Japanese Arcade Mania
Two of the biggest names in the English language Japan blogosphere, Brian Ashcraft of Kotaku and Jean Snow of JeanSnow.net, have teamed up to create a book about Japanese Arcades and gaming culture:
As you can see from the image, the book is called Arcade Mania: The Turbo-charged World of Japan’s Game Centers
- Crane Games (claw machines!)
- Sticker-Picture Machines (purikura)
- Rhythm Games (DDR & drum games)
- Shooting Games (“schumps”)
- Fighting Games (street fighter and its buddies)
- Games of Chance (mahjong & pachinko)
- Dedicated Cabinets (racing games & gun games)
- Retro Games (Donkey Kong, anyone?)
- Card-based Games (popular with the little kids these days)
Each sub section has an history of its particular type of gaming, and there are mini-interviews with game makers and notable Japan-based expert gamers. These expert gamers explain why they’re obsessed with that particular type of game, and in some cases offer advice to would-be gamers (I’ll be trying out some of the claw machine game techniques mentioned in one interview).
What makes Arcade Mania truly cool is the beautiful style in which its pages are arranged. Almost every page is in full color, with lots of appealing photographs and screen captures of games that give this book a hip arcade feel:
Arcade Mania will be hitting Japanese book stores sometime in September, and it’s currently available on Amazon Japan. It does not come out in the United States until January 2009, so American readers not willing to pay shipping from Japan will have to pre-order it on Amazon
Free copies of Megumi anime hit video rental shops
ATV reports that video stores across Japan will be allowing free rentals of Megumi, a government-produced anime film based on the true story of a woman abducted by North Korean agents:
Story: In 1977, Ms. Megumi Yokota, a 13-year-old girl, disappeared on her way home from school. It was revealed later on that she was abducted by North Korea. This film features the anguish of Megumi’s family and their desperate effort to bring her back home.
Copies of the anime film have been distributed to thousands of video rental locations across the country, and it will cost nothing to borrow them. Elementary and Junior high schools have been sent free copies of the film, and it is available for free download in several languages from a Japanese government website. Download it here!
Categories: General Japan
Video: Baby sea turtles hit the beach
Some footage of a group of about 90 baby sea turtles being released after an aquarium in Chiba Prefecture protected and cared for some wild sea turtle eggs:
Categories: Animal Videos
Denny’s Japan to lower prices
In the United States, Denny’s is known as a cheap family restaurant with especially large breakfast dishes. In Japan, Denny’s exists as a part of the 7-11 group empire and the only thing it seems to have in common with the American original is its name and logo. Foreigners used to eating at American-style Denny’s restaurants are usually shocked to discover that Japanese Denny’s have a completely different menu full of overpriced dishes that are served in portions even smaller than what one would expect at other family restaurants in Japan.
As food prices across Japan go up and consumers flock to cheap restaurants, Denny’s Japan has finally decided to lower its prices to a more affordable level:
Starting from Sept. 11, the price of 23 items at Denny’s, including main dishes, salads and desserts, will be reduced. It is very rare for a family restaurant to drop the price of their food items.
“We aim to have as many people as possible visit our restaurants by presenting them with reasonable prices,” said a representative of Denny’s, which is under the Seven & i group.
Too little, too late?
Categories: Japanese Food
Heavy rain continues, causing serious damage
This week has seen an abnormally high amount of downpours, and the rain seems to have hit Aichi Prefecture particularly hard:
A 76-year-old woman was found dead in her flooded home in Okazaki, 230 kilometres (143 miles) west of Tokyo. Authorities told 140,000 households in Okazaki and around 360,000 households in nearby Nagoya to leave their homes.
Categories: General Japan
Categories: Odd / Strange