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Legendary game center "Kawasaki Warehouse" in Japan is closing down

LabRat

LabRat

Member
Mar 16, 2018
4,234
Source: https://twitter.com/SketchJP/status/1183962893747970049

Very sad news, it was always one of those Arcades i wanted to see at least once in my life and now i won't get the chance. If you live in Japan, you still have time until November 17th to go see it. From pictures and videos it always looked amazing and unique.

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let's hope other great arcades like club sega won't have to close down eventually
 
Acorn

Acorn

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,972
Scotland
I was reading about Kowloon city a few months ago and found about the recreation the arcade made. Looked like a really cool experience.
 

Deleted member 8468

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
9,109
Oh wow I've never heard of this place, looks rad as hell.

Probably a very different thing, but it was nice to see the Taito and Sega arcades packed when I visited, but that was also in the middle of Akihabara.
 
Hayama Akito

Hayama Akito

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,326
I was there in 2017, it was awesome yet I must confess I had some doubts about how the hell this place survives, because it was empty even on friday night.

Still legendary... another arcade closing down is always sad news.
 
chirt

chirt

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,692
I used to live in Kawasaki, went there a few times. Was super dope, sad to see it go :(
 
kikuchiyo

kikuchiyo

Member
Nov 9, 2017
778
Went there last year based on a recommendation from a friend. It's cool, but very smokey. Still very cool, sad to hear it's closing.

To be fair, the game selection wasn't great when I was there - it was more about casino style games - and it's a bit out in the suburbs so it's hard to get to.
 

Deleted member 2102

User requested account closure
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Oct 25, 2017
692
Really bummed about this. Photos don't do the experience of being there justice - the amount of detail they put into the aesthetic of this place is striking.
 
Hayama Akito

Hayama Akito

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,326
kikuchiyo said:
To be fair, the game selection wasn't great when I was there - it was more about casino style games - and it's a bit out in the suburbs so it's hard to get to.
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Yet, as a fan of shmups, Kawasaki Warehouse was one of the few Arcades in Japan with Cave titles on 50 yen, not 100, so I played Mushihime-sama Futari there so much lol.
 
Ferrio

Ferrio

Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,076
They have the Street Fighter 1 cab with the buttons you physically punch in that first picture, wow. Always wanted to try that one, only ever did the cab with regular buttons :(
 
Dest

Dest

Has seen more 10s than EA ever will
Coward
Jun 4, 2018
14,063
Work
Ah for fucks sake. :( I had planned on going out next year and visiting.
 
kikuchiyo

kikuchiyo

Member
Nov 9, 2017
778
Hayama Akito said:
Yet, as a fan of shmups, Kawasaki Warehouse was one of the few Arcades in Japan with Cave titles on 50 yen, not 100, so I played Mushihime-sama Futari there so much lol.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Yeah the prices were, luckily, cheap. My visit was the first time I played the Rhythm Tengoku arcade machine. Of course played Mario Kart with my wife along with that huge 2-player Tetris machine.

I don't do UFO machines, but those looked pretty decent (prize-wise) if that's your thing.

kurahador said:
Uhhh...is the place designed to look like that or is it really just run down?
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That's the whole gimmick.
 
OP
OP
LabRat

LabRat

Member
Mar 16, 2018
4,234
the floor where you can play table tennis and pool also looked so nice

KAWASAKI+WAREHOUSE+www.thetravelpockets.com



anata-no-warehouse-billiards.jpg


even the bathrooms had a great design

anata-no-warehouse-toilets.jpg


oh and i read you can get a massage on the fifth floor

anata-no-warehouse-statues.jpg
 

ThreePi

Member
Dec 7, 2017
4,773
Damn. I was literally there a month ago. They had a Gauntlet machine with a super blurry screen and an original Street Fighter 1 cab that had the the pressure sensitive rubber buttons.
 
pezzie

pezzie

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,441
OMG. I'm doing a trip to Japan next month and this was definitely on the list. I'm glad its open til the 17th as we'll have a chance to see it at least, but man that's sad!
 
Twonny

Twonny

Member
Dec 12, 2018
927
I had the opportunity to go there in June, and it was super cool.

Sad to see it go.. I wanted to return there next year.
 
Hassun

Hassun

Member
Oct 25, 2017
69
Was bummed to hear this, visited it a few months ago. A whole array of classic and not so classic arcade games for 50 yen a pop was an awesome deal.
 
100mega

100mega

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,160
Well, there goes that dream. Would have been a fun place to play the OutRun deluxe sit-down for my first time ever.
 
Vinc

Vinc

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,387
I went last year and it's a fabulous place. Really, really sad to hear it's closing down. Go check it out if you can, it's more than worth it.
 
ghostcrew

ghostcrew

The Shrouded Ghost
Administrator
Oct 27, 2017
30,367
Honestly, this place looks cooler than it actually is. It looks AMAZING inside but, on a video games front, it's no better than the usual spots in Tokyo. It's not that big either really. It's got a couple of floors of cool Bladerunner style stuff but I was kinda done pretty fast.

Still super sad obviously. It's a fantastic looking building. It was pretty dead when I last went so I guess that's why.
 
Ciao

Ciao

Member
Jun 14, 2018
4,856
Was in Japan last week, visited so many game centers and arcades I totally forgot about this one closing. RIP.
 
Tayaya

Tayaya

Banned
Oct 31, 2017
467
This place has been on my bucket list to visit ever since it opened in 2009. Last time I was able to go to Japan was 2005. I'm sad that it's a place I never got to see with my own eyes. I really hope there is a crazy big turnout tomorrow of people coming to say goodbye to a truly unique part of Japanese game center history.
 
pezzie

pezzie

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,441
I finally made it out there tonight. My second to last full day in Japan.

It was neat as heck and I'm glad I got to see it before it shut down.
 

Deleted member 5956

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Oct 25, 2017
353
it's only closing because the landlord was being a dick, the owner plans to re-open in another location asap.
 
Clov

Clov

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Oct 25, 2017
5,929
I went there for the last time two weeks ago. Asides from the amazing style, there's also a ton of great games there. It was the only arcade within a reasonable distance of me that had Rhythm Heaven Arcade!

I hope that they're able to reopen somewhere else soon.
 
esserius

esserius

Member
Oct 26, 2017
7,296
Stuff like this makes me wonder about communal views of society and whether it's more dystopic being forced together or forced apart.
 
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