The global pandemic has been hard on a wide range of businesses. In Japan, arcades have especially been hit hard. In August, for example, the Sega Akihabara 2nd arcade shuttered. Now, another local landmark will vanish.
According to J-Cast News, the Adores Akihabara location will be no more. As of October 31, all of the building’s karaoke floors will be shuttered. (To be more exact, the seventh to tenth floors were in operation until October 20, with the fourth and fifth finishing this month.) The first and second floors, which are filled with crane games, UFO Catchers, and redemption prizes, will end service on November 8.
Adores Akihabara is located in front of JR Akihabara Station, next to the Akihabara Railway Bridge and opposite the iconic Sega Akihabara 1st arcade. If you have visited the area, you have, no doubt, walked by it. Perhaps you’ve ventured inside to play a UFO Catcher or sing some karaoke.
This is exactly why the Akihabara YouTube channel introduced this Adores in a “Welcome to Akihabara” style clip, giving a brief tour and providing its address.
As of next month, it will be no more.
J-Cast interviewed an Adores spokesperson about the decision. The spokesperson declined to go into specifics as to why this location was closing but conceded the impact of covid-19 and the lack of tourists. Currently, because of the global pandemic, the Japanese government has banned tourists from entering the country.
A member of the local Akihabara promotional association surmised that businesses relying on tourists have seen their sales drop to nearly zero, adding that before the pandemic, around half of Akihabara’s foot traffic was foreign visitors.
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