Game hunting around Tokyo. Any tips?

[schnuth]

Next month my wife and I will be making our second trip to Japan. We'll be staying mostly in Tokyo with a couple planned day trips outside the city. I know there are a couple locals on the forum, so I wanted to ask where good places are to buy games?

During our last trip in 2007 I spent a lot of time in Akihabara game hunting, and got quite a bit of stuff from Super Potato and Trader #2. I found there is another retro store called Friends on the northern side of Akihabara. Has anyone ever gone to this store?

I also got quite a few games at Mandarake in Nakano Broadway and thought their prices were better then in Akihabara, but without as big of a selection and not many consoles. How is the new Mandarake Complex in Akihabara for games?

How about flea markets? I found a few locations of fleas but I wasn't sure if they would be similar to the ones here in the States or not.

The pictures in the "Local Game Stores" thread are impressive too, but it's mentioned that these places and expensive and out of the way. Are there any of these crazy megastores worth the effort to find?

Finally I've heard that Book-Off locations have a small and cheap selection of older games. Has anyone had any experience with these stores?

I plan on concentrating mostly on PC Engine and Famicom. But as I found out last time being confronted with these insane amounts of games, your purchasing plans can change in a hurry! I really can't wait!

Thanks in advance for any insights!

Aaron

[wadakatsu]

Friends is nice if you don't mind paying cash -- the selection's not the best, but they sometimes have rarities at good prices. I wouldn't bother with the Mandarake complex in Akihabara, though. Like most of Aki these days, it's skewed heavily toward anime stuff and has only a single floor of game content. The Nakano Mandarake has better selection and prices. If you can find the game-only Liberty (it's a couple of blocks from Friends on Chuo-Dori, but there are several Liberty stores in Akihabara, most of which are anime-based) its retro section has a pretty decent selection as well.

If you're in Shibuya, you should look for the Mandarake there (it's in the BEAM building, near Tokyu Hands). Its game selection isn't the greatest, but it tends to have stuff that doesn't show up elsewhere, and at good prices.

[Arctic Feather]

Book-Off locations have a small and cheap selection of older games. Has anyone had any experience with these stores?

When I lived in Japan my local Book-Off had only a small selection of games but with decent prices. I found Tsutaya to have a better selection of retro games and the prices weren't too bad. This was in the Osaka area mind.

[schnuth]

Thanks for the tips guys, I'll check those out!

Aaron

[boatofcar]

Look here and here. Lots of great info.

[smork]

I'm available as a free tour guide if I'm around and you ask nicely

Smork's quickie central Tokyo guide
Super Potato is great but $$$$$$$$ (no deals to be had)
Mandarake in Nakano Broadway has gone wayyyyy downhill, though I still like Nakano for dinner and general wandering around.
Friends is small but OK; i've bought some stuff there before. Their common stuff in fine, their rare stuff is rather expensive.
Mandarake Akihabara is OK. Better prices than Super Potato on normal stuff, but they have some ridiculous prices on more uncommon stuff. REALLY ridiculous.
Liberty used to be somewhat sucky, now it's really sucky. Not worth visiting in general.
There's another retro game store near Liberty that's worth a visit if you want a laugh at prices that are 2x anywhere else.

Best shop in general is Traders, the one under the railroad track.

Best best shops are far from public transportation. There's probably a correlation to poor location and being better.

Under appreciated game store chain: GEO. They are very hit-or-miss, but some of them have a really, really nice retro section. There's one in Chiba city not far from my office that is truly fantastic. Others may have nothing worthwhile, if at all. As always, YMMV.

[Breetai]

I usually find the best deals at Hard-Off stores in the countryside. Also, some of the Momotaro chain stores are really good... some aren't so good. It sounds like smork knows a lot of good places in Chiba, so you should take him up on his advice.

[schnuth]

Thnks for the insight guys. I may take you up on that offer Smork but we're still hammering out out itinerary. Once I have a better idea I may drop you an e-mail. I'm so looking forward to getting back to Tokyo!

Aaron