But while we worked hard, we also visited a lot of arcades in Japan. Sometimes you have to take a break, you know?

And while Japanese game centers offer a ton of different games, I spent pretty much all of my time with rhythm games. I’ve had a soft spot for rhythm games ever since discovering Dance Dance Revolution as a kid.

What Are Rhythm Games?

Rhythm games, at their simplest, are games where you play along with music. In most cases, that means hitting buttons on the game in sync with a song, but there are a lot of variations.

Some rhythm games (like Guitar Hero) let you use an instrument to play along, others use motion-capture to allow you to use your whole body to dance along to the music.

They’re a ton of fun. Rhythm games let you really get into the music, even if you look like a complete idiot while doing so.

What Rhythm Games Do Japanese People Play?

I hadn’t been to Japan for 13 years, so I had no idea what rhythm games were popular in Japan. I still half-expected to see Dance Dance Revolution everywhere.

Fortunately for you, I blew a ton of money on rhythm games in Japan, so I got some idea of what games are popular.

Here are some of the more popular rhythm games in Japanese arcades right now, and videos of superhumans playing those games:

MaiMai

The game I played most while I was in Japan was MaiMai, a rhythm game that looks like a giant, colorful, front-loading washing machine. It’s a pretty new game, and I was able to find a MaiMai machine in a lot of arcades.

Here’s a quick video describing how the game works:

I got pretty decent at MaiMai and was able to play songs at some of the higher difficulty levels; but, as every video in this post will show you, no matter how good you think you are at a rhythm game, there’s always somebody who’s completely memorized every song and has the hand-eye coordination of a Chinese ping-pong player.

Pop’n Music

I was really surprised to see Pop’n Music in as many Japanese arcades as I did. The game originally came out in 1998, and is one of the most simple, straight-forward rhythm games in a genre full of gimmicks and novelty.

Despite its simple gameplay and old age, Pop’n Music is still getting new songs and updates from its developers. It just goes to show that you can’t go wrong with a solid, basic rhythm game.

Taiko: Drum Master

Taiko: Drum Master is one of the few, current rhythm games that uses an actual musical instrument instead of colorful buttons, and one of the few that actually made it over to the US.

It’s been a staple in Japanese arcades for over a decade, and shows no signs of letting up. Taiko: Drum Master is still being released for new platforms (like the Nintendo 3DS, the Playstation Vita, and Android).

I’m glad that Taiko: Drum Master has had such a long and healthy life. It’s a uniquely Japanese take on the already extremely Japanese rhythm game genre, and it’s cool to see modern songs turned into taiko tunes.

Jubeat

Jubeat is a simple game with sixteen buttons, each with its own screen. It looks like a giant, light-up Rubick’s cube, but ten times harder.

I played Jubeat a bit while I was in Japan, but didn’t get too into it. Jubeat just looks cool and has a decent song selection, so I’m kind of bummed that I didn’t get to play more.

Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA

It should be no surprise that there’s a rhythm game prominently featuring Hatsune Miku, the world’s most popular Vocaloid.

I never got the chance to play it, but some of the mechanics in Project DIVA looked interesting and if you’re Hatsune Miku and rhythm games, then you’re going to go nuts for this game.

Why Don’t We See More Rhythm Games in the US?

Rhythm games have had a long and healthy life in Japan, but have never really crossed over into the US. Why is that?

In my opinion, there’s one main reason we’ll never see rhythm games become as popular in the US: the arcade scene here in America is sadly pretty much non-existent.

There was a time when arcades were growing popular in America and couples went out to play Pong or Space Invaders together, but arcades have been pretty much dead for the last couple of decades.

Americans have shown that they’re open to play rhythm games: just take a look at the Guitar Hero craze a few years back.

But people can’t keep buying fake, plastic instruments forever. Arcades give people a good way to play rhythm games without investing heavily in equipment, but without any arcades in America, it’s impossible to do.

What’s your favorite rhythm game? Do you wish there were more rhythm games where you live? Tell me in the comments!

A Brief Synopsis of the Game

To start off, let’s explore what this wacky game is all about in the first place. Pachinko is both a form of recreation as well as a gambling device so it’s pretty comparable to slot machines here in the West. Pretty much anywhere in Japan you’ll be able to find a pachinko parlor tucked away someplace.

Pachinko machines look kind of like a vertical pinball machine, but once you shoot the ball into the thing you have no further control over it. Once the balls are in there, you just have to rely on luck and chance that they’ll end up where you want them.

If the balls go into these desired locations, something will happen that will give you the opportunity to win more balls, usually some sort of slot machine type game that shows up on the screen in the middle of the pachinko board. The object of Pachinko is to obtain as many balls as possible, so getting good slot machine rolls is a must.

