Retro Game Store Reviews: Hamamatsu Kanteidan

Not to be confused with the Hamakita Kanteidan, the Hamamatsu Kanteidan is another store in the Shizuoka Kanteidan group which has a variety of used goods that include clothes, movies, books, and of course video games. The Hamamatsu Kanteidan was actually the first store I visited that got me started on my retro gaming adventure in Japan. I was going through the city while visiting my family in Shizuoka during the Covid-19 pandemic and I thought “what the heck, let’s buy some Japanese games”. I had plenty of retro games in English before then, but I had been tossing around the idea of getting Japanese retro games after seeing how expensive games had gotten in the USA. Once I saw how much they had and how cheap games were, my mind was made up.

The Selection

The Hamamatsu branch doesn’t have as big of a retro game section as the Hamakita, Shimizu, or Fuji branches, but it is jam packed with a lot of different things. Their handheld and console sections are very robust, and their shelves are well organized and well stocked with everything from Famicom to Playstation 4 games. However one of the best things about this place is the number of different accessories it has. Most stores will have controllers and memory cards, but this place had an insane amount of harder to find accessories like game cases and promo materials. It’s like they took in and held on to everything people traded in over the years and got it all out of storage when the retro gaming boom happened.

I feel bad that I didn’t take more pictures because this selection doesn’t really do it justice. There are definitely more shelves and rows of gaming stuff I neglected to take a picture of, but at least you can get a good idea as to the breadth and depth of their inventory. Please keep in mind these pictures were from almost 2 years ago though, so their inventory has probably changed since then (but probably not as much as stores in big cities).

The Pricing

The first picture is what started my Japanese retro gaming adventure back in 2022. I found a cheap Japanese Gamecube without an AV cable or controller for about $28 and said what the heck. I had some Gamecube Controllers already from my American console so I didn’t need to buy any right away, and getting a cable and memory card wasn’t expensive at all. I also picked up copies of Luigi’s Mansion and Animal Crossing on the Gamecube at the time because they were both less than $7 each. All in all, my first purchase cost me less than $60 total. On a subsequent visit a few months later, I picked up some of those cool accessories I was talking about: a The World Ends with You (JP It’s a Wonderful Life) DS Lite cover, a DS Lite carry case, Pikmin 2 for about $8, and a slim black case on the left that eventually became storage for my PS2 slim. I’ve always found good deals at this place and think you’d find good prices here too.

Access

This is where I’m probably going to lose a lot of people. Probably the only way to get to Hamamatsu Kanteidan is by car. The closest train station is JR Tenryugawa on the Tokaido Line, and from there you can take a 7 minute taxi, walk 30 minutes, or take a bus to the 薬新町 stop and walk from there. None of these choices are great, but if you’re a retro game hunter I think you’ll find the trek worth it. There’s a lot to see and some great deals to be had.

The Verdict

I’ve yet to go to a bad store in the Shizuoka Kanteidan group. While not all of their stores are created equal you’re bound to come across something good while shopping there. I wouldn’t have found all of the other Kanteidan stores in Shizuoka if it wasn’t for this one, so it has a special place in my heart. Whenever I visit family in Shizuoka I try to make my way over there, and I usually come away with something cool from this shop. I think you will too.

• Selection 4.5/5
• Pricing 4/5
• Ease of Access 2/5

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