More than three months after the launch of NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 5090, securing one remains a major challenge—not just due to supply shortages, but also because of mounting efforts by Japanese retailers to curb “GPU-buying tourism.”
In electronics hot spots like Osaka’s Den Den Town and Tokyo’s Akihabara, major stores are taking unprecedented steps to limit access to the highly sought-after RTX 5090 and 5080 graphics cards. The primary target: foreign tourists, particularly from China, who are flying in specifically to purchase these GPUs in bulk—often for resale or high-end AI and crypto applications.
Initially, stores attempted to discourage tourist buyers by eliminating tax-free purchase options, hoping the higher price would deter overseas shoppers. However, with RTX 5090 prices soaring globally, many still find it worthwhile to travel to Japan, purchase the cards, and resell them at a profit—tax savings or not.
As a result, several retailers have now introduced more drastic measures, including signage stating that RTX 5090/5080 sales are “for domestic use only.” Yet with no practical way to verify residency at checkout, these restrictions are largely symbolic—and many savvy tourists still manage to circumvent them.
This situation underscores two broader issues. First, even months after release, RTX 5090 cards remain extremely scarce, highlighting ongoing strain in the GPU supply chain. Second, it reflects the shifting dynamics of the graphics card market, where consumer access is increasingly squeezed by industrial demand and speculative resellers.
Long-standing allegations have pointed to some Chinese board partners selling GPUs directly to crypto miners, bypassing the retail market entirely. Now, with the rise of generative AI and data-hungry applications, even more stock is being diverted to AI server manufacturers—entities willing to pay top dollar. For everyday gamers, that leaves limited availability, higher prices, and, ironically, GPU tourism as one of the few paths to access.