Retro Game Store Reviews: Ojamakan Nagai (Osaka)

If you have been following me on my Instagram or Bluesky, then you know that I have been going to more and more retro game shops on a regular basis, but I haven’t been able to update my website as often as I would like to. I have some great articles in the works that I hope to get out over the next 1-2 months, but for now I will continue with my store review series. When I moved from Yokohama and saw how many fewer Hard Offs and Book Offs there were in the Kansai area, I was worried. I thought that my hobby of visiting game shops and buying retro things was going to come to an end, but after finding out about chains like Ojamakan and Furohon Ichiba, it has been reborn.

The amazing Ojamakan near Kamishinjo station in Osaka I talked about in my last article is a tough act to follow, but the Nagai station Ojamakan has nothing to be ashamed of. I don’t know how long this store has been around, but I thought I would share some personal history about Nagai station. During my first ever visit to Japan in 2002, I stayed in Osaka in this area with my childhood friend’s family. It was during the Japan/Korea FIFA World Cup, and the place had transformed into a global theater of football fans. My first memory of the area was coming out of the subway and seeing fans from Turkey and Senegal heading into Nagai stadium to cheer on their countries. I can barely remember much else about the area from that time, but going to this retro game store more than 24 years later felt like somewhat of a homecoming to me. My friend and his family no longer live in the area, but I still feel fond of that time.

The Selection

I again have to show my love and appreciation for the person in charge of the store layout in this chain. There is something about using all the space efficiently and covering every empty inch of the walls that leaves you in awe. Up, down, straight forward; No matter where you look there are games or things related to them. I also want to leave a disclaimer that this is not all of the games that they have, but merely their retro game section. They had another 2 rows jam packed with the newer Sony Playstation and Nintendo software, so if you’re looking for PS4 or Switch games, you’ll find them stocked up and competitively priced too.

Overall it was a fairly well stocked store. The most visible of their inventory being all of the old loose Famicom, Super Famicom, and Gameboy games filling one corner of the store from ceiling to the floor and also stretching over some of the aisles. The DS and 3DS aisle was also impressive, and while the tight angles of the store don’t show it well in these pictures, there were also a lot of PS1, PS2, PS3, and PSP games. You won’t be finding as many Xbox, Gamecube, or Sega games at this store however, but for everything else you should be fine.

They had some neat boxed items like a Gamecube Component Cable and older Gameboys too, but overall their accessory area and shelf space devoted to hardware was limited. This store had things scattered around wherever there was open space. Looking at the picture gallery before this, you’ll see tons of old Nintendo system controllers hanging from the wall above the Playstation retro game section. If you don’t find what you’re looking for on your first sweep of the store, look again more carefully and check in the cases between things or above the shelves.

The Pricing

The games outside of the glass cases are all very well priced, but when it comes to the hardware at Ojamakans, things tend to get a little pricier. I found this in box Pokemon Center Gameboy to be pretty cool, but not well over $1000 cool. Look for the good deals on the shelves of this store, but steel your heart when looking behind the glass cases. Occasionally a locked up piece of hardware might be competitively priced, but for the most part I focused away from that thin pane of glass. The limited edition items were especially pricey I thought. Don’t let that keep you away from the store though, there is a very good chance you’ll be walking away with a bag full of games you were looking for.

Access

I don’t know what it is about this chain of stores, but every Ojamakan I’ve visited has been in very accessible locations. I’ve never had to walk a long distance to one, and while they are not in the middle of cities or in highly traveled areas, the are also not in the middle of nowhere.

To get to the Ojamakan Nagai store, the easiest way is probably taking the Midosuji subway line to Nagai station. I do want to point out that not every Midosuji subway car going south will stop there though. You’ll have to catch one that is going to Nakamozu, the last stop on the subway in the southern area of Osaka. If you’re traveling from Shin Osaka where the bullet train is, you can board the subway there and take it all the way to Nagai in about a half hour. Or, if you’re coming from Osaka station, you can get on the subway at Umeda and it will be slightly quicker. Once at Nagai subway station, head out of exit 4 and it’s pretty much a straight shot there on the left side of the street. If you want to take the JR train because you’re using the JR pass, you can also take the train from Osaka station to JR Nagai but you will be adding another few minutes onto the trip. Price wise they are about the same.

The Verdict

• Selection: 3.5/5
• Pricing: 4/5
• Ease of Access: 4/5

The lack of non Nintendo/Sony titles hurts the selection score a little bit, as does the limited space for hardware and accessories, but the pricing is still very good at this location and if you’re not bothered being on a train for a while it is very easy to get to. Most people visiting Osaka will be hanging around the Namba area on their trips, and this location is only another 15 minutes south from there on the same subway line. If you were bummed out by the prices in downtown Osaka, this store will be a pleasant surprise to you.

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 to 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