In Japanese -> 高田馬場ゲーセン ミカド

Here's their site -> https://mi-ka-do.net/baba/

I went to Japan this summer. A lot of the fam fam came, including my mother and father in law, my wife and my two sons who are 7 and 10. I'm mentioning my fellow travelers here because it significantly impacted my trip. I also went to Japan 12 years ago, with my wife and some friends at that time. This recent trip was very different.

The first arcade I went to was in Akihabara. Going to there with your in-laws is a terrible idea. I had to acknowledge lusty anime girls are a thing, because even on the streets you'll see them beckoning you to enter shameful merchants. But I sure as hell didn't want to walk through any such area, in-laws and kids in tow. We went to an arcade still. The kids spent too much money, because arcade games are hard. We went to Super Potato and there wasn't enough room for all of us, the cramped space causing me to leave quickly rather than subject everyone to my esoteric interests.

I did enjoy that day in Akihabara and that arcade. Really. But one day when the kids were tired after a few-hours outing, I went to an arcade by my lonesome, this time looking up what was near. I didn't go to the nearest one mind you, because it seemed full of gacha. I went to Takada no Baba Mikado which was a damn fine decision.

Maybe I should have taken pictures, but I was there to be selfish in a sense, spending my time luxuriating in this rarest of treats. Nothing like this exists close to home. Not a shadow of it. Anyways, here's someone else's picture that does a good job of showing a lot of game cabinets, which is indeed what the second floor looks like, with almost half the cabs beings fighting games. There's even a guy who goes around to watch you play Street Fighter Alpha 3, determining you're not good enough to put on this screen he has near the entrance where he watches and announces fights like a sporting event.

I think the arcade switches are such that games are pretty low on difficulty, or high on lives. I played a few shmups and I'm fine at the genre, but not that good. I played Ghosts and Goblins and got destroyed obviously, but got a lot of retries with my 100 yen. In fact, I don't think I spent much money there, not for lack of playing. This place is clearly cheaper than Akihabara alternatives and felt more pure in a sense, like the operators are doing this out of love. The place is not fancy, but every machine I tried worked perfectly.

That includes Starblade.

I did not expect this to be the highlight of my arcade experience, but I guess this middle aged man misses tactile experiences. It's not a long game. It took me three 100 yen coins to clear, which is amazing value considering I was in this seat, holding the controls to my ship's guns with both hands, the screen visible mostly only to me for having sat down and paid. I know replaying this even once would have diminished the experience. That's magic for you, a moment of exultation, of something pure and profound that can't exist in another time, outside of you experiencing it in these just-right circumstances.

That's all though. I'm done reminiscing and pontificating. I played Starblade, some Cave shooters, rhythm games, fighting games and arcade classics. I had the best time. And then I continued the rest of my also very good trip, which did not involve going to arcades by myself. If you're in Tokyo, especially if you're in or near Shinjuku, do check it out.