How to purchase RPGs from the Japanese Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch 2

I'll be the first to admit - we don't normally cover stuff like this, yet if anyone on our staff would be inclined to do so, it would be me. Chances are if you've been reading up on the Nintendo Switch 2's release, you're familiar with the Japan-only SKU that goes for a much lower price than the international, multilanguage model that most of the world has access to. There's been a lot of misinformation about what this SKU means for users wanting to access the Japanese eShop on their Switch 2s, which is especially pertinent to us considering that as of this writing there are games like Ys X: Proud Nordics that are currently scheduled to be released exclusively in Japan for Nintendo Switch 2.

There have been some reports that this means that all Switch 2's not sold in Japan would be unable to access the Japanese eShop; this is not true, and players can easily make user accounts granting access to the Japanese store, and even purchase games without too much trouble. If you already had a Japanese eShop account linked to one of the users on an old Nintendo Switch, the accounts and their games will seamlessly translate over to Switch 2 after a system transfer, but even if you haven't already made a Japanese account, we'd like to walk you through the steps for Nintendo Switch 2.

The first step, naturally, is to create a new Nintendo account. To do so, you'll want to access the sign-up page here. After entering your birthday, you'll need to fill out some details for the account. If you're aiming to make a Japanese account, the most important thing is to ensure that you select Japan as your country of residence. You'll also need an email that's separate from any that you might have used for an existing Nintendo account. If you have a Gmail, this part is simple - you can add "+jp" before the (at)gmail.com (such as example+jp(at)gmail.com), and while Google will forward any emails to this alias, many web services - including Nintendo! - will treat it as a separate address entirely. Once you've finished creating your account, you can create a new user on your Switch 2, and then link the new account to it. This will allow you to access the Japanese eShop by selecting it when launching the store.

This is where things get a little tricky. While back in the day the 3DS and Wii U Japanese eShops accepted foreign debit and credit cards, the current Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 versions do not. There is a workaround, though. You can simply purchase game codes or eShop credit elsewhere! I do so on Amazon Japan, though I must warn that the service can be finnicky on which accounts it will let purchase digital currency. You may be able to by merely adding a valid Japanese address to your account, but it's also possible that you'll be blocked with digital purchases until you've completed a confirmed transaction to a Japanese address. We can't confirm this will always be the case; I used a mail forwarder to import a PlayStation 4 Pro back in the day, so Amazon Japan hasn't blocked my personal account from digital purchases ever since.

Wherever you purchase credit (there are, of course, other options besides Amazon Japan) you'll be able to redeem them either via the Switch 2's eShop, or better yet, the Nintendo account payment portal. Personally, I recommend this over the actual eShop on the console itself. If you can't read Japanese, you'll be able to use your browser's built-in translation tools to navigate the webstore, making purchasing games easier. While it's less of a hassle on Switch 2, it goes without saying that the original Switch's eShop had major performance issues that made navigating it a nightmare.

With the current Virtual Game Card system, you'll be alerted when a game you've purchased for an account linked to your Switch 2 has been added, and it will immediately start downloading to your system when it next connects to the internet. While it takes a few extra steps compared to using a Nintendo account from your home region, creating and using a Japanese account - any other regional account, for that matter - is actually rather simple compared to the Switch 2's contemporaries. Best of luck with your (digital) imports!