Import duty itself has costed me around £22 on 3DS games in the past, so include that and you're over £55 for the same game. So if you somehow avoid import duty, you're paying (minimum) £33.81. The amount charged to my account on the date of purchase is £21.51 (which is in line with the conversion rate on said day), plus a £1.25 non-sterling charge, bringing the total to £22.76.įor reference, the same game (in its discount 'Best Price' box) has a base price of £28.93 on play-asia, which is before including shipping (which ranges from £4.88 to £26.37 ). To give an example, I downloaded the JPN version of the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy last month, which had a face value of ¥2,990. Thu 2nd Mar This is true, but the the non-native conversion fee will vary between cards (in some cases being zero), and I'd wager practically all games I would still come out cheaper paying the charge than paying for import costs etc., and Japan's favourable pricing for games can actually still make this cheaper than buying from your own store (depending on your region).Check out our guide for where to buy eShop credit for different regions regardless of your location.

Credit cards from outside your chosen region likely won't work, and PayPal is also temperamental, but you can purchase Japanese eShop credit from various outlets, register the code and pay using that method. Once you have your account, you'll obviously need to buy games on it and, unfortunately, paying can be tricky. If you want to view your local eShop, use that original account, if you want to see Japan's offerings, choose your new account instead. Once you've done this, you're ready to start perusing the Japanese eShop! When you click the eShop icon, you'll be asked who is using the eShop.

After you click Sign In and Link, enter your Japanese Nintendo Account credentials you created earlier.

Once that's done you'll be presented with the option to link your newly created user to a Nintendo Account.

You'll be taken through selecting a user icon and entering a name before finally adding the user to your system.

Once you're there you need to select Users, then click 'Add User.' First, click the gear icon on the bottom of the home screen to go to Settings. If you entered the code correctly, congratulations! You've just created a Japanese Nintendo Account. Enter the code you received on the page and click verify.

After that, you'll receive an email from Nintendo (to the relevant email address) containing a four-digit code.

This setting determines the eShop region this account will be tied to.

Finally, and this is the most important part - under country of residence, make sure you select Japan (or whatever other region's eShop you want to access).

This second account needs to be unique, so you'll need to ensure you not only have a second email address, but also easy access to it. Two key points here - first off, you need to use a different email address from your 'main' Nintendo account.

Next, you'll fill out your details like Nickname, Email address and password.

Then enter your date of birth on the following screen.

In your browser of choice, head over to and choose to sign up for a new account.

After all, why wait for games to make the sometimes slow journey to the west? Why miss out on Japan-exclusive titles? We present the following guide to get you started. While it's a much-lauded feature, Nintendo won't be publishing any tutorials on how to set up multiple accounts any time soon, so this guide is here to help you out. One of the most exciting features of the Nintendo Switch is the fact that it's region free, a welcome move for a Nintendo home console.

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