It's been a while since I wrote much on the blog. Whenever I lost inspiration I found it's better to let it be for a while, rather than force myself to write something. Of course that leads to me having a lot of old pictures in the "backlog", but I'm slowly starting to publish them today.
We took our annual trip to Hong Kong in November 2012, and as always I visited some game arcades. I can't believe I've kept these pictures to myself for a year, but here they are.
Showing posts with label Locations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Locations. Show all posts
Monday, November 11, 2013
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Outland Oslo
I thought I had already written about this, but apparently not. We were visiting Oslo in the end of July. A friend of mine who is very much into Lego took us to a shop called Outland. In addition to a ton of rare Lego sets, they focus on role playing, comics, fantasy and board games. And.. arcade cabinets?!
Thursday, September 27, 2012
A report from Liseberg!
For some weeks now, I've been writing about the game arcades in Hong Kong and Tokyo. These remote locations offer some of the best gaming experiences out there, and many of us dream of going there.
Well, to all people living in Scandinavia I have great news! Sweden has a place which rivals the best of what Asia has to offer! I am of course talking about the arcade in Liseberg, the biggest amusement park in the nordic region. I was there in July, and was very impressed with what they have to offer.
Well, to all people living in Scandinavia I have great news! Sweden has a place which rivals the best of what Asia has to offer! I am of course talking about the arcade in Liseberg, the biggest amusement park in the nordic region. I was there in July, and was very impressed with what they have to offer.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Hong Kong and Tokyo November 2011 - Part 13
We have come to the final post in this series of visits to arcades in Tokyo and Hong Kong. It's been a long journey, and I hope you have enjoyed at least some of the pictures!
We're back in Hong Kong again, after an eventful week in Tokyo. This time we're in the middle of the tourist area, Tsim Sha Tsui. Right at the Star Ferry Pier, Avenue of Stars and the view to the famous skyline there is a small arcade in the second floor of a shopping mall building. I wonder how much longer it will remain in that place. Hong Kong has changed a lot the recent years, and I'm honestly fearing that this arcade will disappear. The interesting shops are rapidly being replaced by expensive brand shops like Prada, Gucci and LV. And those obviously don't blend well with game arcades.
We're back in Hong Kong again, after an eventful week in Tokyo. This time we're in the middle of the tourist area, Tsim Sha Tsui. Right at the Star Ferry Pier, Avenue of Stars and the view to the famous skyline there is a small arcade in the second floor of a shopping mall building. I wonder how much longer it will remain in that place. Hong Kong has changed a lot the recent years, and I'm honestly fearing that this arcade will disappear. The interesting shops are rapidly being replaced by expensive brand shops like Prada, Gucci and LV. And those obviously don't blend well with game arcades.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Hong Kong and Tokyo November 2011 - Part 12
Greetings everyone! This series of visits to Hong Kong and Tokyo arcades is slowly coming to an end. Today I'm posting about one more fantastic location, and maybe one of the reasons why my day at Joypolis was such an amazing experience. You see, as my wife and I were taking a break to go eating, we accidentally bumped into a place which I'm sure many of you know about. The retro arcade (and mall) in Odaiba!
It's just next door to Joypolis, so combining the two for one whole day of enjoyment is perfect! We also ate at a restaurant nearby, with a wonderful view to the water and the thousand lights of Tokyo.
I won't write too much about this, and mostly let the pictures speak for themselves.
It's just next door to Joypolis, so combining the two for one whole day of enjoyment is perfect! We also ate at a restaurant nearby, with a wonderful view to the water and the thousand lights of Tokyo.
I won't write too much about this, and mostly let the pictures speak for themselves.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Hong Kong and Tokyo November 2011 - Part 11
Hello everyone! We have come to part 11 in this long line of posts from my trip to Hong Kong and Tokyo back in November 2011. Is this never going to end, you ask?
Well, please bear with me for just a little more. We have actually come to one of my favorites, the one I have been looking forward to writing about.
11.11.11 will always be a special date for me. It's on this day that I visited Tokyo Joypolis! I wish I could say that I arrived at 11:11 in the morning, but I think we were at a grocery shop nearby at that time. Dark clouds were gathering above us, and it started raining before we could enter the mall where Joypolis is located. A nice day for some indoor activities!
Well, please bear with me for just a little more. We have actually come to one of my favorites, the one I have been looking forward to writing about.
