Tokyo’s Best Video Game Arcades in Akihabara: Where to Go, What to Do

If you’re a racing sport fanatic, this cease will likely be pleasant for you. The sport center’s historical past as a Sega arcade leaves so many cool classics accessible to experience, from Manx TT Tremendous Bike machines to a Rad Cellular sport that you just play whereas seated inside a mini automobile. I might have spent at the least an hour simply bouncing between the totally different steering wheels of those retro machines.

In comparison with once we visited the Namco sport heart earlier within the day down the road, the collection of rhythm games—the place tapping controllers to the beat earns you points—had been pretty related. Though in Gigo 3 we had been in a position to play a number of rhythm video games with out feeling the necessity to transfer because of different patrons ready in a line behind us. It was pleasant making an attempt out all the rhythm experiences for the primary time, and my private favourite was Sega’s Maimai machine. I used to be astounded watching close by gamers smash all the eight buttons at exactly the appropriate time together with the music, swiping fingers throughout the display screen as they rack up combos—I used to be content material to play on the approachable, simple problem ranges, quite than danger breaking out in a depraved sweat.

One other pleasurable expertise in Gigo 3 for vacationers is the image sales space part. Whereas it’s primarily crammed with teenage women perfecting their make-up, utilizing hair irons for touchups, and making an attempt on crunchy blonde wigs, we had a blast taking images within the cubicles and couldn’t cease laughing because the software program warped our facial options out of proportion till we regarded like ghostly aliens. One sales space we tried even had a horror theme with a light-weight narrative as you hit the poses.

We went laborious on the video games and by no means went over 5,000 yen (round $33) at any of the arcades in Tokyo. Total, our expertise at Gigo 3 was budget-friendly and magnetic.

Mario guidelines his house turf.

{Photograph}: James Matsumoto/Getty

If You’re Touring With Youngsters

After using an out of doors escalator to achieve the doorway of 1-chome Playland, positioned on Tokyo’s artificial island of Odaiba, I used to be surrounded by nostalgic neon hues and essentially the most mechanical arcade video games I’d seen all journey. Sure, it had just a few different choices for video games, however the primary attraction right here was an assortment of classic machines, typically with some sort of interactive, mechanical aspect. Regardless of the age and public use, a majority of the video games right here had been in nice form.

The house isn’t enormous, however round every nook we ran into distinctive experiences and fortunately spent fistfuls of yen cash. I used a tiny chef’s skillet to mash rodents as goal lights flashed throughout the display screen. My accomplice and I acquired a bit too aggressive spinning the cursors and making an attempt to win our ping-pong soccer sport. I nearly landed three pinballs in a row taking part in the Sailor Moon-themed tic-tac-toe.

At 1-chome Playland, I noticed many households with younger youngsters in addition to {couples} out on aesthetic dates. The placement is simple to miss, proper subsequent to different family-oriented choices just like the Legoland Discovery Center and Tokyo Joyopolis, however it’s actually well worth the practice experience by itself. We spent an hour and a half making an attempt out machines, and doubtless might have spent one other half-hour on a much less busy night time.

Simply be forewarned, any household outing at this arcade is sort of assured to finish with a visit to some close by ice cream store on the way in which again to the resort. It simply feels proper.

On the lookout for different Japanese sport facilities price visiting in Tokyo? We additionally loved our time at Namco, HEY Taito, and GiGO #1—all in Akihabara and only some blocks aside. For a extra intimate expertise, head to Takadanobaba, the place the Mikado Game Center has a stable collection of retro machines, and the close by Natsuge Museum is a implausible cease for pinball fanatics.

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