Namco (Sapporo, Japan)

While I did search for arcades during my vacation in Japan, most of what I came across were locations dedicated to skill (or luck) games, like UFO catchers, and gacha machines. I had primarily wanted to see what a Japanese arcade is like, someplace dedicated to classic and modern video games, but I couldn't find anything like that. This Namco business in the Sapporo Factory shopping center is largely gachas and skill games, however, it does have some actual Namco and Nintendo video games. I saw Time Crisis 4, Luigi Mansion Arcade, linked Mario Karts, and Tatsu no Tatsujin (Taiko: Drum Master). There is also a Pong game, though it isn't a video game, it is something with physical parts more akin to air hockey. I don't have photos of everything as I was trying to avoid taking pics of people. Plus, sometimes I just forgot to take photos of things, in part because I did play a few games here and at a place that didn't allow photography, and I never won anything.

Toys "R" Us (Kushiro, Japan)

Just like the previous post about Toys Yoshida in Asahikawa, I photographed another toy store in Hokkaido. Asahikawa has a Toys "R" Us store too, but I didn't have time to get to that part of the city. Instead, I went to the Toys "R" Us store in Kushiro when I had a rental car. A few years ago I photographed a Toys "R" Us in Canada as well, and I believe it's the same company that owns the brand in both countries. Other than product differences, this felt very much like a Toys "R" Us you'd find in North America. One thing that stood out is that this Toys "R" Us only carries Nintendo consoles, no PlayStation, and not surprisingly, no Xbox. I didn't see any Xbox merchandise anywhere I went, which I expect is normal throughout most of Japan, especially in the areas that I visited. 

Some of these photos didn't come out too good. Apparently, my phone switched between HD and a much lower resolution when I was here, and the quality difference is obvious. I don't use my phone for photos a lot and never noticed that setting, so now it's set to only take the higher quality images.