11.11.11 will always be a special date for me. It's on this day that I visited Tokyo Joypolis! I wish I could say that I arrived at 11:11 in the morning, but I think we were at a grocery shop nearby at that time. Dark clouds were gathering above us, and it started raining before we could enter the mall where Joypolis is located. A nice day for some indoor activities!
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Hong Kong and Tokyo November 2011 - Part 10
My wife and I are both great Disney fans. We visit Disneyland Hong Kong as often as we can, but not on this holiday! We had never been to the Tokyo park, so we decided to give that a try instead. We had great expectations as we entered through the arched entrance. And Tokyo Disneyland delivered! We were there in November, so the park was dressed in Christmas decorations. Just like the American parks, they have old looking town buildings near the entrance, and in the middle of the "town square" was a beautiful gigantic Christmas tree!
But.. What was that building on the right? Does that say.. ARCADE?
Of course I had to go inside. The wife went for some shopping instead. I guess she needed a break from games after the long day in Akihabara. Imagine that. Well, I certainly wanted more!
I shouldn't have been surprised, but this game arcade was very different from the modern technological marvels of the electronics district. This place was obviously all about the mechanical amusemets of yesteryear. I'm not a hundred percent sure if all of the games were original, but I have no reason to doubt it. I just wonder when they all arrived in Japan. Did they come here when they were new, or has Disneyland Tokyo imported them from USA in recent years?
First up was.. A crane! You've got to be kidding me, more cranes? This one felt very different, though. Although it mostly played like its modern counterparts, the feeling is very different. Not only is the crane a part of a theme (miniature steam shovel). The wooden cabinet and the sign on top set the mood in a whole different way than the cranes I'd seen all over Akihabara. This is one crane that I can like.
And here's another one! The Japanese obviously like their cranes.
The change machine was also old-looking and ornate, but something makes me believe that this is made quite recently.
Chicago Coin's Goalee is a two player ice hockey game. The condition is almost too good for a 1946 model. The backglass looks perfect!
Take a look at this random YouTube video for gameplay.
And here's a beautiful Rock-Ola 1937 World Series baseball game. The picture doesn't do it justice. I found a YouTube video showing the game, please take a look!
World Sprint is a bicycle game. I'm not sure about how it plays, because I didn't test it. But look at that condition! It doesn't look like it's from the time when your grandparents were young.
They also had a football (soccer) game with similar controls. I love the look of all the mechanical figures with the beautiful painted backdrop.
Now this is really something! Ever since I watched the Tom Hanks movie Big as a kid, these old style fortune teller machines intrigued and scared me. The doll inside this one didn't look very impressive, but I didn't dare to try it nonetheless. You remember what happened to Tom Hanks, don't you? :-)
Hand shake with Uncle Sam, test your strength! This one almost looked oddly out of place in Tokyo, Japan. Just looking at this picture makes me imagine that I'm in some southern state fair!
There isn't much information about this Automaton Palm Reader on Klov, but it was made by the New York based company Mike Munves Corp. Arcade Equip. and featured readings from "the celebrated palmist Fletcher".
Now this one just freaks me out. I fear that grandma will break through the glass at any time. Moving along!
This Flip Skill from the Mills company is from 1938. That's more than 70 years old, and look at that condition!
I'm not sure if Play-Golf is the original name for this, but it sure is beautiful! Just look at how the backdrop blends in with the playfield and creates a complete illusion of a great golf course! It's more like a piece of art than an amusement machine.
I tested a couple of rounds on this Bally-Round. It's certainly very random compared to the pinballs of today, and in that regard it's almost more similar to a modern pachinco machine. But it's beautiful, and the condition is like the other games they had on display: Nearly perfect!
Here's another pinball model, the 1932 Daisy Pinball from Peo Manufacturing Co. The year of manufacture is actually not accurate, according to Klov. It could have been made any time between 1931 and 1932, but no matter when it's made it's old!
Tokyo Disneyland's collection of old mechanical games impressed me, and I could see that that they were popular among its visitors. It's amazing that future generations can enjoys these ancient machines for years to come!
Needless to say, the rest of the park was also a wonderful experience. We spent so many hours there, and didn't leave until it was closing time. What a wonderful way to spend a day.
But.. What was that building on the right? Does that say.. ARCADE?
Of course I had to go inside. The wife went for some shopping instead. I guess she needed a break from games after the long day in Akihabara. Imagine that. Well, I certainly wanted more!
I shouldn't have been surprised, but this game arcade was very different from the modern technological marvels of the electronics district. This place was obviously all about the mechanical amusemets of yesteryear. I'm not a hundred percent sure if all of the games were original, but I have no reason to doubt it. I just wonder when they all arrived in Japan. Did they come here when they were new, or has Disneyland Tokyo imported them from USA in recent years?
