Packing up and leaving Sendai, I couldn’t help but feel that this trip was taking on a new form – polar opposites. I’ll delve into this theme more as I get words out there relating to this trip.
It’s now been a week since I’ve returned to Melbourne. A lot has happened in that week. So much so it’s kept me from having time to sit down and write about this trip in this form. I’ve got the whole trip scribbled down furiously in a quarto-sized notebook, some 90 pages or so.
Enough beating around the proverbial.
Osaka.
Last time I was there, I spent one night barhopping between Bar Momo (a shot I took of that particular bar is now being used on some Spanish blog about bars in Kyoto), Bar Core (probably the smallest bar in Osaka) and a reggae bar named Xaymaca, where I was served drinks by King Nobu, an amateur boxing champion with dreadlocks down to the back of his knees.
The other night I was there was spent meeting and drinking Jean From France, where hijinks ensued.
Seeing that I’d spent several hours in transit to arrive at Osaka, I didn’t really have any concrete plans for the first night I arrived. I sat in my hotel room – Hotel Taiyo (Really affordable private room accommodation! So much so that it seemed like they needed to be giving the rooms away at that price to stay in business.) – desperately searching for plans of some variety.
I settled on Googling ‘Video Game Bars Osaka’ and came across two easily enough, Game Bar Continue and Space Station.
After some trials and tribulations, I made it to both of these bars in the one night.
My initial reaction? Both are top-tier examples of what video game themed bars should be.
After browsing around the area just to the left of the Dotombori and mistakenly coming across Xaymaca while trying to find Space Station, I stopped at a Tako Tako King (takoyaki store) to ask for directions. Turns out Space Station was like, three stores away and upstairs. If there were a portrait of gaijin failure, I would’ve been it.
To thank Takashi for his assistance, I had a beer at Tako Tako King. While I was there I got chatting to Uyida, a young guy who was a keen guitarist and upon finding out that I was from Australia, professed his love for AC/DC and we started humming the riffs to ‘Back in Black’, ‘Thunderstruck’ and ‘Highway to Hell’. Did I mention that this particular Tako Tako King had a jazz and blues theme? Well, they also had Bob Marley posters up to, but I’m not going to split hairs.
After I left, Space Station still hadn’t opened for the night, but the owner Matt was nice enough to give me a flyer for Game Bar Continue.
The trip to Game Bar Continue was long, arduous and a whole stack of boring pancakes. I’m not going to share them with you. I know this must upset you, not having any of my pancakes. I swear, they’re really, really boring pancakes and not delicious at all. No maple syrup. No lemon. Not even sugar or condensed milk. Oh, you didn’t know about condensed milk on pancakes? Now you do. Thank me sometime by naming your firstborn after me.
Arriving at Game Bar Continue was a bit like taking a step into a video game console museum. The bar itself is lined with every console imaginable and you can ask them to hook up anything you feel like playing for a 500Y cover charge.
The walls are covered in video game paraphernalia, controllers and their cables hanging around, various figurines and stickers are stuck in blink-and-you’ll-miss it places.
But why should you have to put up with me flapping my gums about it when I can show you the things with the colours?
And another!
Yes, that is a Virtual Boy. And yes, I got to play it. It was the most bewildered I’d ever felt during and after ‘playing’ it. I played a shooter called Vertical Force. You had two levels of depth to the world that you could switch between with the flick of a button. This meant that you could basically avoid all the enemies in the stage if you wanted to until you reached the boss.
In terms of game design, it had to be one of the more baffling decisions I’ve encountered.
Once more with feeling…
Although it was a fucking task and a half to get to, I am glad I made the trip out to Game Bar Continue.
My next destination was backtracking along the boring and arduous pancakes route to find Space Station.
When you walk upstairs into Space Station, you are greeted by one of the most awesomely creative things ever. (If you’re into video games, that is) Here ’tis…
This photo doesn’t really do it justice, but you get the idea.
There’s seven or so game stations set up for people to use at Space Station, including a Famicom, Super Famicom, Dreamcast, Xbox 360 and Wii. Another tick in the awesome box? No cover charge.
The owner of Space Station, Matt, an American who has lived in Japan for several years now knows his craft. I foolishly tried to play ‘Typing of the Dead’ the second night I was there (admittedly in a somewhat less-than-sober state) using a Dreamcast and keyboard and got schooled.
A couple more shots for good measure…
These are delicious games, you must play them.
Having spent time in both bars in Osaka, my verdict is thus – Game Bar Continue is a great place to go and see, to say that you’ve been there. Space Station is the place to get your drink on and game the night away.
While I was at Space Station, I met a woman named Mika. After some conversations, the most bizarre coincidence occurred.
Thought pattern ahoy!
– Mika is an artist.
– Some of her work was/is being displayed at another bar in Osaka.
– The name of this bar is Osaka Salon.
– Osaka Salon is the bar that is being managed by Jean From France.
– Hold the motherfuckin’ batphone.
The very same Jean From France (JFF) that I spent a crazy night with in Osaka some 18 months ago. Mika and I agreed to meet at Space Station the following night and journey out to Osaka Salon.
Those adventures and more to come in the next entry, including…
The Adventure of Paul Trying to Find the Maid Cafe and the sequel…
The Adventures of Paul in the Maid Cafe.
Note: I promise the gap between entries will get smaller and smaller. It’s seriously creeping me out that I’m getting (at least) 1,000 words per day of my travels, though. I really thought I would be stretched for things to write about. It turns out that when I sit down, I can’t stop bloody typing.