Retro Game Store Reviews: Ojamakan Ibarakashi (Osaka)

At the time of writing this, I have already visited every Ojamakan store in the Osaka area. It will probably be a while until I write about any others, as the remaining ones are outside of the prefecture and a little more difficult to get to. Hopefully what I have written about will tide you over until I can add another store to the blog. I ended up visiting this store on my trip to western Kyoto prefecture a few weeks back for game stores, and it gave me an idea for a new series of articles to write so you can expect many more updates later this summer! I also want to point out that I have been busy updating information pages on my blog and you can now find every store review article I’ve written in one place and organized by the prefecture they were found in. Please use it if you plan to visit Japan to do some retro game hunting in the future!

The Selection

Compared to the other Ojamakan branches I have been to, this store seemed to have more handhelds and consoles. For handhelds, most of their inventory seemed to be newer models such as the DS and 3DS series, or the PSP and PS Vita lines. If you are looking for older stuff you might have to look at another store. I saw a few GBA SP, but not many of the originals or from the Gameboy line. Maybe it was the set up of the store, but it just seemed to me like they had more shelf space devoted to hardware at this location. There was also a decent amount of accessories at the store but not nearly as much as the Kamishinjo branch. If you are looking for controllers or cables you should be fine, but if you’re looking for rare or unique things you’re probably out of luck.

Game-wise, this location had a lot of Nintendo and Sony software. Wii U, Gamecube, Xbox, and Sega products were few and far between at this location, and I have seen larger Nintendo DS sections at other chains, but for the most part there were a lot of popular and rare games. You should be able to find what you are looking for here. There was a large selection of modern systems there too if you are looking for PS4, PS5, Switch, or Switch 2 software.

The Pricing

The overstocked games at this Ojamakan branch were especially cheap. If you’ve visited a retro game shop in Japan before, then you have probably noticed that some games show up in stock a lot more than others. This is true of a lot of PSP games (Monster Hunter, I’m looking at you), PS1 games, and PS2 games as well. I always recommend checking out junk sections of chains like Book Off and Hard Off to save money on those types of games, but at other chains you’ll find them mixed right in with the regular inventory. I thought I had gotten a great deal on FF Dissidia when I picked my copy up for 100 yen a few months back, but finding a copy for 50 yen is just unreal. Even rarer games like Skies of Arcadia (Eternal Arcadia Legend in JP) on Gamecube were a steal at this location. I hadn’t seen this game for less than 7000 yen everywhere else I looked, so this was an instant buy when I visited.

Console wise I would say that this branch of Ojamakan is pretty fair. You can find cheaper prices on handhelds at some places if you do some footwork, but I would say that Ojamakan is around the middle of the spectrum. Much cheaper than the high end stores, and maybe slightly cheaper than most Book Offs and Hard Offs these days. This is especially true of the in demand systems now such as the 3DS and PS Vita. You’re paying a premium for those systems now, but if you buy them at this chain you might save a few thousand yen

Access

This is another great location for Ojamakan. Each and every store I’ve visited has been very easy to get to from the station they are near, and this is no different. But that’s probably because every store is local and off the beaten path, not by the places with the most foot traffic.

There are a few ways to get here. One way is to take the Keihan Line to Kodamashi station, then switching to the monorail line and getting off at Minami Ibaraki station then taking the Hankyu line towards Kyoto to Ibarakishi station. The EASIEST way to get there, however, would be to just take the Hankyu line. This can be done from western Kyoto, or if you’re coming from Shin-Osaka where the bullet train is, you can take the JR Osaka East line to Awaji station, then transfer there to the Hankyu-Kyoto line and get off at Ibarakishi. I believe you should be able to take a direct train from Osaka Umeda station as well where the Hankyu line begins. From Ibarakishi station, it’s less than a 5 minute walk to get there, and you can get to it directly from the station by following the overhead bridge to the store.

The Verdict

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

Easy to get to, easy to find things you’re looking for, and easy to buy things are all reasons I would recommend checking out this store if you’re in the Osaka area in the future. It’s also not the only store located on the Hankyu line (the other Ojamakan I recommended is also off of the same line), so it makes it easy for you to hit up multiple stores in one day. I personally would recommend starting in Umeda and hitting up the stores in that area, then hopping on the Hankyu line to check the Ojamakans out. It’s also a great feeling to explore non-touristy areas and to see what real Japan looks like, not just want they want to show visitors. The same can be true all these local game stores as well; buy games at prices the local pay, instead of what the businesses want to charge you in the sightseeing areas.

But wait, there’s more!

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