Where to Get Japanese Visual Novels
This page lists sources to buy or download untranslated Japanese VNs, whether commercial or doujin.
Note: Many of these sites are in Japanese and may feature explicit content. Some stores require Japanese payment methods or addresses.
Commercial Stores
Recommended
Free Doujin Visual Novels
Web-Based Games
TsukiWeb
Web-based implementation of Tsukihime. Go to Config > Advanced > Language in order to enable Japanese text.
Fate/Stay Night Web
Web-based implementation of Fate/Stay Night. In order to play in Japanese, press ESC to open the settings menu and set the language to 日本語.
Archives & Preservation
Recommended
Anime-Sharing
RecommendedForum-based hub for sharing VNs and related media. Many releases originate here and are often clean rips from DLsite. Focuses on DDL sharing, but offers torrents as well. Make sure to sort by new to find working links.
Nyaa.si
RecommendedPublic torrent tracker with many visual novels. Check here for popular SFW titles.
Shinnku
RecommendedChinese visual novel resource site offering a wide range of Japanese titles. The site is organized, regularly updated, and supports downloads for Windows, Android, and other platforms. Check out the 生肉集合 section for raw VNs sorted by release date. Games are marked as 生肉 (raw/untranslated) or 熟肉 (translated) next to the file size on both the search page and individual game pages.
H-Suki
RecommendedAdult-oriented DDL site with VN downloads and patches. Great for older and rare titles. Impressive PC-98 collection. Requires a login to download, but links from here tend to last for a while.
Internet Archive
RecommendedHuge digital library. Great for older obscure titles. The Neo Kobe collection is an essential for anyone interested in PC-98 games.
Other Sources
AnimeBytes
Private torrent tracker with a games section. Invite required. For some reason, doujin works are not allowed, so generally not the best source for rare titles.
Ryuugames
Frequently updated blog with links to Japanese VNs. Keep in mind that their "Japanese (Raw)" section doesn't actually filter out translated games. May be more convenient than other sources due to the inclusion of Google Drive and OneDrive links.
zi0.cc
Chinese DDL site with a lot of raw games. Sorted using a folder structure similar to Shinnku. Includes collections sorted by developer. Avoid games in the "汉化galgame会社合集" folder or releases with "汉化" in the name as those are translated.
Mikocon
Chinese forum-style site with a section for Japanese eroge and VNs. Useful source for finding cracks for games with DRM, as many of them originate here.
GGBases
Chinese mirror of Nyaa with added metadata like tags, images, and CG gallery links. May help with browsing or previewing content.
TouchGal
Chinese galgame resource that provides direct download links. Games tagged as "日本語" or "生肉资源" are in Japanese. You can filter by language on the search page.
bt.orzx.im
Chinese torrent board hosting "2D. G.F." releases, often including VNs, CG sets, and other otaku content.
Japanese PC Compendium
Site dedicated to retro Japanese computers that provides mediafire links to old games on various platforms. Check out the adventure category for VN-style games.
General Search Tips
-
Use exact search terms
Searching the game title in quotes (e.g."game title" "download"or"game title" "Rapidgator") can help surface direct links. Quotes force an exact match in most search engines. -
Try using romaji
Some uploads only use romaji instead of kanji/kana. Searching both versions can yield different results. -
Use multiple search engines
Google doesn’t always show everything. DuckDuckGo or Bing can sometimes uncover links that don’t appear elsewhere. -
Check VNDB release pages
For doujin or lesser-known visual novels, the VNDB releases page or discussions tab might list file names or host links. Users sometimes upload to MEGA and only share the link there without a homepage. -
Use adblock Many file hosting or third-party download pages are overloaded with misleading ads or popups. Using uBlock Origin is strongly recommended for safety and sanity.
Notes on Premium Links
DDL sites (like Anime-Sharing or Mikocon) host links on cloud services such as:
- Mega.nz
- Rapidgator
- MediaFire
- Pixeldrain
- Mixdrop
These are often called “premium links” or “mirror links" and some may either throttle download speeds or prevent downloading without a premium account.
Tips:
- Links may go down over time. Try alternate mirrors or check newer posts.
- Some links have limits (e.g. Google Drive quota).
- Occasionally, these are behind shortlink redirects or ad pages. Skip them carefully, and avoid clicking on any ads.
- Download managers like JDownloader or Motrix can help with bulk or large downloads by merging split releases and automatically handling file extraction.
- Use a VPN if links are region-locked.
These mirrors are one reason sites like Shinnku or Ryuugames may be more convenient than older DDL forums. If you are committed to being a free user, these tools may help you bypass certain restrictions. If you are someone like me who downloads obscure games frequently, pairing a debrid service like Real-Debrid or Debrid-Link with JDownloader may be ideal. However, this is not recommended for the average user. Do not let anyone convince you that you must spend a lot of money to learn with your favorite games. It is often simply a matter of finding the right link.
Notes on Buying from Japan
- You may need a Japanese address (e.g. Tenso) or proxy service (e.g. Zenmarket, Neokyo, Buyee, White Rabbit).
- Most proxy services will refuse to buy digital goods, but you can always check with their customer support.
- Some stores do not sell to overseas accounts. Use a Japanese VPN or proxy if needed.