Arcade "GameOslo5" - Tachikawa, Tokyo

Well blowz me down!

Not only does Tachikawa have an awesome arcade, but one of the best fight game communities around the way! 

Huge 2 floor layout - ground floor catering for the usual rhythm and card games, second floor handling fight, retro and bullet hell games.

The first thing you'll notice is just how phenomenally spacious Oslo5 is, with plenty of fans and seating areas to accommodate the DDR and rhythm game players. Base and upper floor both got restroom and vending machine facilities meaning there's pretty much no reason to ever leave.

Second floor is where the passion happens, with just about every top fight game from the past 20 years up and running on non-claustrophobic and clean cabs. Frequent tournaments and reasonable cab rentals..

Absolute must for gamers

ゲームオスロー５
2 Chome-2-27 Shibasakicho, Tachikawa, Tokyo 190-0023
http://goo.gl/maps/6TOd4

MeetUp - StreetFighter 3rd Strike 15th Anniversary

We've got a meetup comin up on May 30th. Show some love for the greatest fight game in history hittin it's 15th anniversary this month.

Games, beers and tears in the heart of the arcade community - Baba!

More deets at
http://meetu.ps/2mqvll

Trader "BookOff" - Shinjuku, EastSide

A whole buncha reasons to be there.

BookOff joints vary from place to place, supplying, as guessed, books, but also a whole slew of CDs, DVDs, magazines and game soft/hardware.

This particular place in Shinjuku is credited as one of the largest in Japan - their gaming section speaking for itself. Dealing in just about anything that can be spun for a buck means they also accept old school gaming stuff. Prices range from insanely cheap to reasonable and always have a diamond or two to be found.

A retro gamers paradiso, definitely worth going out of your way to check once a week.

Sellers beware, you're gonna get a bum deal droppin your stuff here - Akiba/Ebay all the way.

Street Fighter II Turbo - Character Breakdown

Ever wondered E.Honda's bust? What fruit Ken doesn't like? Or just how unhappy Zangief really is? .. Read on

Ryu
Likes - "Budo" (general fighting) and "Mizuyoukan" (traditional Japanese sweet bean candy)
Hates - Spiders

E.Honda
Likes - "Tiramisu" "Chankonabe" (traditional Sumo wrestlers meal) and "Furo" (taking a bath)
Hates - "Yuujyuufudan" (indecisiveness)

Blanka
Likes - Samatha Piraruku (his mother)
Hates - "Guntai Ari" (military soldiers (ants))

Guile
Likes - American Coffee
Hates - "Nippon de Ryu ni kuwasareta natto" (being forced by Ryu to eat natto (the harshest of nasty Japanese fermented beans))

Ken
Likes - "SukeBo" (skateboarding) and Spaghetti
Hates - "Umeboshi" (Japanese sour plums)

Chun Li
Likes - Crêpes and fruits
Hates - Vega

Zangief
Likes - Wrestling and Cossak Dancing (google search "Moskau disco")
Hates - Hadouken, Sonic Boom, Yoga Fire, Tiger Shot (lol)

Dhalsim
Likes - Curry, "Meisou" (meditation)
Hates - "Amaimono" (sweet food)

M.Bison
Likes - Women and bourbon
Hates - Fish, arithmetics and hard work

Balrog
Likes - Beautiful things and "Jibunjishin" (himself)
Hates - Ugly things

Sagat
Likes - Strong warriors / competition
Hates - Shouryuken (not the website)

Vega
Likes - World domination
Hates - Weak things and inferior beings

Poor Gief.

Arcade "Aso:Viba" - Ebisu, Tokyo

Ebisu city, located 2mins from Shibuya station, prides itself as being the forerunner in fashion and high end goods in Tokyo. Electronics retailers and even convenience stores are few and far between with land prices being sky-high, so finding an arcade around the way seemed pretty implausible.

Despite holding just two floors, Aso:Viba supplies everything you'd expect from an arcade - DDR, taiko, a bunch of card and fight games, all up to date. Spacious and (surprisingly) nonsmoking might be a couple of reasons they've been able to weather the recent collapse of game centers around Tokyo. 

It's a small space but they make excellent use of it, and overall it's just kinda dope to find a place like this able to survive when just a few mins down the road major old school game centers are dropping like flys.

アソビバ

1-10-５ Ebisu, Shibuya, Tokyo 150-0013

http://goo.gl/maps/LyHsR

Arcade "Cube" - Koenji, Tokyo

Awesome move by @CUBE2006 in Koenji.

Ultra StreetFighter cab rental for just 2000¥ - dope.

Might seem a bit on the steep side but Ultra currently runs at 100¥ per game (being a new release - usually games are at 2 for 200¥) which can quickly burn up. Selecting beginner mode will give you a chance to put some stuff in the lab and even just take a stroll through the story mode (currently almost impossible in the arcades).

"Meteor" - Kichijoji, Tokyo

Easy to miss this one, just a tiny sign outside and the joint itself being no bigger than an average Tokyo apartment - well worth taking a trip out for tho.

Described as a retro type museum, the shop is a mixture of classic merch (not really for sale) and bespoke retro clothing and accessories. There's a bunch of funky stuff (microchips and processors molded into resin iphone cases n stuff), most of which you're unlikely to find anywhere else. Tshirts, posters, CDs and an original "Virtual Boy" up and running to play on.

Great setup, check the site for more deets -

http://www.super-meteor.com/

METEOR
〒180-0003 東京都武蔵野市 吉祥寺南町1-6-7 2F

http://goo.gl/maps/19dfq