First up was.. A crane! You've got to be kidding me, more cranes? This one felt very different, though. Although it mostly played like its modern counterparts, the feeling is very different. Not only is the crane a part of a theme (miniature steam shovel). The wooden cabinet and the sign on top set the mood in a whole different way than the cranes I'd seen all over Akihabara. This is one crane that I can like.
And here's another one! The Japanese obviously like their cranes.
The change machine was also old-looking and ornate, but something makes me believe that this is made quite recently.
Chicago Coin's Goalee is a two player ice hockey game. The condition is almost too good for a 1946 model. The backglass looks perfect!
Take a look at this random YouTube video for gameplay.
And here's a beautiful Rock-Ola 1937 World Series baseball game. The picture doesn't do it justice. I found a YouTube video showing the game, please take a look!
World Sprint is a bicycle game. I'm not sure about how it plays, because I didn't test it. But look at that condition! It doesn't look like it's from the time when your grandparents were young.
They also had a football (soccer) game with similar controls. I love the look of all the mechanical figures with the beautiful painted backdrop.
Now this is really something! Ever since I watched the Tom Hanks movie Big as a kid, these old style fortune teller machines intrigued and scared me. The doll inside this one didn't look very impressive, but I didn't dare to try it nonetheless. You remember what happened to Tom Hanks, don't you? :-)
Hand shake with Uncle Sam, test your strength! This one almost looked oddly out of place in Tokyo, Japan. Just looking at this picture makes me imagine that I'm in some southern state fair!
There isn't much information about this Automaton Palm Reader on Klov, but it was made by the New York based company Mike Munves Corp. Arcade Equip. and featured readings from "the celebrated palmist Fletcher".
Now this one just freaks me out. I fear that grandma will break through the glass at any time. Moving along!
This Flip Skill from the Mills company is from 1938. That's more than 70 years old, and look at that condition!
I'm not sure if Play-Golf is the original name for this, but it sure is beautiful! Just look at how the backdrop blends in with the playfield and creates a complete illusion of a great golf course! It's more like a piece of art than an amusement machine.
I tested a couple of rounds on this Bally-Round. It's certainly very random compared to the pinballs of today, and in that regard it's almost more similar to a modern pachinco machine. But it's beautiful, and the condition is like the other games they had on display: Nearly perfect!
Here's another pinball model, the 1932 Daisy Pinball from Peo Manufacturing Co. The year of manufacture is actually not accurate, according to Klov. It could have been made any time between 1931 and 1932, but no matter when it's made it's old!
Tokyo Disneyland's collection of old mechanical games impressed me, and I could see that that they were popular among its visitors. It's amazing that future generations can enjoys these ancient machines for years to come!
Needless to say, the rest of the park was also a wonderful experience. We spent so many hours there, and didn't leave until it was closing time. What a wonderful way to spend a day.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Hong Kong and Tokyo November 2011 - Part 9
This is obviously the ninth part in my series of posts from the game arcades in Hong Kong and Tokyo. If you haven't read the other parts, please look at the backlog.
Just as we were about to end the night, we saw one more Sega location. We we just standing outside the Akihabara JR train station, and there it was! Of course we had to visit this one last spot.
Once again, Google street view had me confused. I was pretty sure about this location, but the building is something completely different! The explanation is that the Google camera car visited Tokyo a couple of years before I did, and at that time the Sega arcade was what looks like a news kiosk.
View Larger Map
Now on the other hand, it's looking great! Project Diva takes up most of the wall above the entrance, and the Sega logo attracts us to go inside. Well, "now" as in November 2011.
There wasn't much to be seen here, to be honest. Some candy cabs, a lot of cranes. The only game we sat down to play was this 3D racing game, complete with glasses. The effect was quite nice. Take a look at this gameplay video I found on YouTube: Maximum Heat 3D.
As pretty much everyone knows, Japan is quite different in many aspects of day to day living. On our way home we spotted this advertising poster.
Who's up for some communication with Sonico? The women's liberation movement would have torn this down within hours if this were to hang in my home town!
Or how about this "mammary" pudding? What could this possibly taste like? Milk?
Our little tour of Akihabara has come to an end. The next day we went to another district, and ran across a nice shop for retro enthusiasts. It's very Coca Cola oriented, but they also had some nice pieces for decorating the game room. I guess this shop is mostly targeted towards bars and restaurants, because most people can't possibly have room for this.