The balls you win from Pachinko can then be exchanged for prizes, which in turn are then exchanged for money. The reason for this two step process is because directly gambling on pachinko is illegal. Pachinko balls cannot be exchanged directly for money in the pachinko parlor, so the balls are exchanged for small prizes (sometimes tokens), which can then be taken to a separate establishment nearby and exchanged for money there.

No, this image has not been photoshopped.

The Japanese government estimates the annual revenue of the pachinko parlor industry to be about ¥29 trillion or so (~$378 billion). This is approximately four times the total profit of world-wide (legal) casino gambling each year which is pretty impressive if you ask me. How much of this revenue is Koichi responsible for? You don’t want to know.

How to Play Pachinko

Depending on the type of machine, there will be different areas to shoot for and different ways to win more balls. The video below will give you a decent idea of how it’s done (you can just ignore the part at the end about slot machines, unless of course you’re into that sort of thing, Koichi).

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhoAdoBQsYc#t=0m17s']

Hopefully that cleared things up a bit for you. For a great visual guide on how to play (more pictures, yay!) you can check out this handy guide from Pachinko-Play.com.

More Pretty Lights and Bright Colors

Modern pachinko machines are highly customizable which keeps Koichi pachinko addicts from getting bored with them. There’s always some new video game or anime coming out that can be used for a pachinko machine theme. Some of the modern designs and themes are pretty cool. Just take a gander at some of the videos below to get a better feel for the atmosphere of pachinko.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNxdiul3CQ4']

This is more or less what’s it’s like entering every pachinko parlor during peak hours. It is loud. With all those pachinko balls rattling around and the noises from the machines, it’s a surprise more pachinko addicts don’t go deaf in both ears.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbuacFinzTI&feature=fvst']

And here’s some more random shots of pachinko parlors for you to check out. I only went to one pachinko parlor in Japan when I was there and it didn’t take me too long to lose ¥1,000 worth of balls. Koichi has played more games than I have, but then again he does have a *cough* gambling problem *cough cough*

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n2cAvZZPXM&feature=fvst']

Like I said, many pachinko machines have some sort of theme, like a video game or an anime. This one is Lupin the 3rd themed. The one I played on in Japan just had some generic ocean theme with fish, seashells, and mermaids.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODsbhYKAI0M&feature=fvwrel']

As you can see, pachinko machines certainly have come a long way. This machine is from the 1940s and it’s certainly a far cry from the machines of today with all their bells and whistles. Oh what a hard life Japanese pachinko addicts must have lived back then.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz01xNBG3xI&feature=topics']

And just because I know some of you out there are wondering, this is how they count all those pachinko balls up when you go to obtain your prizes. Pretty speedy, no?

Pachinko Commercials

But of course, how can we forget the pachinko commercials? Some of these pachinko commercials are, uh, pretty weird. But don’t take my word for it, just see for yourself.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKV1fTCWcQ8']

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly5DfLqT1yE']

Some of you may remember the above dude from one of our earlier posts about One-Joke Wonders. This is Kojima Yoshio, and that’s just how he do.

And of course, no pachinko post would be complete without including the ones featuring our dear and beloved Nicolas Cage. Please enjoy.

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYkw-5htPw0']

So tell me, have any of you had the opportunity to play pachinko? Did you win anything? Have any protips for the rest of us (or desire protips from Koichi)? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Saturday Timewaster is a weekly post that features Japanese videos, music, images, or games that will certainly waste your time (some weeks more than others). We hope you enjoy!

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The Akihabara Shukaijo (shukaijo means assembly hall in Japanese) is certainly not much to look at as you can see from the photos above. All the walls are white, and it pretty much looks like the classic fresh-out-of-college-gamer’s apartment. Only with more seats and tables. The couches are cheap, the wooden chairs are old, and the tatami mats are stuffed into the corner where they belong. While this may look like your gamer friend Steve’s basement, this is in fact an actual arcade and a legitimate establishment. This is the Portable Game Cafe. Welcome.

Much like Steve’s basement, this is a place you can enter at any time of day or night and get your game and or drink on. The only catch here is that you have to bring your own games and your own booze, but that’s pretty much standard fare for Steve’s basement too. It’s perfectly fine to lug a TV or a desktop PC along with you, but the cafe is definitely more geared towards handheld gaming devices like PSP and NDS. Hence the moniker, Portable Game Cafe.

Video games are not the only games being played at the Shukaijo, however. Tabletop games (Warhammer, etc) and trading card games (Magic, Pokemon, etc) are welcomed here as well. Pretty much anything that doesn’t kill anyone else’s buzz is a-okay. The cafe’s website does state that both musical performances and fighting are strictly prohibited, however. I know, right? Bummer.

