Advertisement

Register for free to remove this ad

Hey everyone,

I'll be going to Tokyo in about a week, and I need some recommendations. Now I've been to Tokyo twice, so I have visited places like Harajuku, Shibuya, Akihabara, etc. This time around, I would like to explore Tokyo a little more.

First and foremost, I was wondering what the major arcades were in the Tokyo area? Specifically for fighting games like King of Fighters and Street Fighter. I've been meaning to check out the Japan arcade scene.

I've never been to the Tokyo Tower, Kamakura, Yokohama, or Odaiba, so I'm definitely going to visit those places this time around. Are there any cool places in those areas?

Although I frequent Akiba, Shibuya, and Harajuku, would anyone mind suggesting some nice stores for anime figures/merchandise, and video game related stores?

How about some cheap night clubs, or events in Tokyo during August 22nd September 5th? Are there any nice indoor beaches or outdoor beaches near Tokyo? How about onsens? Sorry for all the questions...any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I'm a huge J-pop fan, and I really want to attend the A-nation 06 concerts while I'm there. What would be the easiest way to get tickets? How about for a baseball game?

Oh, and would anyone happen to know if Neo Geo Land is still around? I know the original one shut down a few years back.


Thanks in advance!

No Neo Geo Land went out of business sadly. As for stores and Aki don't bother for the most part. When you're there or slightly before just bid on shit from Yahoo! Of Japan auctions and have the products shipped to your Hotel or Hostel. Buying in stores at Aki for the most part is overpriced.

I think that the major arcade was just called "SEGA." But basically, people there like Guilty Gear and Virtua Fighter 5. If you're into fighting games, well... then that's Heaven.

Tekken is pretty big too but at least VF actually has a following over there and almost every fighting fan doesn't play Tekken like over here.

For Arcades...Check out Shinjuku3 Chrome (on the east side of Shinjuku JR station)...theres some pretty good tatio inns there...just don't wander too far into Kabukicho, Tokyo's vice zone...there are some arcades there, but they are often more expensive than other parts of town...Theres a couple OK arcades out in Ikebukuro (including a counter strike arcade setup, counter strike neo)....two good sized ones (a Sega and if I remember correctly, an Adores) are near the Sunshine 60 building. There's a massively huge arcade out on Odaiba in tokyo bay...Its under the giant farris wheel....There's also a Sega Joyoplis (kind like Gameworks in the US) but I haven't been in it...its in a mall called Decks

Tokyo Tower is tourist trap, and expensive on at that....Go to Tokyo City Hall (free) or Roppongi Hills (pricey but pretty plush and has a small art gallery at the top as well)...you'll get better views in a much less cramped spot.

Odaiba is nice because it has huge amounts of open space...just don't go on a weekend because its very crowded. Try to work it by walking back over rainbow bridge before it closes at night...its a hike but you'll get some really impressive views. In the past there was some sort of Nintendo exhibit at a Panasonic Center out there.

Nikko is nice to visit as well...Yokomama isn't all that much different that Tokyo...just not as many tall buildings although it does have a nice area near the bay and some nice temples/gardens.

Originally Posted by Sarang01 No Neo Geo Land went out of business sadly. As for stores and Aki don't bother for the most part. When you're there or slightly before just bid on shit from Yahoo! Of Japan auctions and have the products shipped to your Hotel or Hostel. Buying in stores at Aki for the most part is overpriced.

I don't think the stuff at Aki is overpriced. If you think so, then what place would you recommend? Does anyone know of some US bidding services that bids on Japan auctions for you? I know about Celga and Rinkya, but they're pretty pricey. Do any other services exist?

So where is this "SEGA" arcade located? In Akiba? I heard Joyopolis in Odaiba is really good. Gotta test out my KOF XI skills over there!

umm take me with you, and have fun

Odaiba is fun, I'd recommend going there for sure. I didn't go in the Joyopolis there 'cause there was an admission fee and the wife didn't want me blowing our yen just so I could look inside (and then possibly end up staying the whole day there, natch). We did end up visiting the Toyota Megapolis. I just wish I had an International license so we could have made an appointment to test drive the cars.