I like the neon clocks! I actually got one almost just like this from eBay.de, and I'm going to use it to brighten up my game room.
Other than that, there were a lot of Coca-Cola items, 50s retro and diner decorations.
This post had less arcade related material than I wished for, but the next one comes from Tokyo Disneyland. They have a surprisingly nice collection of old mechanical games in their collection!
Just as we were about to end the night, we saw one more Sega location. We we just standing outside the Akihabara JR train station, and there it was! Of course we had to visit this one last spot.
Once again, Google street view had me confused. I was pretty sure about this location, but the building is something completely different! The explanation is that the Google camera car visited Tokyo a couple of years before I did, and at that time the Sega arcade was what looks like a news kiosk.
View Larger Map
Now on the other hand, it's looking great! Project Diva takes up most of the wall above the entrance, and the Sega logo attracts us to go inside. Well, "now" as in November 2011.
There wasn't much to be seen here, to be honest. Some candy cabs, a lot of cranes. The only game we sat down to play was this 3D racing game, complete with glasses. The effect was quite nice. Take a look at this gameplay video I found on YouTube: Maximum Heat 3D.
As pretty much everyone knows, Japan is quite different in many aspects of day to day living. On our way home we spotted this advertising poster.
Who's up for some communication with Sonico? The women's liberation movement would have torn this down within hours if this were to hang in my home town!
Or how about this "mammary" pudding? What could this possibly taste like? Milk?
Our little tour of Akihabara has come to an end. The next day we went to another district, and ran across a nice shop for retro enthusiasts. It's very Coca Cola oriented, but they also had some nice pieces for decorating the game room. I guess this shop is mostly targeted towards bars and restaurants, because most people can't possibly have room for this.
I like the neon clocks! I actually got one almost just like this from eBay.de, and I'm going to use it to brighten up my game room.
Other than that, there were a lot of Coca-Cola items, 50s retro and diner decorations.
This post had less arcade related material than I wished for, but the next one comes from Tokyo Disneyland. They have a surprisingly nice collection of old mechanical games in their collection!
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Hong Kong and Tokyo November 2011 - Part 8
I am running a series of posts about my travels to the game arcades in Hong Kong and Tokyo from November 2011. This is obviously number eight in the row of posts, so please look at the backlog if you have missed the other parts.
Well, with that little piece of information, let's get on with the show!
My wife and I had spent a whole day in Akihabara, Tokyo. This district is famous for shops selling state of the art electronics, but also retro boutiques and arcade games. I was obviously there for the latter, but we also did some shopping in between all the playing.
We were on the way back to the JR train station when we passed what looked like a discount shopping mall.
Here's the Google street view, so you can see where it is:
View Larger Map
..and here's my picture of the very same spot. Looking at the dark sky, it's obviously getting late. What caught our eye in the beginning was that this mall had a camera focused on the pavement outside, so anyone who passed by was automatically on TV! No, of course not. They had a monitor showing the picture from the camera, nothing was broadcasted. But this stupid marketing trick worked on us, because it stopped us long enough to catch our interest. And so, we went inside.
The mall had various shops, carrying everything from bathroom equipment to Batman costumes. In one shop I found a cheap dance machine! Although it's not exactly Dance Dance Revolution, I'm sure this DDR-style alarm clock must be a hit in the community. Who knows, maybe you need to "dance" the correct combination with your fingertips to stop the alarm?
After numerous trips to Hong Kong, I knew that almost all of their pinball games are long gone. I had some hopes for Japan, though, as I read about dedicated pinball clubs and locations with numerous games. But it wasn't until I arrived at this mall that I actually found one! A Stern Sopranos, standing alone in between the more usual suspects.
The condition wasn't great, but it was definitely playable. Looking at the playfield made me wonder if spare parts are hard to find in Japan, because they had done some MacGyver style fixes.
Seriously, who covers drop targets with tape? Did they do this to make it stay down? Or to make the ball roll smoothly over it?
At least it looked like lots of people had enjoyed this title. I've never seen such amount of wear around the flipper buttons! There was a smooth finger groove almost half a centimeter into the cabinet, obviously coming from thousands of games worth of wear.
Like I said, Sopranos was positioned in between shooters, music games and titles I had grown used to throughout this day in Akihabara.
Here are some stereotypical Asian games: Pop N' Music, and a DDR machine in the background.
Other music games included Reflec Beat and Taiko Drum Master.
