Warehouse Kawasaki is like nowhere else in the video game industry, and if you want to see it for yourself, you’ll have to move fast.
Take a quick glance at the photo below, and all that rusty, neon, Chinese-language signing might have you thinking you’re looking at a photo of a Hong Kong slum from the mid ‘80s.
ウェアハウス川崎閉店するらしい‥ あそこに入店するのがずっと夢だったんだけどな(´・ω・`) https://t.co/WCfBgQARqn
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ただのねこぜ (@negativeshikou_) October 15, 2019
But then again, when you see shots like these, taken in the same location, you might instead think you’re seeing images from the future, specifically a cyberpunk and dystopian one.
電脳九龍城砦…👻⚡️ ・ 実際の九龍城砦を模していたウェアハウス川崎が、11月17日に閉店してしまうそうです。あの雑多な雰囲気が最高だったのに… https://t.co/qUJKz0vEdz
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Saho. (@urbex_34) October 15, 2019
None of those guesses would be right, though, because these photos are from the present day, and also Japan. What you’re actually seeing is the interior of Warehouse Kawasaki, a legendary video game arcade in the city of Kawasaki, Tokyo’s neighbor to the south. Entering the building looks like you’re stepping into a sci-fi horror murder factory, but as you’ll see if you’re brave enough to watch this eerie video to the end, once you’re inside, you won’t be murdered by biomechanical demonic computers, but instead will have access to a whole bunch of coin-op video games, with a strong emphasis on retro titles.
初めてウェアハウス川崎って有名なゲーセン来ました！ 入口から雰囲気ヤバすぎるけど中身は普通にゲーセンですね。笑 広くてゲームも充実してる！ https://t.co/ljrTdyaxqj
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よこ (@yoko00141) October 13, 2019
While Warehouse Kawasaki might look like the result of years and years of neglect, the aesthetic is entirely intentional. Located just about where the heavy pedestrian traffic from nearby Kawasaki Station dries up, the multi-story building originally housed an electronics and appliance store, but after the shop closed down in the mid-2000s, Warehouse moved in.
幻想的プリ☆チャンが置いてあるウェアハウス川崎店閉店しちゃうし拝みに行くか、プリパラはないよね https://t.co/NWS1dWqxAS
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トーラス、 (@_6NNTN) October 15, 2019
ウェアハウス川崎が閉店するの衝撃すぎて...なくなる前にみんな1度は行くといいよ。この世界観は他にはない。 https://t.co/uduai85YGW
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蒼丸ニキ@KOFASやろうぜ (@ERROR_codeXXXX) October 15, 2019
As such, the arcade is actually only 14 years old, but with such a large space to work with, the owners decided to go for a bit more visual impact than the standard neighborhood arcade. They settled on modeling the interior after Kowloon Walled City, the surreal secluded tenement development that stood in Hong Kong until 1994, though with a darkly futuristic twist.
▼ Even the bathrooms are spooky.
ウェアハウス川崎閉店なんかー。 東京旅行でこのゲーセンを 楽しみにして行ったなぁ！ また行けたら行こうと思ってたのにな ものすごいホラー感があったトイレとかめちゃ怖かったけどいい思い出になったなー！ お疲れ様でした。 https://t.co/mDrEj6MBsl
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たっきー (@redbull_1018) October 15, 2019
But just like Kowloon Walled City is no more, so too is Warehouse Kawasaki going to become a thing of the past. Fans of games, architecture, and general craziness were saddened by the recent announcement that the facility will be permanently closing next month.
▼ Warehouse Kawasaki also makes for a great cosplay backdrop, though as a working arcade it’s not always possible to set up elaborate photo shoots.
ウェアハウス川崎閉店は地元民として悲しすぎる…ゲームはもちろんコスプレ撮影でもお世話になった。素晴らしいロケーションだよ… https://t.co/SS49PxXF4T
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あ か り ん (@darkness0x0) October 15, 2019
ウェアハウス川崎、閉まっちゃうのか…悲しみ…。 閉店までにまた遊びに行こ…。 https://t.co/hewlUoJZpK
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美少女@ 10/26・28 池ハロ執事 (@Bishoujo) October 15, 2019
The management has declined to discuss the reason why Warehouse Kawasaki is closing, but it’s not hard to make an educated guess. While arcades have remained more viable businesses in Japan than in many Western countries, where they’ve all but vanished, it’s getting harder and harder to run one as a profitable business, as home video game consoles have gotten powerful enough that arcade games no longer offer much, if any, technical/graphical advantages.
ウェアハウス川崎店 閉店 九龍城の雰囲気をここまで再現した空間が失われるのはショック... このブログを見れば凄さがわかるはず。目に焼き付けるためにも11月17日までに絶対行かなきゃだな。… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
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カジコム/kazzycom (@kazzykazycom) October 15, 2019
In general, the Japanese arcades that do still draw big crowds do so with brightly lit rows of UFO catcher crane game cabinets and floors full of Purikura sticker picture booths. Warehouse Kawasaki’s aesthetics, though, don’t really gel with the tastes of the fashionable schoolgirls and stuffed animal fans who do so much to keep other arcades afloat.
ウェアハウス川崎は絶対1回は行った方がいい。閉店してしまうのなら尚更… 雰囲気とっても素敵でゲーセンだとは思えないぐらい素晴らしい香港スラムの再現度。 18歳以上しか入れないけれど行くべし… でも入口の時少し構えてた方がよいか… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
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ぱおしゃお🐼 (@Pao_Pao_03) October 15, 2019
川崎のウェアハウスが閉店、すごく残念。あんなに作り込まれた世界が無くなってしまうなんて。 https://t.co/8Aky3MN0VS
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しろねこ@夏コミ新刊通販中 (@sironeko_miiko) October 15, 2019
Warehouse Kawasaki might also be feeling the pinch from the recent increase in Japan’s sales/consumption tax, which went from 8 to 10 percent at the start of October. As a coin-operated business (100 yen is the customary one-play price for standard joystick-and-button arcade games in Japan), arcades can’t easily implement a two-percent increase in their prices, which means the tax increase is cutting directly into their already thin profit margins, and perhaps this was the straw that broke Warehouse Kawasaki’s back.
ウェアハウス川崎行ったこと無い人は閉店までに行けたら行ってみて。こんなゲーセン滅多にないから… https://t.co/vFLXV1f6Ik
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かたくりこ@お🚢㌠ (@katakurik0) October 15, 2019
▼ A sign announcing the arcade’s closing
ウェアハウス 川崎店 閉店 https://t.co/ugVAs4yovg
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物の怪 (@sc59__) October 14, 2019
Even if it’s inevitable, though, it’s still going to be sad to see Warehouse Kawasaki go, and if you want to say goodbye, you’ve got until November 17 to see this piece of Japanese arcade history.
Arcade information
Warehouse Kawasaki / ウェアハウス川崎
Address: Kanagawa-ken, Kawasaki-shi, Kawasaki-ku, Nisshncho 3-7
神奈川県川崎市川崎区日進町3-7
Open 9 a.m.-11:45 p.m. (Monday-Friday), 7 a.m.-11:45 p.m. (Saturday-Sunday, holidays)
Website
Source: Warehouse Kawasaki via Hachima Kiko
Featured images: Twitter/@negativeshikou_
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