“How much should I budget for Akihabara?” is a harder question than it looks, because the answer depends entirely on what you’re there for — a casual afternoon of window shopping is a different trip than a serious Pokémon TCG haul or a scale figure hunt. Here’s a realistic breakdown by category, based on current going rates, so you can set a number before you go instead of guessing at the register.
Prices below are general ranges, not fixed prices for specific products — figure and card prices move with new releases, exchange rates, and secondhand demand. Treat these as planning numbers, not quotes.
Figures: What Different Types Actually Cost
Figure prices are driven far more by size and detail than by brand. The same manufacturer sells a small chibi figure for a fraction of what a large scale piece costs in the same season.
| Type | Typical range (new) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Prize figures (UFO catcher / gacha) | ¥1,000–3,000 | Lower quality, often the cheapest way to get a character |
| Nendoroid / chibi figures | ¥5,000–8,000 | Most popular entry point for new collectors |
| Figma / articulated figures | ¥6,000–12,000 | Posable, mid-range detail |
| Scale figures (1/7, 1/8) | ¥15,000–40,000+ | Price climbs fast with size and sculpt complexity |
Secondhand shops like Mandarake and Suruga-ya can bring these numbers down significantly for older or previously-owned figures, but rare and in-demand characters sometimes sell for more secondhand than they did at retail — collector demand doesn’t always follow a simple “used = cheaper” rule.
Trading Cards: Packs, Boxes, and Singles
Pokémon is the easiest reference point since pricing is standardized at retail. A single Japanese booster pack runs in the ¥180–220 range depending on the release, and a sealed booster box (30 packs) generally falls between ¥5,500 and ¥7,000 at retail — expect secondhand and resale prices to run higher for sought-after or older sets, sometimes significantly so.
Individual singles are where budgets can spiral — a binder of commons costs almost nothing, but a single sought-after card can run from a few hundred yen to tens of thousands depending on rarity and condition. If you’re hunting a specific card, decide on a ceiling before you start browsing binders, because shop-to-shop price comparison in Akihabara is easy and it’s tempting to keep looking “just one more store.”
Retro Games and Consoles
This is the widest range of any category. A loose, working handheld console can go for the price of a nice dinner, while a complete-in-box rare title can run into the hundreds of dollars. Super Potato and similar shops price based on condition, completeness (box, manual, inserts), and how sought-after the specific title is — two copies of the same game a few years apart can differ wildly in price if one still has its original box.
If you’re not a completionist, loose cartridges without boxes are usually the most budget-friendly way to build a collection.
Sample Day Budgets
Rough starting points, not including transport to Akihabara or accommodation:
| Trip style | Rough budget | What that gets you |
|---|---|---|
| Casual browsing | ¥3,000–6,000 | Lunch, a few gacha pulls, maybe one small figure or a pack or two of cards |
| Focused shopping trip | ¥15,000–30,000 | A Nendoroid or two, a booster box, some secondhand finds |
| Serious collector day | ¥50,000+ | One or more scale figures, sealed card product, or a specific chase item |
If you’re combining Akihabara with a half-day shopping route across multiple stores, it’s easy to underestimate how much a “quick look” at five shops adds up to — set a total ceiling for the day, not just a per-item one.
Payment and Tax-Free Savings
Most larger stores accept cards, but smaller specialty shops and secondhand dealers sometimes cash-only — carry more cash than you think you’ll need. Tax-free shopping removes Japan’s 10% consumption tax on qualifying purchases over the minimum threshold, which is a meaningful discount on a big haul — see our tax-free shopping guide for how it currently works, and note that the system is changing in November 2026.
The Easiest Way to Blow Your Budget
It’s rarely the planned purchases that break a budget — it’s the impulse buy at store four of five, after you’ve already told yourself you’re “just looking.” Akihabara’s density of shops makes comparison shopping easy, but it also makes it easy to lose track of how much you’ve spent across a dozen small transactions. Tracking purchases as you go, even roughly, helps more than any budget number decided in advance.
Found something you want but can’t carry home or that isn’t available outside Japan? We buy directly from Akihabara stores and ship worldwide. See how our proxy shopping service works.
