My first Taito Hey experience at Akihabara, Japan

[scarper]

Holy fucking shitballs guys, this place is basically heaven.

The entire second floor was nothing but shmups. Shmups as far as the eye can see. I was ecstatic. Like a kid in a candy shop, wandering around in awe, smiling ear to ear. Every single shmup I could think of. ALL the good ones. Name 10 shmups, and at least 9 of them will be there. And this was only one floor of one of many multiple story arcades in Japan.

Being the Darius fan I am, I immediately hopped into one of the new Darius Burst Another Chronicle machines. There were three of them by the way. After it took my breath away, I saw a Darius Gaiden EX machine, and had my breath taken away again. Then I saw the ENORMOUS Darius II cab. It was huge. Basically, I played nothing but Darius machines while my girlfriend played Darkstalkers (Vampire Savior/Hunter/Whatever you wanna call it), and it was great. The giant mechanical space fish were even bigger than before, and my hype was out of control. I got some sweet looking Darius crushed pennies from there as well.

Here are some shitty pictures I took while we were there. Had to take them quickly, since the employees were not okay with customers taking pictures. What you see in that first picture is one row of one floor. It looks big, but it fails to describe exactly how much this place has to offer. So many games. So many.

http://imgur.com/a/meQbf

We were there for about an hour and a half, since we had to meet up with some friends right after. I wish I had more time to spend there, but there will be a next time. My girlfriend and I plan on teaching English there after we graduate this spring. Many a weekend will be spent in these arcades, I can guarantee it.

Have any of you guys been there yet?

[8bit]

I have not been there but damn that looks so freaking awesome! You are so lucky that you got to go and may go back again soon! Also those pennies are so cool!

[Shogun]

Wow that looks amazing! I hope I can get to Tokyo one of these days. Its tough getting vacation from work. I had no idea about the crushed pennies either. Were there multiple type you could get or was this just a special gig for Darius?

[fastbilly1]

Rows of Egrets just make me smile. Rows of Egrets playing shooters make me jealous.

[scarper]

Rows of Egrets just make me smile. Rows of Egrets playing shooters make me jealous.

It was quite the beautiful sight. I almost cried. Video games shouldn't be a reason to want to travel to a country, but I think Japan is an exception. I am very much looking forward to potentially going back.

Wow that looks amazing! I hope I can get to Tokyo one of these days. Its tough getting vacation from work. I had no idea about the crushed pennies either. Were there multiple type you could get or was this just a special gig for Darius?

Thanks! They had many crushed penny machines throughout the Akihabara area, but the ones I got were from a "limited edition" Darius crushed penny machine. Couldn't pass it up.

[hashiriya1]

When were you there? I was just there last week. It has changed a lot in the past couple of years but it is still one of the best arcades in Tokyo. Definitely the best for shooters. For fighters, Ikebukuro is where you go.

When I lived in Tokyo I hit up HEY at least once a week. At that time I was more about fighting games so I spent more time at Club Sega in Ikebukuro. The Club Sega in Akiba is more UFO-catcher based.

A bit of a warning though, I would be weary of "teaching" English in Japan.
I have never done it but based on what everybody I have met who has done it, it is not really a great job. Look for other prospects.

[marurun]

A bit of a warning though, I would be weary of "teaching" English in Japan.
I have never done it but based on what everybody I have met who has done it, it is not really a great job. Look for other prospects.

There are a couple safe programs, like JETT and one coordinated through Earlham College, but yeah, a lot of those so-called opportunities are really not good. You'll come out in debt feeling abused and wrung-out.

[hashiriya1]

A bit of a warning though, I would be weary of "teaching" English in Japan.
I have never done it but based on what everybody I have met who has done it, it is not really a great job. Look for other prospects.

There are a couple safe programs, like JETT and one coordinated through Earlham College, but yeah, a lot of those so-called opportunities are really not good. You'll come out in debt feeling abused and wrung-out.

I met a few JETs. They were miserable and so they defected. Being an ALT is probably the worst of the 'teaching' jobs. You are not a teacher. You are a human voice recorder. That being said, anyone interested in teaching English in Japan and want to retain their dignity should avoid ALT positions. JET and Interac are the biggest organizations that hire ALTs. Go for an Eikaiwa if teaching is what you REALLY want to do.

[rancor]

Been here 9 years now, and taught H.S. as an ALT for the first year before discovering that it is NOT something you can do for the long term. You will have zero savings, and will be told early and often that you are easily replaced. There are literally thousands of anime/video game nerds from every native English-speaking country salivating to get your job and the managers know this. Best thing to do is to hire on with one to get your work visa, then bail into something more secure that treats you better and offers benefits along with a non-abusive work environment. I've not met a foreigner here yet that has good things to say about this industry, and it will leave you a bitter and broken soul.

Anyhow - yeah - HEY is the shit.. A bit too loud for my tastes, so I'm making my own arcade:



3 cabs now with a 4th coming soon. Theres also a Sony 21" PVM monitor for console games. I have about ~25 PCBs, mostly shmups, and buy approximately 1 new game a month.

[Nyukki]

Cool room, nice cabs!