Saturday, November 12, 2005

A Hangout for the Geeks

The Last time I was in Japan, I frequently saw these "Manga Kissa" shops. I didn't really know what it was about but as the name says Manga meaning comic books, and Kissa is short for "Kissa-ten" which means cafe.

I tried to take pictures inside but it was quite dark and my pictures were a bit too out of focus so I pilfered these from google images.

The entire shop is like a book store. Stacked mile high with comic books, DVDs, magazines and video games!

When you walk in, you tell them what you want to do and they will set you up in an area. Depending on what you want to do, the price ranges vary but is somewhere along the lines of $3 per hour to hang out there.

The comic books had stuff from way before I was born to all the new releases and is all you can read for however long you want to stay.

Most of these are open 24 hours and from what i heard, people often stay there over night if they miss the last train home.

I chose the computer option because they set you up in a more private cubicle looking setup. The computers there have net access similar to what you see here. Its basically a real cramped cubicle but is enough room for you to kick back and relax.

A lot of gamers come here to play MMO RPGs late night.

I heard that people also crash in these cubes to pass out until the trains start running again. The chairs leaned back all the way and also had a small ottoman like foot rest.


The computer that was available all had flat screen monitors.

The video game cubes are also similar to this layout and is equipped with the console of your choice and headphones so you can have the volume as loud as you like. The most common console here was the PS2, then the Game Cube. Was there any xbox's there? The answer? only two...

A lot of kids come here after school to get their game on away from their nagging parents, I'm sure. If I have time, I want to go back to one again and take some action photos of me geeking out.

Did I mention theres food there too? They have a full on selection of snacks and dinner like items such as pastas and rice plates. They price is relatively cheap too! I think it maybe a bit higher than the McDonalds around the corner but definitely affordable and quite tasty.

I was a bit suprised when i found out that no one really steals from this place. They dont monitor what you do really and you can grab as many comic books as you please off the shelf. I guess the geeks in Japan are a bit more honest. Maybe its because they take care of their safe haven.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

post more.
-Laura

Anonymous said...

JAYPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN