What is “Super Potato,” you may ask?  No, it’s not the name of a Nickelodeon cartoon.  It is, in fact, my most favorite shop in all of Japan!

Super Potato is a retro-gaming store, located in the Akihabara district of Tokyo, surrounded by maid cafes and electronic shops.

The moment you step off the elevator, you’re greeted with a circus of bleeping and blooping from the half-dozen game demos that are free to play.  Inside, the brightly lit room is stacked from floor to ceiling with games and consoles, while gaming memorabilia from plush Marios to Megaman action figures hang from above.  “Mama, I’m home!”  This floor consists of 1,000+ Famicom cartridges, Mega Drive titles, Gameboy, Gameboy Advanced, Wonder Swan, Sega CD, Sega Dreamcast, and countless others.

Take the elevator one floor up, and you’ll notice the bleeps and bloops sound more prehistoric.  Here are the Atari games, Intellivision, the Odyssey, and other systems from the 70’s and early 80’s which fascinated those of us old enough to remember.  Their shelves are shared with more “contemporary” used games like PlayStation 2 and Xbox, as well as gaming videos and strategy guides.  

Let’s journey up one more floor, where we have the retro arcade.  A smoking bench sits on one side next to the Super Potato vending machines if you’re thirsty, while the room’s main attraction consists of long lines of classic arcades like Street Fighter and 1943: The Battle of Midway.   Want to feel like lord of the games?  Well, they’ve got a throne just for you, made completely out of Famicom cartridges.

Super Potato is like a video game museum – only everything’s for sale!  If anyone’s visiting Japan with plans to check out the gaming scene, then Super Potato is a must.

 

written by Damon Finos