Known affectionately as Akiba, Akihabara has been hit hard over the last few years with a number of arcade closures, including the long-standing Sega GiGO Akihabara Building 4. However, things are looking up for gamers as a new arcade will open in Tokyo’s Electric Town this March.
The Namco Akihabara arcade opens on Wednesday March 1 and takes over the same location as the former Sega GiGO Akihabara Building 4. The six-floor game centre is the first Namco-branded arcade to open in Akihabara and will be home to one of the largest number of arcade games in the neighbourhood. To get an idea of the scale, the centre has 46 consoles dedicated just to Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs 2X Boost.
Bandai Namco owns the rights to the likes of Gundam, Ultraman and Pac-Man, so expect to see some of these characters appear in games at this new centre. Look out for special activities, too, including Taiko no Tatsujin drumming events and lotteries to win characters goods. What's more, there's also an official shop and a space called Decks Stadium for collectible trading card games. Don't worry if you're just looking for crane games and capsule toy machines because there are plenty of those, too.
Serious otaku fans should listen carefully to the Ban Player figure collection crane games, which feature the voices of famous anime actresses like Aina Suzuki and Miharu Hanai.
For more information, visit the website.
More from Time Out Tokyo
The giant Gundam in Yokohama will be staying until March 2024
A giant Doraemon airship is coming to Tokyo and Osaka
The 2023 cherry blossom season has officially begun in Tokyo
Roppongi Art Night to return in May 2023 as a weekend arts festival
Kanto's largest tulip festival has 550,000 blooms – and it's near Tokyo
Want to be the first to know what’s cool in Tokyo? Sign up to our newsletter for the latest updates from Tokyo and Japan.