Surugaya

Quick Facts

What it is

Surugaya (駿河屋), run by Shizuoka-based Suruga-ya Co., Ltd. (established 1997), is one of Japan's largest secondhand hobby empires — a nationwide chain where almost everything on the shelves is pre-owned, condition-graded and priced to move. Where Mandarake feels like a museum, Surugaya feels like a vast, fast-turning treasure warehouse: endless rows of used anime figures, retro Famicom and PC Engine games, trading card singles, doujinshi, plastic models and railway models, all fed by the chain's buyback counters and its giant online catalogue — so in-store prices mirror a national market, not a single shop's guesswork.

Two destinations anchor the chain. In Akihabara, Surugaya runs a cluster of specialist buildings minutes apart: the Main Store (figures, anime goods, trading cards), the Ekimae store (retro and current games), a Game Hall (retro games, arcade boards), an Anime & Hobby Hall (railway models, tokusatsu), a Plastic Model Hall, a Trading Card & Board Game Hall, and a Buyback Center. In Shizuoka, the company's home city, the Honten flagship — opened in October 2023 and billed by the company as the largest Surugaya ever — spreads figures and anime goods, models and railway dioramas, games and records, and a trading card floor with a 188-seat duel space across four floors, plus a separate Game Hall nearby.

How to shop

1. Pick Your Store Format (Real Store vs. Friendly Shop):
   • Real Stores are the full experience: many hobby departments, glass showcases and buyback counters. The Akihabara cluster and Shizuoka Honten are the flagships.
   • Friendly Shops are compact Surugaya corners inside partner bookstores — handy for manga, games and figures, but narrower. Stock differs by store, so check the official store list before you travel.
2. Browse the Open Shelves:
   • Most stock sits on open shelves with a price tag and condition grade — dig through the back-catalogue boxes and bargain corners.
   • Almost everything is one-off used stock: if you find your grail, buy it, because it may be gone tomorrow.
3. Accessing Showcase Items:
   • High-value trading cards, rare figures and vintage games sit in glass showcases. Ask staff to unlock the case so you can check the item's condition before deciding.
4. Checkout (Standard or Tax-Free):
   • Pay at the register; each store (and each Akihabara hall) runs its own checkout, so complete any tax-free registration at the store where you bought, on the day of purchase.
   • If that store is on Surugaya's official tax-free store list and your eligible purchases there total ¥5,000 or more (before tax) that day, present your original physical passport: you pay the tax-included price and the purchase is registered for a refund after customs confirmation when you leave Japan — see "Tax-free — refund method" below.
5. Selling Items Back (Buyback):
   • Surugaya buys used hobby goods at most stores, and at dedicated buyback centers such as Akihabara and Ikebukuro. Buyback reception usually closes an hour before the store does.
   • The company's store pages state the official rules: selling requires a free Surugaya membership card (issued when you first sell) and an official ID presented every time; under Japan's secondhand-goods law the ID must show your name, current address and date of birth. Short-stay visitors should confirm at the counter whether their documents can complete a sale before relying on it.

Services & options

1. Retro Video Games (レトロゲーム): Famicom, Super Famicom, PC Engine, Saturn and PlayStation cartridges and discs, plus arcade boards at the Akihabara Game Hall — Surugaya's deepest department.
2. Used Anime Figures & Character Goods (フィギュア・アニメ雑貨): Prize figures, scale figures, acrylic stands and Ichiban Kuji goods at secondhand prices, especially at the Akihabara Main Store and Shizuoka Honten.
3. Trading Card Singles (トレカ): Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! and One Piece Card Game singles in showcase rows, with dedicated TCG halls in Akihabara and a 188-seat duel space at the flagship.
4. Plastic Model Kits & Railway Models (プラモデル・鉄道模型): Unbuilt Gunpla and character kits, tools and paints, plus N-gauge and HO trains — the Honten's model floor has a giant working diorama.
5. Doujinshi, Manga & Anime Music/Video (同人誌・コミック・CD/DVD): Fan-made doujinshi, used manga sets, anime CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays, and vinyl records.

Payment & practical info

• Payment Accepted: Cash at every store. Credit cards and QR payments such as PayPay, d-Barai and au PAY are widely accepted, but the mix varies by store — the official tax-free store list shows each store's methods, and small Friendly Shop counters may be more limited.
• Hours: Vary by store. Akihabara Main Store: 11:00–21:00 weekdays, 10:00–21:00 weekends and holidays. Shizuoka Honten: 10:00–22:00 daily, buyback reception until 21:00. Some suburban stores open until midnight — check your store's official page.
• Tax-free — refund method (checked 2026-11-11): Since 1 November 2026, tax-free shopping in Japan follows a refund system. Surugaya offers it only at the stores on its official tax-free store list (published on its global site, SURUGA-YA.COM) — the Akihabara stores, the Shizuoka Honten and many others are listed, but not every store qualifies, so check the list before you shop. At a listed store you pay the tax-included price and register the purchase with your original physical passport; eligible purchases at that store on the same day must total ¥5,000 or more before tax. At departure, complete customs confirmation at a tax-free procedure terminal with your passport — within 90 days of purchase and before checking in your baggage; you show the goods only if flagged. The store or its designated refund operator then refunds the consumption tax by the method registered at purchase — customs does not pay refunds. For eligible purchases from participating stores, cash collection at designated airport refund terminals may be available, but it does not cover every purchase, so confirm the refund method when you buy. Confirmation is per tax-free purchase record: every tax-free item on the record must be taken out of Japan, consumables must not be consumed in Japan (if one is consumed, that record cannot be confirmed and receives no refund), while non-consumables may be used in Japan as long as they are exported and confirmed. The old sealed-packaging rule and the ¥500,000 cap no longer apply. Surugaya has not published its refund operator or fee, so confirm the method at the counter. Source: Surugaya Tax-Free Store List.
• Tax-Free Status: Available at the stores on the official tax-free store list only, on same-day purchases of ¥5,000 or more before tax, under the refund system (see the note above).

Good to know / Common mistakes

• Not Every Surugaya Is Tax-Free: Only stores on the official tax-free store list can register tax-free purchases. Friendly Shop corners inside bookstores are not automatically included — check before planning a haul around a refund.
• One-Off Stock Rules: Used items are single pieces, and yesterday's bargain is gone today — check the tag's condition notes and inspect showcase items before paying.
• Buyback Closes Early: Buyback reception typically ends about an hour before closing (21:00 at the Shizuoka Honten), and selling always requires the membership card plus official ID.
• Each Akihabara Hall Is Its Own Store: The Main Store, Game Hall, Plastic Model Hall and TCG Hall are separate shops with separate registers, and the ¥5,000 tax-free minimum is per store per day — consolidate spending in one hall to reach it.

Sources

• Surugaya Corporate Store Information & Store Count (Verified: 2026-11-11)
• Surugaya Official Tax-Free Store List (SURUGA-YA.COM) (Verified: 2026-11-11)
• Suruga-ya Co., Ltd. Company Outline (Verified: 2026-11-11)
• Surugaya Real Stores — Shizuoka (Verified: 2026-11-11)
• Surugaya Real Stores — Tokyo (Verified: 2026-11-11)