Apart from its scenic landscape and rich cultural history, Japan is known as a leading country in technology and games. It is the birthplace of many popular game titles, including Mario Bros, Pokémon, and Pac-Man.
In Japan, gaming is not limited to playing at home. Plenty of arcades and video games remain wildly popular to this day. Furthermore, Japan’s long history of gambling and Pachinko has contributed significantly to the growth of the gaming sector.
Japan’s gaming scene has flourished with various genres, such as role-playing, strategy, casino, fighting, and more. Many of these games, including Salon Prive Baccarat, are available to play on various devices like PC, console, or mobile, making them accessible to a wide range of players. This gaming culture eventually shaped how people enjoy playing games in the country.
If you are in Japan and want to immerse yourself in the country’s gaming culture, here are the top places to visit.
Super Nintendo World
The Super Nintendo World, located within the Osaka Universal Studios, started operating in March 2021. The park is designed to accommodate foreign and domestic visitors in various languages, making it appealing to families and gaming enthusiasts. The main feature of Super Nintendo World is a massive replica of the castle scaled by Mario in the Super Mario Game.
The park also features a Yoshi’s Adventure ride attraction, which enables visitors to ride throughout the park to view the vibrant grounds. The shops, restaurants, rides, and attractions center around the various Nintendo franchises.
Visitors can also enhance their experience by using a “Power-Up Band,” a high-tech wristband that syncs with your phone and accumulates points and virtual coins as you play in the park.
Bandai Namco Arcade
The Bandai Namco arcade, nestled in Tokyo’s renowned anime and gaming Akihabara District, spans six impressive floors, including a basement. This gaming paradise is home to various arcade games, claw machines, and capsule toys.
The first two floors are filled with crane games, where you can buy figurines and character toys. The third-floor features rhythm-based arcade games, including eight Taiko no Tatsujin drum machines. On the fourth floor, there are Bandai-branded capsule toy machines, where you can win fun little souvenirs.
The fifth floor is the Decks Stadium, where you can buy collectible trading cards from Bandai and play card games against other players. Meanwhile, the basement of the building is packed with Gundam video games.
Maruhan Pachinko
To experience the unique Japanese gaming culture, you can go to a Pachinko parlor, which is spread across Japan. One famous parlor is the Maruhan Pachinko, located in the Shinjuku District. The parlor offers free lockers, baggage storage, WiFi, and USB ports on each machine to charge your phone while playing.
The building has 1,160 machines, 704 of which are pachinko machines and 456 of which are pachi-slots, which resemble slot machines. Using a membership card, you can win points, exchange them for prizes, and even accumulate the winnings from each visit. Every area in the parlor features themes from different anime, and some machines may even draw a long queue.
Pokémon Centers
Pikachu is more than just a toy. He is an icon of modern Japan.
Generally, you can find Pokémon centers across Japan. However, the Pokémon Center Tokyo DX is one of the most popular. At the entrance, you will see a statue of Snorlax with Pikachu and Mew on either side.
As you walk into the store, you will see a lot of Pokémon merchandise, including the newest Pokémon video games, like Sword and Shield, and plush toys. During your visit, remember to check out the Pokémon Cafe next door, which offers various Pokémon-themed dishes.
Mikado Game Center
For many years, this two-story arcade in Tokyo has served as a hub for the fighting game scene in the city. The first floor of the arcade is home to a large selection of games from the 1980s and 1990s, including Pac-Man, the first Metal Slug game, and Darius.
In addition, the arcade has two Atari Star Wars games, and visitors still enjoy playing Capcom’s Street Fighter II arcade machines. Mikado Game Center also features pinball machines, such as the well-known Mediaeval Madness, and some musical games.