As for Akiba being expensive...well, Japan is just expensive in general. The cool toys were all bookoo bucks, and it's like that pretty much everywhere. I wouldn't bother using auction, unless you have an address to send to and decent translation skills. I don't know any other US bidding service beyond Rinkya--it certainly is damn expensive to the point of not being worth it.

There's a good thread on Tokyo game shopping somewheres but I'm too lazy to link it.

Originally Posted by y2kenjination So where is this "SEGA" arcade located? In Akiba? I heard Joyopolis in Odaiba is really good. Gotta test out my KOF XI skills over there!

Yeah, it's in Akiba.

IIRC, with a US passport, you don't have to pay tax and the pricest are a tad bit cheaper in Akiba.

If you're into amusement parks, check out Tokyo Dome.

You should bring me back some anime related stuff Do you take PayPal?

Also, please track down CheapyD and give him some wedgies for the rest of us.

If you could bring me back a nice Japanese woman. I would really appreciate it. Thanks

What does it cost to go to japan for like a week? total, airfare, hotel, some spending money... whatever else. I know theres not an actual answer, but an estimate maybe?

i miss japan...

Look Up Cheapy and join his podcast for the day!

Originally Posted by DeathDealer What does it cost to go to japan for like a week? total, airfare, hotel, some spending money... whatever else. I know theres not an actual answer, but an estimate maybe?

It really depends on where you live, what you plan on doing, what you plan on buying, etc etc. I live in Seattle, and my roundtrip ticket costed me $800 (it's cheaper during other parts of the year). I'm bringing around $1600 to spend (including $370 for the hotel, and $300 or so for food and transportation).

Look at long as you can get an account set up on Yahoo! Of Japan auctions set up with a credit card and send it to your hotel I would imagine you having VERY little trouble after that and it's certainly worth the cost in some cases as any Bemani product you will overpay here substantially compared to there. Comparing eBay and YoJ auctions I got Para Para for a song. Also if you're a DM fan you can sometimes find used bundles for GREAT prices.
Here's a great piece of advice for you that I think everyone will agree with me on. If you're staying for a while get a monthly train ticket or even divide the cost up with some other people and do it per week or whatever as long as it's not specialized to your name you're set. I mean those trains will bite into your pocketbook real quick.

I enjoyed my visit to Tokyo Tower. If you havent gone to the top yet, do it. Sure its a tourist attraction but the sights from the top are AMAZING. I have some excellent photos from about 6 years ago when I first when that I took from the top of the towers at dusk and evening. It amazing to see how built up Tokyo really is and I just find it cool how you can see how they have all the small cemetaries placed through the city, nothing like here in the US.

Originally Posted by DeathDealer What does it cost to go to japan for like a week? total, airfare, hotel, some spending money... whatever else. I know theres not an actual answer, but an estimate maybe?

I can say from the 3 times I have been to Tokyo I have spent anywhere between $4000-6000 depending on how long I stayed which was 12 days the first time, 7 days the second and 15 days the third. The big factors are airfare and the place you stay. I always choose moderate hotels, usually around $200 a night, sometimes less, these would be compared to your standard $100 a night hotels here in the US, nothing special at all but they are very comparable to what we have here in the US, of course they have cheaper places but seeing as Im 30, I really am done with slumming/backpacking it and I like my own bathroom. Food is on the expensive side when compared to here, easiest way to do it is to think that you will spend about $10 for anytype of "fastfood" meal because they do have plenty of Mcdonalds, KFC, Wendy's and Pizza hutts but they also have a lot of food huts and sushi bars on the street/corners. Then you have to think about all the cool stuff they have over there, A trip like this is most definetly one of those times that you splurg or spoil yourself.

I hope you get to go to the A-NATION tour, I love Ayumi Hamasaki

How much would a pink DS lite be over there? I don't know if liksang/ncsx are being honest in their pricing?