Did I mention that there was a strict NO PHOTO policy everywhere I went? We have always said that Japanese tourists bring the most cameras, and there's a myth that they take pictures almost constantly. Now I know why! They are not allowed to take photos in their own country!
I tried to be careful, but I was carrying a large DSLR. In retrospect I should have chosen a small compact camera. Or maybe I shouldn't have taken any photos at all, but then you wouldn't be reading this. :-P
If I remember correctly, this shooter was also music related.
This is called Elevator Action - Death Parade, but the gameplay looks very different from the 1983 original. You can look at a random YouTube gameplay video here.
It was a nice surpise that we bumped into this little game arcade in this bargain shopping mall, and it offered one or two games that we hadn't seen earlier in the day.
The evening was getting late, and we were on our way to leave Akihabara for the night, but there were still some more places to explore. More about that in the next post!
Well, with that little piece of information, let's get on with the show!
My wife and I had spent a whole day in Akihabara, Tokyo. This district is famous for shops selling state of the art electronics, but also retro boutiques and arcade games. I was obviously there for the latter, but we also did some shopping in between all the playing.
We were on the way back to the JR train station when we passed what looked like a discount shopping mall.
Here's the Google street view, so you can see where it is:
View Larger Map
..and here's my picture of the very same spot. Looking at the dark sky, it's obviously getting late. What caught our eye in the beginning was that this mall had a camera focused on the pavement outside, so anyone who passed by was automatically on TV! No, of course not. They had a monitor showing the picture from the camera, nothing was broadcasted. But this stupid marketing trick worked on us, because it stopped us long enough to catch our interest. And so, we went inside.
The mall had various shops, carrying everything from bathroom equipment to Batman costumes. In one shop I found a cheap dance machine! Although it's not exactly Dance Dance Revolution, I'm sure this DDR-style alarm clock must be a hit in the community. Who knows, maybe you need to "dance" the correct combination with your fingertips to stop the alarm?
After numerous trips to Hong Kong, I knew that almost all of their pinball games are long gone. I had some hopes for Japan, though, as I read about dedicated pinball clubs and locations with numerous games. But it wasn't until I arrived at this mall that I actually found one! A Stern Sopranos, standing alone in between the more usual suspects.
The condition wasn't great, but it was definitely playable. Looking at the playfield made me wonder if spare parts are hard to find in Japan, because they had done some MacGyver style fixes.
Seriously, who covers drop targets with tape? Did they do this to make it stay down? Or to make the ball roll smoothly over it?
At least it looked like lots of people had enjoyed this title. I've never seen such amount of wear around the flipper buttons! There was a smooth finger groove almost half a centimeter into the cabinet, obviously coming from thousands of games worth of wear.
Like I said, Sopranos was positioned in between shooters, music games and titles I had grown used to throughout this day in Akihabara.
Here are some stereotypical Asian games: Pop N' Music, and a DDR machine in the background.
Other music games included Reflec Beat and Taiko Drum Master.
Did I mention that there was a strict NO PHOTO policy everywhere I went? We have always said that Japanese tourists bring the most cameras, and there's a myth that they take pictures almost constantly. Now I know why! They are not allowed to take photos in their own country!
I tried to be careful, but I was carrying a large DSLR. In retrospect I should have chosen a small compact camera. Or maybe I shouldn't have taken any photos at all, but then you wouldn't be reading this. :-P
If I remember correctly, this shooter was also music related.
This is called Elevator Action - Death Parade, but the gameplay looks very different from the 1983 original. You can look at a random YouTube gameplay video here.
It was a nice surpise that we bumped into this little game arcade in this bargain shopping mall, and it offered one or two games that we hadn't seen earlier in the day.
The evening was getting late, and we were on our way to leave Akihabara for the night, but there were still some more places to explore. More about that in the next post!
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Hong Kong and Tokyo November 2011 - Part 7
I'm writing a series of posts about our holiday in Hong Kong and Tokyo back in November 2011. You may have guessed it from the title headline that this is part 7. If you've missed the earlier posts, please look at the backlog.
We had a great day in Akihabara already, especially in Taito Hey and Club Sega. We had been here for so many hours, from morning to evening. Was I getting tired of playing games? Absolutely not!
Continuing on the same road, we saw a great looking building.. Taito Station! Here's the Google street view for you:
View Larger Map
The building is very visible even from afar, because of this beautiful cube on top with the space invader design. It really tempts you to come closer and enter the arcade.
I saw a guy on a forum the other day who had incorporated the Taito Station logo in his game room. It looked great! Imagine having one of these signs on the wall!
