Retro Game Store Reviews: A-Too (Kyoto)

Ever wanted to go shopping for video games while also being able to see one of the most famous temples in all of Japan? Well you are in luck cause a-Too is another store worth checking out if you’re going to be in Kyoto for some sightseeing, or even if you’re just there to look for retro games. It has its good points and bad points, but after my review I will leave it up to you whether to visit it or not. I have to get another shout out to Retrogamecentercx on Instagram for talking about this on their account. I never would have thought to look for this shop had they never talked about it, and it turned out to be quite a treat.

The Selection

A-Too, while a stand-alone store, is partnered up with the Surugaya chain, just like ZEST in Kanagawa and a few other thrift shops like Wattman. While I don’t personally know what that means, I’m guessing they sell some of the product Surugaya has at their warehouse at their own prices, and either share part of the profits from each game sold, or they straight out buy the games from Surugaya to sell. That being said, it seems like a-Too got the “pick of the litter”. There were so many amazing titles in this store from a variety of handhelds and consoles so no matter what Nintendo, Sony, or Sega thing you are looking for, odds are you’ll be able to find it here.

What set this store apart from any other retro shop I’ve been to in Japan is their superb organization and display set up. Usually you would go into a store and the consoles or handhelds would all be in their own area, the accessories would be in boxes all clumped together, and the games would all be stuffed as closely together as possible so as to not waste any space. A-Too doesn’t waste any space either, but they how they do it is something that every other chain should copy. Instead of finding all of the hardware and software separate and all over the store, a-Too puts them together in the same shelf space. That means if you are looking for Playstation games, you’ll find the Playsation consoles in the same area, along with accessories like memory cards and also strategy guides for games on the system. It made it very easy for customers to find things, but I would also imagine this leads to better sales for the store as well. Being able to grab everything without having to look around for matching software/hardware will lead to more multiple sales whenever somebody goes in to just look for one thing.

The amount of stock they have is also pretty healthy overall. I didn’t find any part of their stock lacking, and the seemed to keep their inventory fresh and up to date. It might seem like they don’t have a lot of accessories or hardware overall because of their set up, but when you put it all together you’d see a different picture. They even had modded systems like older Nintendo systems with backlights and IPS screens! That’s a first for me in a retro game store.

The Pricing

This is where A-Too lost me. For the most part they are at around same price points as other Surugaya stores. You can still find some affordable games there, but good luck finding “deals”. Some stuff was overpriced, especially their handheld systems and popular software titles (think Pokemon, Zelda, Mario, etc). You could kind of tell that this store knew what they had, what the value was, and who their customer is. Being close to a famous international landmark means that they always get a lot of foreign tourist traffic, and with the yen as weak as it is now those people don’t mind paying what locals would find to be overpriced.

If you zoom in on some of the pictures above, you can see stuff like Metroid guide books for almost 10,000 yen, a boxed Sony Pocketstation for more than 12,000, and those IPS screen Gameboys and GBAs will set you back between 30,000 to 40,000 yen. The popular titles will definitely have premium pricing, but I did see a couple things I was looking for that have less international appeal for decent prices and if I ever find myself back in the area and they still have them I’ll pick them up.

Access

So where is this famous landmark nearby that I’ve been talking about? Why that’s Kinkakuji, the Temple of the Golden Pavilion. Pretty much every tourist that comes to Kyoto in Japan will have this location on their itinerary, or will have visited in the past. The problem with Kinkakuji in Kyoto though, is that it’s a pain in the ass to get to. There is a bus you can take from Kyoto station that takes you towards Kinkakuji and it almost drops you off right in front of A-Too, at Waratenjin-Mae bus stop. From there it is like a 2 minute walk. However, it’s almost always packed with people going to the temple. You also have the option of going directly to Kinkakuji and then walking to A-Too in about 10-15 minutes. Not a bad way to use your time efficiently while on your trip.

The last option for getting to a-Too is to take the JR Sanin main line train from Kyoto to Emmachi station and then walking for about 25 minutes or so. That’s the option my friends and I decided to do after a long day of visiting game stores in the Kyoto area in order to save money on transportation. No great choices, but some are less bad than others depending on what your reason is for being in Kyoto. Personally I think it’s great if you’re sightseeing and game hunting at the same time.

The Verdict

• Selection: 4.5/5
• Pricing: 3/5
• Ease of Access: 3/5

It really is all about presentation. It makes food look better, it gets people to visit a place, and it makes people want to buy things from your store. I thoroughly enjoyed looking through this store, even if I didn’t end up buying anything. My friends and I probably spent a good hour looking through all the stock they had. The inventory alone was pretty good, but how they set up everything definitely added points to their score.

The prices and ease of access took points off for a-Too though. I know there is a tourist tax on things in Japan right now so I had expected the prices to be a little high, but there is a line between being greedy and getting a good profit and this store came pretty close to crossing it (though it still probably isn’t as bad at Super Potato). It’s definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area, but be prepared for a long journey from the station if you take the bus or train.

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