Retro Game Store Reviews: Nagoya Surugaya

The Osu Kannon area in Nagoya is a gold mine of gaming, trading cards, anime goods, and more. You can find whatever you’re looking for in an area much smaller than that of Akihabara in Japan, and not only does that save you time, but in most cases money as well. Today I’ll be continuing my review of retro game shops in Nagoya from my recent trip there and will be focusing on Surugaya. The company has done a great job of choosing locations for their shops. While this store didn’t exist while I was living in Nagoya, I was more than happy to check it out on a day trip.

The Selection

This Surugaya isn’t one of the biggest Surugaya’s I’ve been to, nor is it the biggest retro game store in Nagoya, but it was definitely comprehensive. Almost every gaming console and platform was represented here, and there was a good selection of choice products behind the glass cases too. I’ve always thought that Surugaya curated their inventories well so there is a good chance that you’ll find what you’re looking for here. Their only weak points in selection were with the game consoles and accessories. Their selection of retro game consoles for sale was a little bare when I went there, and the same can be said for their controllers, cables, and other non console things. For how large the store is though, they do use the area very well to show off their goods.

The Price

While most Surugaya’s tend to be around the same price company wide, I did feel like their prices skewed a little high at the Nagoya branch. It could be because it’s a high tourist traffic area and they have people willing to pay it, or because Super Potato and Meikoya’s prices are so high that they could stand to raise their prices a little bit and still be competitive against the other stores. In all likeliness, you’ll still probably find some of the better prices here at the Nagoya branch, but not as many great deals as if you were to go to the Shizuoka one. Surugaya is also a stickler for quality, so you can have similar products at various price points depending on scars/damage to the boxes or consoles. It’s something to keep in mind.

Access

All of the stores in Nagoya are pretty easy to get to, but this one even more so. To get to the Surugaya store take exit 9 from Kamimaezu station on the Meijo line and then it’s only about a 5 minute walk there. If the map is a little vague, look for the giant cat statue in the area. If you can see it, you’re in the right place. Just look around and you should see the sign. The Meijo line can be reached by taking the yellow Higashiyama Line from Nagoya station and transferring at Sakae station to the purple Meijo line going towards Kanayama. It’s only 2 stops away. You can also take the Higashiyama line to Fushimi station and transfer to the Tsurumai line and go to Osu Kannon, but that’s a much longer walk. If you plan to do lots of other shopping and eating food in Osu it’s a good station to start from, but if you just want to buy games, Kamimaezu is much closer. And of course the best way to get to Nagoya if you’re coming from Osaka or Tokyo is to take the Nozomi bullet train, all of which stop at the city.

The Verdict

I will never pass by a Surugaya shop. They are always worth going into, even if you’re just window shopping. This one has enough inventory to keep you busy for about an hour, and is in a great location at the end of one of the major shopping roads. The prices could be a little bit better, but being able to walk to its main competitors in minutes to compare prices is a definite plus. If they end up shipping more retro consoles and accessories to this shop, they will have a great store!

• Selection: 4/5
• Pricing: 4/5
• Ease of Access: 5/5

But wait, there’s more!

Do you like this type of content and want to see more? Be sure to let me know by joining me on various social media and dropping me a line. I hope to bring hundreds of articles to this website about not only about my gaming experiences, but also about gaming in Japan, game collecting, and even game stores over here! If you plan on visit and are big into gaming (be it on modern systems or retro ones), be sure to bookmark this website and stop back from time to time for updates!

How to contact me:

• Bluesky: @thejapanhobbyist.bsky.social
• Twitch: TheJapanHobbyist
• Instagram: thejapanhobbyist