Electronic fun and arcades in Tokyo

Hi all,

can you recommend places to visit if you are interested in electronics (pet robots and stuff like that) or arcade games (like those interactive computer games where you stand on mats and have to dance etc) ... ? Fun places to go as a tourist to play and have karaoke fun etc? Electronics museums or stores with the latest useless gadgets?

Thanks a lot,

Steff

Sony building in Ginza and Panasonic showroom in Odaiba (check the page for Ginza and page for Odaiba for more info) both have showrooms showing their latest technologies. The floor dance you mentioned is "DDR" you can find that in any arcade.

Where can the arcades usually be found? Can you tell me the Japanese word for it?
Thanks for your help! :o)

Akihabara, of course. It's the place to go. There's plenty of electronics shops and a lot of arcades, 2 Sega Clubs at least and a lot more arcades. Shibuya and Shinjuku are also great for arcades, it was in Shinjuku that i saw a guy playing DDR professionally.
By that i mean that he was all fancy dressed and it didn't look like he was playing, it was more like he was really dancing. He soon gathered an audience and had a round of applause at the end and all.

To be honest arcades are everywhere in Japan! Even in Kyoto and Nara they aren't hard to find. They may not be how you imagine though. They are mainly made up of photo machines, prize machines and then your fighting and shooting sit down games. Still worth a look though just to see how much more popular they are compared to the rest of the world!

We found several Sega World arcades in Japan. In Akihabara there is a Sega World that is 4 stories.

Thanks for your answers, I guess we will try to find the Sega World then. Can you tell me how we can find it in Akihabara?

Steff, I believe the Japanese call our arcades "game centers". That's the word they seem to use all the time.

As for where to find them, people have been saying, and rightfully so, that they are EVERYWHERE in Tokyo, and the country of Japan for that matter. If you'll be staying in Tokyo, go to any place with a vibrant nightlife and you will find all the game centers you could possibly ask for. Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Akihabara come to mind.

In my experience, DDR has become a bit passe and I have not seen those machines in many game centers in Tokyo. However, that taiko drum hitting game is horrifically popular, Super Mario Kart is also very popular, and of course the omnipresent crane games (the Japanese say "U-FO catcher", as in UFO but two syllables long) which can have some absolutely humungous prizes to be won.

The moral of this story is that I wouldn't worry about trying to find a game center as they are almost everywhere. One hint though: they are often located at the bottom floor(s) of bowling alleys or movie theaters because the two make a good combination.

There's an arcade in Odaiba's Decks in Tokyo.
but i think arcades are very expensive in Japan

How much is you average go on an arcade game in Japan?

In the UK, for a standard arcade game you will probably pay between 1-2 GBP for maybe 3 turns. Is it around the same in Japan?