arcades アーケード
Where salarymen and students alike go to blow off steam, blow through cash, and blow away high scores.
While arcades went extinct in most countries decades ago, in Japan they’ve evolved and are still thriving. These noisy time capsules pack every corner from Akihabara’s neon jungle to sleepy rural train stations. After 6pm, they transform into bizarre social melting pots where suit-wearing office workers hammer away at rhythm games beside uniformed high schoolers – united in their shared mission to delay going home.
Origins of arcades: Arcades evolved from department store rooftop amusement areas in the mid-20th century. When Space Invaders invaded in 1978, these gaming zones moved indoors and eventually spawned dedicated gaming palaces. Some department stores still maintain vestigial arcade areas on their top floors. Gaming appendixes that never quite evolved away.
The big players:
- GiGO (formerly Sega): For the Sonic fans
- Taito: Square Enix’s playground for Final Fantasy devotees
- Round1: The Switzerland of arcades. Neutral territory carrying all brands, plus bowling for when your fingers need a break from button mashing
Japanese arcades follow a vertical hierarchy of vice:
- Lower floors: Games of chance and UFO catchers designed to separate you from your money
- Upper floors: Games of skill where your inadequacy is on public display
The gaming buffet (random picks):
- UFO catchers: Crane games with prizes worth 500 JPY that you’ll spend 3,000 JPY trying to win
- Rhythm games: Gloves on hands, colored buttons under fingers, inhuman speeds on display
- Purikura: Photo booths that automatically airbrush you into an unrecognizable anime character
- Card games: Video games that spit out physical trading cards, combining two expensive hobbies into one convenient money pit
UFO catcher strategy guide:
- Don’t aim for the center – the two claws never actually meet in the middle, creating an invisible trap zone where prizes escape
- Move prizes incrementally toward the chute
- Set a spending limit before you start
- Accept that the machine was designed by sadistic engineers who studied the exact tensile strength needed to drop your prize just before reaching the chute
- Know when to walk away after blowing 5,000 JPY on a 800 JPY Pikachu plushie and accept the soul-crushing fucking truth that the store next door sells the EXACT SAME GODDAMN PLUSHIE GODDAMMIT!
Remember to bring:
- 100 JPY coins (lots of them)
- Hand sanitizer (these buttons have seen things)
- Patience (you will lose repeatedly)
- A membership card (300–500 yen) if you plan to become a regular
- The ability to ignore the judgmental stares of children who are somehow better than you at every game
While Western gamers abandoned arcades faster than a Tamagotchi, Japanese players kept the faith. Home consoles are for solo adventures, but arcades remain sacred temples of competitive button-mashing and public humiliation. As long as there are salarymen with stress to release and students avoiding homework, these fluorescent gambling dens for teenagers will continue their reign as Japan’s most socially acceptable addiction.