But.. What is this? We can already see that the entrance area is filled with cranes. Not looking good! I still need to go inside and look at what they have, but at this point I'm not very optimistic. I was thinking back to the buildings we had visited in the beginning of the day, and I expected this to be more of the same.
...and I was right! This Taito Station had some nice Egret cabinets (which is expected, it's Taito after all), but most of the games were of little or no interest to me.
Again, for those of you who think I'm crazy for writing this, you must realize that I was kind of spoiled with games at this time. It would take more than the usual fighting games to impress me after this long day of arcades.
We looked around a bit, but we only stayed for a couple of minutes. To be honest I just took the pictures in a hurry and left. Akihabara has so much to offer, so why spend time in a place that doesn't have anything special to offer? I realize that this sounds terrible, but there's just so many hours in a day!
I'm not interested in arcade and pinball games. Of course I also like classic consoles and computers! I'm sure many of you feel the same, as many of us grew up with these machines for home use. The Akihabara district is famous for shops selling classic games for consoles. I didn't research much before my holiday, and when we came home I learned that I had missed a huge retro shop in the area. It doesn't matter so much to me, to be honest, as I feel I have most of the console items I could wish for. And we passed by a little shop on our walk between the arcades. The walls were packed with cartridges for Gameboy, Super Famicom, Megadrive and other consoles of yesteryear! Most of them were loose without box, but the prices were reasonable.
They also had consoles, peripherals and various cool items. There were a lot of tempting items, but I didn't end up buying anything. Just look at those nice Bomberman multiplayer adapters and the boxed Nintendo 64.
At the entrance they had a nice (but new) product, which enables you to play both Famicom and Super Famicom games on the same console. The price was very reasonable, at 4980 yen. I already have both of those consoles, so I passed.
Our day in Akihabara was coming to an end, but we still had a couple of buildings to visit before going back to our hotel in Shinjuku. Please come back soon, and I will write about a surprisingly nice arcade inside a random shopping mall!
We had a great day in Akihabara already, especially in Taito Hey and Club Sega. We had been here for so many hours, from morning to evening. Was I getting tired of playing games? Absolutely not!
Continuing on the same road, we saw a great looking building.. Taito Station! Here's the Google street view for you:
View Larger Map
The building is very visible even from afar, because of this beautiful cube on top with the space invader design. It really tempts you to come closer and enter the arcade.
I saw a guy on a forum the other day who had incorporated the Taito Station logo in his game room. It looked great! Imagine having one of these signs on the wall!
But.. What is this? We can already see that the entrance area is filled with cranes. Not looking good! I still need to go inside and look at what they have, but at this point I'm not very optimistic. I was thinking back to the buildings we had visited in the beginning of the day, and I expected this to be more of the same.
...and I was right! This Taito Station had some nice Egret cabinets (which is expected, it's Taito after all), but most of the games were of little or no interest to me.
Again, for those of you who think I'm crazy for writing this, you must realize that I was kind of spoiled with games at this time. It would take more than the usual fighting games to impress me after this long day of arcades.
We looked around a bit, but we only stayed for a couple of minutes. To be honest I just took the pictures in a hurry and left. Akihabara has so much to offer, so why spend time in a place that doesn't have anything special to offer? I realize that this sounds terrible, but there's just so many hours in a day!
I'm not interested in arcade and pinball games. Of course I also like classic consoles and computers! I'm sure many of you feel the same, as many of us grew up with these machines for home use. The Akihabara district is famous for shops selling classic games for consoles. I didn't research much before my holiday, and when we came home I learned that I had missed a huge retro shop in the area. It doesn't matter so much to me, to be honest, as I feel I have most of the console items I could wish for. And we passed by a little shop on our walk between the arcades. The walls were packed with cartridges for Gameboy, Super Famicom, Megadrive and other consoles of yesteryear! Most of them were loose without box, but the prices were reasonable.
They also had consoles, peripherals and various cool items. There were a lot of tempting items, but I didn't end up buying anything. Just look at those nice Bomberman multiplayer adapters and the boxed Nintendo 64.
At the entrance they had a nice (but new) product, which enables you to play both Famicom and Super Famicom games on the same console. The price was very reasonable, at 4980 yen. I already have both of those consoles, so I passed.
Our day in Akihabara was coming to an end, but we still had a couple of buildings to visit before going back to our hotel in Shinjuku. Please come back soon, and I will write about a surprisingly nice arcade inside a random shopping mall!
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