shopping at the Hard Off.
The Verdict
Easy to get to, lots of cool handheld stuff to look at all in one place, but lacks game software. Also the place is for people with deep pockets. If you can’t find what you’re looking for in Akihabara and don’t want to travel too far away to get it, check out Hard Off Kichijoji. There’s a very good chance they’ll have the color/model you’re looking for here but I can’t really tell you if it’s going to be cheaper than buying it in Akihabara. You might find better quality items here though. Lately I’ve noticed the quality of Akihabara’s goods have severely diminished. They’ll take anything they can get now to try and sell it off regardless of the condition.
- Selection 4/5 (for hardware, 2.5/5 for software)
- Pricing 2.5/5
- Ease of Access 5/5
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