4 ms·
I agree about the horribleness of Japanese game arcades, but that actually can be an attraction if you’re in the right (or wrong?) frame of mind. I’ve dropped i
by tkgally 5y ago
I agree about the horribleness of Japanese game arcades, but that actually can be an attraction if you’re in the right (or wrong?) frame of mind. I’ve dropped into “game centers” quite a few times over the years—usually just to use the restroom, though occasionally to look around. While arcades in the suburbs can be just annoying with the noise and teenagers, those in the scuzzier areas of big cities—Shimbashi and Kabukicho in Tokyo, Isezakicho in Yokohama, Nishinari in Osaka—can have an atmosphere of life-on-the-skids ennui all their own. I remember, one weekday afternoon, watching several middle-aged guys silently sitting at a horse racing game—something like the ones in [1] and [2]—in the dim basement of a run-down building in Shimbashi. It looked like they had been there all day. What a way to spend one’s life.
I haven’t been in any arcades for several years, but apparently they have been no-smoking since April 2020 [3, in Japanese].
[1] https://lineblog.me/mssp/archives/5037607.html https://lineblog.me/mssp/archives/5037607.html
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrekv_ttmNQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrekv_ttmNQ
[3] http://bayon-game.com/?p=35375 http://bayon-game.com/?p=35375
- tkgally 5y agoIn case anyone’s interested, below are some Google views of Japanese game centers that don’t look very enticing, at least to me. The first three are in Osaka; the fourth is in Shimbashi, Tokyo. https://www.google.co.jp/maps/@34.6454389,135.5009173,3a,75y,0.57h,95.52t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s7jZ1A7HZYV3wDuInSI-Z0w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=ja https://www.google.co.jp/maps/@34.6454389,135.5009173,3a,75y... https://www.google.co.jp/maps/@34.6455462,135.4997983,3a,75y,129.58h,82.23t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sH3F5Mnez1TbFkdUDxbn4JQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=ja https://www.google.co.jp/maps/@34.6455462,135.4997983,3a,75y... https://www.google.co.jp/maps/@34.6981048,135.533943,3a,75y,195.14h,94.23t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1srHTbxXkK7zVBQJyqwcwYlg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=ja https://www.google.co.jp/maps/@34.6981048,135.533943,3a,75y,... https://www.google.co.jp/maps/place/Diana+Amusement+Space/@35.6660895,139.7578676,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1sAF1QipNR5YXSfL9eq7Zy0xU5iE7cI_SSsmc39IIPYpPO!2e10!3e12!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNR5YXSfL9eq7Zy0xU5iE7cI_SSsmc39IIPYpPO%3Dw152-h86-k-no!7i4656!8i2620!4m9!1m2!2m1!1z44Ky44O844K744Oz!3m5!1s0x60188bebd4a4ebb3:0x239f6814b19c1423!8m2!3d35.6662764!4d139.7576156!15sCgzjgrLjg7zjgrvjg7OSAQx2aWRlb19hcmNhZGU?hl=ja https://www.google.co.jp/maps/place/Diana+Amusement+Space/@3...
- MathYouF 5y agoHere's one I frequented semi-regularly when I lived in Tokyo. It is also maybe one of the most iconic game centers, being in Akihabara right outside the metro station with a large "SEGA" sign. Super not sketchy, mostly normal and mostly young people, no smokers, several women, even people there as couples. SEGA Akihabara Building 3 +81 3-5297-3601 https://maps.app.goo.gl/S9PTNg7Yn29Wfcee9 https://maps.app.goo.gl/S9PTNg7Yn29Wfcee9 I really think the OP was actually describing what in English we would call casinos (pachinkos) rather than arcades (game centers).
- suction 5y agoNo I didn't. I was talking about Game Centers. I guess you're a too far gone Otaku to even tell how creepy the places you think of as "iconic" are.
- suction 5y agoThe whole entertainment sector in Japan that caters to nerds aka otakus is very much not enticing to normal people. It's very seedy, and run by crime syndicates.
- fomine3 5y agoSo you think Sony (biggest content holder for otaku market) is run by crime syndicates? Stop posting falsehoods without source.
- suction 5y agoSony is a tech / electronics company. Stop letting your love for Japan getting the better of you.
- fomine3 5y agoNow Aniplex makes $$ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aniplex https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aniplex. They also acquired crunchyroll and funimation. I accept any evidence that indicates other big entertainment company is run by crime syndicates. I just hope you stop posting falsehoods.
- suction 5y agoSo the non-smoking laws in Japan are in effect now (I left Japan in 2019), but I wouldn't count on them being enforced. Anyway that'd remove one barrier of stepping into an Arcade in Japan.