The Japan Trip Resource Thread!

[tokyochojin]

Thanks, I will definitely put that in, although the Nakano game store itself isn't that big.

[wakka]

Nice guide Tokyochojin. I loved Nakano Broadway's stores too Briareos

[randombs]

Thanks a lot for the guide and also to bk for Nakano. Last few trips to akihabara have been depressing because the shops I visited before all shut down. Will fire up the page next time I'm down there

[Jushin-Thunder-Liger]

Just back from another business trip to Japan and have been rereading some of this thread. Its incredible how things have changed. Akihabara is no longer the Mecca for videogamers and re-reading posts i made 9 years ago has brought back some great memories of that time in my life.
I remember vividly how excited i was the night before i left for my 1st trip to Japan and the amazing trip i had there, i barely slept a wink all trip as i wanted to see as much as i could in 10 days, it was like a dream.

Now i travel there 4 times a year in business class and dont feel even a tingle of excitement as i arrive, it could be Tokyo, Moscow or Sydney for all i care, they are all the same, just airports and hotels.

Gas Panic is **** these days, too.

Time moves on, eh?

[briareos_kerensky]

To the resident of the Land of the Rising Sun: what's the weather like between late September and mid Ocotober, in Tokyo-Osaka area? I'm planning vacations for the next year, in that time frame, and I wanted to know if it's too rainy/too cold/whatever. Thanks.

[Darwock]

As far as Osaka goes it will still be on the hot side until around mid October, then it will spontaneously turn cold overnight. I'm still going to work without a jacket but it is noticeably cooler (thank god). This doesn't take typhoons into account, we just had a couple but those cannot be predicted.

[randombs]

Tokyo:

Early September was pretty rainy. Still quite hot in the day time but started getting a bit cooler in the evenings. Mid-September marked the switch over and the evenings got quite cold, mostly because of the wind. It's now a bit nippy in the morning (~8am) and late afternoon (~6pm) although there have been a few sunny days over the past few weeks and things warm up a bit. When it rains, it's quite heavy and there are lots of puddles so mind your feet. I'm looking forward to November because apparently it's meant to be nice.

@ Jushin: Try economy next time. You never know, it might reignite the passion

[kryss]

As far as Osaka goes it will still be on the hot side until around mid October, then it will spontaneously turn cold overnight. I'm still going to work without a jacket but it is noticeably cooler (thank god). This doesn't take typhoons into account, we just had a couple but those cannot be predicted.

Kanto is pretty much the same in my experience.

[briareos_kerensky]

I'm looking forward to November because apparently it's meant to be nice.

I will ask the same thing again in November then, it might be even better due to next year's deadlines.

[Sketcz]

Akihabara is dead.

I do not believe it. On a rare half day off that I had, I went to Akihabara for the second time on this trip, and people are right: the place is dead.

Half the games on my shopping list no one stocked. It took 3 HOURS of traipsing before I eventually found Monster World Complete Collection, and it was the same price as on eBay, shipping to Europe. WTF?! No store stocked Psychic Force Collection on PS2. I mean, come on, PS2 games? This wasn't some rare PC-Engine title I was trying to find. These are bloody common as muck PS2 games, and no one has them! I've only only found about 6 gaming stores: Super Potato, and a whole bunch of Trader stores.

Where are the games stores in Akihabara? When I visited 13 years ago every goddamn building space was a games store. There was nothing you could not find - 10 minutes of walking and literally EVERYTHING was available. Now nothing exists any more.

I traipsed up the main strip 3 or 4 times, and wandered all the side alleys until I got lost.

Question for the forum:
Before I return home, I will probably have one more day or half-day off. Is there an up to date map of Akihabara with lists of stores? I'm only interested in buying disc based releases, so nothing pre-PS1 or pre-PCECD era. Mainly PS2 games, actually. Oh, and I want to buy the Princess Maker Memorial Box for Windows PCs, if anyone has it (unlikely).

So, recommendations?

I honestly never once imagined that it would be easier and cheaper to find Japanese games on eBay UK than it would be in Akihabara.

What the **** happened to this town in the last decade?

[briareos_kerensky]

A few pages back there's a list of interesting shops, but you should totally pay a visit to Nakano arcade.

[edit] I was on my phone, rushed reply. Anyway, I think that moe things happened, and Akihabara followed the best revenue possibility; even in a span of to years Akihabara changed, shrinking the videogame part for anime/manga/maid cafes.
And from what I've experienced, it's easier to get 8-16bit games than PS2.

[teddymeow]

Super Potato is still there. I think Akiba isn't the place it used to be (for games) anymore as gaming is more widely accepted now. There are Sofmap, Bic and Yodobashi stores everywhere not to mention Book Off selling pre-owned in a lot of areas.

I still enjoyes walking about Akiba but iI seems more about the anime, cosplay, hentai, hobby otaku now rather than the gamer.

[Darwock]

Similar things have happened in Osaka. I have more fun browsing the shelves in Geo and other trade-in/rental stores than places like Super Potato, but even in those cases it's getting hard to find any sizable PS1/PS2 sections... everything is getting swallowed up by the DS basically. There was a golden age for gamers, and (IMO) it ended when the current gen started.

[MoFo2]

But where are the shops for Gamecube-games? :P

[randombs]

The highlights of my last trip to Akihabara were a groovy curry restaurant and half-price cherry tomatoes from Y's Mart