Portable gaming is huge in Japan. Long train commutes aside, Japanese people really seem to enjoy just meeting up with their friends and playing some PSP. Especially now when they can take it to the Shukaijo and hook it up to a projector for a crazy cool Monster Hunter Tournament! Wow!

So why go to a place like this that charges you by the hour when Steve’s basement is free and right around the corner? Well maybe Steve got kicked out of his basement by his parents. Maybe Steve cleaned himself up and got a job. Maybe Steve died, I don’t know. So where do you go to now? Someplace with Wi-Fi, of course. But coffeshops and the like don’t always enjoy large groups of gamers sucking up their free Wi-Fi and electrical outlets without ordering anything. And you can’t even get drunk and cantankerous in a coffeeshop without being shown the door. Now where’s the fun in that?

At Shukaijo, gamers can bask in the cafe’s free WiFi and many electrical outlets guilt free. Shukaijo also doesn’t mind if you bring alcohol in from the outside and knock a few back while you’re at it. Assuming you don’t get too cantankerous, of course.

Wii beer’d. Now Wii drunk.

When people miss the last train home, they can swing by this cafe, game a little bit, and if they’re tired, crash on one of the many sofas or tatami mats (just like Steve’s!) At the moment there are only two locations, one in Akihabara and one in Ikebukuro, but that’s still one more than Steve’s got going for him.

The cafe also provides various manga and magazines in the event you get tired of all that gaming and just want to read for a bit. Shukaijo also hosts special events where famous voice actresses and the like show up and play games with everyone. There’s even competitions and contests. When’s the last time Steve did that for you?

Shukaijo offers a dedicated space for gamers where the experience is what the gamers make of it. This place is wide open with no dividers or gaming booths like those found in manga cafes. Anyone can freely play with or against anyone else in the room. Everyone is there for the same reason: to relax, have a few brews, and game. The only difference between Shukaijo and a traditional arcade is that there’s no gaming equipment provided. You must bring your own. BYOB and BYOG is the motto here.

Kickin’ it old school.

Arcades have always been havens for gamers. The traditional game centers of yore were born out of Japanese coffee shops and the tradition continues with Shukaijo. Just remember to bring your own game equipment. It’s certainly a departure from the traditional arcade, but it’s an interesting development nonetheless.

So tell us, would this be a place you would go to on a regular basis, or just as a last resort if you happened to miss that last train home? Let us know in the comments below.

P.S. Think this place is cooler than Steve’s basement? Like us on Facebook.
P.P.S. Are you Steve, proud owner of said basement? Follow us on Twitter. (We’re glad you’re not dead.)

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Aight maggots. It’s time to edumacate you in the fine art of UFO catching. I’m about to present to you tips on how to net yourself a cute stuff j-character without spending a lot of moolah. Koichi spent ¥5,000 figuring out the tricks of the trade so the lot of us wouldn’t have to. But before I indulge you with such delicious tips, I’ll bore you with some background information on these arcade machines (sorry, nothing is free!).

In the US (and maybe Canada?), you may be familiar with its cousin generically named the claw vending machines. Typically the claws are three to four prongs and have ridiculous low gripping power. Prizes are positioned in the prize area in such a way that the only way of succeeding is to grab onto the object and hope that the prong latches onto something or its sad gripping power is just barely enough to carry it to the outlet.

So what makes the US version different from the Japanese? Not much. There is still the weak gripping power. However, the first thing you’ll probably notice is the two-prong claw. TWO-PRONG?!?!?! How the hell are you suppose to grip around an object with just two prongs? Well, you don’t for the most part. Here is where the main difference lies: Majority of the time when looking at the sea of prizes in the casing you’ll find the “winnable” prize sitting almost right next to the exit hole at a higher elevated position. This is done on purpose. The Japanese arcade peons like to give you a chance of winning. They WANT you to win. All that is required is to understand the mechanics of the two-prong claw.

The trick is the utilization of the force from the prongs when it open/closes/descends and the use of gravity.The claw typically opens up midway descension and closes before it ascends back on. You’ll also notice that the claw has a wide range in the open position. The use of the claw depends on the positioning of the object.Sometimes you’ll need to pull the prize towards the hole by either latching a prong to some opening on the object or position it over the object by some offset amount so that when the claw closes it’ll push the object towards the exit . Or you’ll have the descending prong push straight down on the objects side so the weight gets shifted, letting gravity do its job.

Check out this video for more information:

[yframe url='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUFpxulU8rg']

Games typically run at ¥100-¥500 for one to three plays, depending what is at stake.

Oh, one more thing. Don’t bother with the UFO catchers with AV DVDs (READ: Mystery person pictured above). You are better off saving the yen and purchasing them at a “DVD/CD/本屋” (you’ll know what I mean if you ever attempt to visit one).