Suggestions for Akihabara/Anyone wanna go to Akihabara next Saturday?

Hey all. I'm new to this form (so please be gentle).

Anyway, even though I live in Tokyo, I've only been to Akihabara a couple of times, so it's still quite new and "fresh" to me. I was thinking about going down there next Saturday (Feb. 8), and I was wondering if, a) anybody had any suggestions for places to check out/things to do; and, b) if anyone living in the Tokyo area wanted to hang out (a long shot, I suppose, but while I'm here...).

Anyway, as I mentioned over in my "self-introduction" post over in the respective category, I've recently become interested in retro Japanese computer games, so if anybody can tell me about places to see/things to do related to that field, it would be much appreciated. I'd really like to know if there are any brick-and-mortar stores selling old computers and related games - I almost certainly won't be buying anything, but it would be nice to see the actual machines and get an idea of what's available and what the going rates are if I ever want to start a collection (I know there are auctions and all, but that's not really my kind of thing). Of course, any and all "Akihabara-esque" information, especially about things a little off the beaten trail, would be great.

Also, I realize I could look this up all online, but I'm asking more for your recommendations (and if anyone wants to hang out).

Thanks in advance!

 

http://www.try-inc.co.jp/tower/

http://www.sunnypages.jp/travel_guide/tokyo_entertainment/game_arcades/Taito+Hey/1550

 

Thanks for the links, cyberguile!

 

...And of course a snow storm happens on the day I was planning to go. Oh well, maybe next week.

 

There is very little stock of retro PC games in Akiba. Even 10 years ago, it was similar so you aren't going to find much. Super Potato has some overpriced MSX hardware/games and a handful of X68000 stuff. Friends has a little MSX and FM Towns. Trader and Mandarake have a few MSX games. That's it.

 

Shou, you are spot on. I managed to get down there a few days ago last week (before the other snowstorm hit). I stumbled onto Super Potato (knew it existed, just didn't bother to find out where before winding up right in front of it) and they had the "largest" selection of retro PC games and hardware I could find - in fact, if you search Google Maps with the keywords of "レトロ" and "パソコン" while in Akihabara as I did, the only listing that came up was Super Potato (which I found out after visiting Super Potato). They had plenty of MSX games, a few MSX units for around $70 U.S., a single X68000 Expert and copy of Nemesis '90 Kai on display, and nothing else retro computer-related that I could see. Not to say that it wasn't very fun to visit Super Potato. I also enjoyed their retro arcade on the third floor, seeing the actual box art for Umihara Kawas, and discovering the handheld/portable Super Nintendo players they were selling - but it looks like the only real option for retro computers is auctions and the like, which is a shame, because I'm more interested in browsing than buying at the moment.

I was going to post a little report of my trip on the forums, but quite frankly, the handful of photos I took weren't that great, plus it was going to be a real pain to shrink and compress even the 10 or so pictures I would like to upload so they could fit the forum requirements, and I figured I really didn't have any great insights to add about Akihabara in English that aren't already well covered on the internet, so I gave up on that idea.

Speaking of experiencing Akihabara without actually going there (as many people who want to go can't), I recently saw an article on Japanese tech news site Gadget Tsushin comparing the recreation of Akihabara in a Playstation 3/Vita game called Akiba's Trip 2 (which Wikipedia describes as involving a combat system wherein you defeat your opponents by ripping their clothes off) to the actual locations in Akihabara. If anyone's interested, the article can be found here. Even if you can't speak Japanese, it's mostly just pictures.

Also, to add to my own thread here of recommended places to visit, I checked a cool little retro arcade called the Natsuge Museum ("Natsuge" being a contraction of the words "natsukashii" [nostalgic]) and "game"). It's located a little off the beaten path and its operating hours are really erratic, but that's half the fun, right? You can find the website here. The guy who operates the place changes the games on selection regularly (weekly?), and, at least when I went, he had a really eclectic mix of ancient and newer (but still retro) games going, both classics and lesser known (presumably) gems. While I was there, I played a nifty vertical shooter with a cute targeting system for shooting off-plane elements before they arrive on the same plane as your ship (of which I unfortunately forgot the name); Strider 2, a really unique side-scrolling beat-em-up with wall climbing mechanics; I'm Sorry, a 1985 Sega action game satirizing former prime minister Kakuei Tanaka (according to Wikipedia), and Michael Jackson's Moonwalker. There quite a few others, despite the small size of the room, but I'm pretty bad at arcade games and it was already late, so I left it at that.

 

damn, sorry to hear about your troubles but that Natsuge Museum sounds awesome, making a note of that one for my hopeful trip next year!

 

Natsuge Museum borrows PCBs from my collection.

 

That's pretty cool beans.

 

I live in Japan and go the Akiba roughly 3 times a month. I am pretty familiar with the ins and outs of it. If your interested in going let me know. I am working on repro-ing some games so ill be up there as much as possible.

 

Spent 2 days in Akihabara (28-31.3) but only managed to find a meager handfull of FM Towns games


Finding FM Towns hardware or even a marty was not possible at all


BUT!!! I did go to the Oktoberfest Akihabara 2014!!!

 

There once was a time you could find the FM Towns in the likes of Hard Off but now all they seem to have is common stuff.

 

Not what it once was but still can find the odd bargain ( I found SSFIIX on DReamcast last week for 4000 yen). Please see my guide - http://www.dcgaga.com/2013/06/guide-to-retro-shopping-in-akihabara.html