We may have to say goodbye to Akihabara Building 1, but it’s also time to say hello to a brand-new GiGO arcade elsewhere in Tokyo.

On Tuesday, we got the sad news that one of Japan’s most iconic video game arcades is shutting down. GiGO, the company that took over Sega’s arcade operations when the latter company bowed out of the industry, announced that it will be shutting down its GiGO Akihabara Building 1 arcade in Tokyo’s otaku neighborhood of Akihabara, which originally opened as the High-tech Land Sega Shintoku back in 1992.

However, while the curtain will be closing on 33 years of gaming history, GiGO is starting a new chapter of it as well, as on the very same day that the company said it’ll be closing down Akihabara Building 1, it also opened a brand-new multi-story arcade elsewhere in Tokyo.

GiGO Fuchu held its grand opening on July 15, and the three-floor arcade, with approximately 1,653 square meters (17,792 square feet), isn’t tucked away in some back alley. It’s right next to the bus rotary just a one-minute walk from Fuchu Station’s Central Exit, making the arcade (which is open to 11:30 at night) conveniently located for commuters looking to pop in for some arcade fun on their way home from the office or school.

As is the norm these days, the first floor is primarily the domain of crane games, with 174 prize machines installed as of opening day, a number of which are stocked with GiGO-exclusive prizes. There’s also space in this part of the arcade for “experience games,” a loose term in Japanese gamer jargon for driving games and other arcade genres that use something other than a conventional joystick and buttons to control the action.

The third floor, meanwhile, is for “large-scale video games,” music games, and medal games, and sandwiched in the middle, on the second floor, are the purikura/sticker photo booths.

While it’s undeniably sad that GiGO Akihabara Building 1 is closing down, there’s a lot to be happy about with the opening of GiGO Fuchu. For starters, this part of the Fuchu neighborhood has been going through a redevelopment project, which suggests that this isn’t a case of GiGO sliding in on a short-term deal just to fill a vacancy, but rather that it’s planning to be part of the community for a long time. Speaking of the community, in contrast to the tourist-oriented Akihabara, Fuchu is a more modest rail hub that connects suburbs west of downtown Tokyo with Shinjuku Station, which is about a 15-minute ride away. So while visiting GiGO Fuchu is a doable detour for those in the city center, it also has the opportunity to become a gathering spot for local arcade fans, the sort of place that’s become harder to find as many independent neighborhood arcades have gone out of business.

Arcade information
GiGO Fuchu / GiGO調布
Address: Tokyo-to, Fuchu-shi, Fuda 4-2-4
東京都調布市布田4丁目2-4
Open 10 a.m.-11:30 p.m.
Website

Source, images: PR Times
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