Nakano Broadway is not a place you want to go if you have residual concerns about large numbers of people in enclosed spaces. As amusing as it is that there are signs up all over the place recommending “social distancing,” and while the Japanese tend to be better sports about…
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It feels good to be home. It might be sauna-hot (despite being well into Autumn now, the sticky humidity of Japan’s summers has stuck around), and I’m tired as everything having done my usual thing of taking the overnight flight and then failing to sleep at all, but I’m back…
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On a recent trip to Japan, I spent a very pleasant week in Hiroshima. When I say “Hiroshima”, for most Western readers it’ll bring to mind one single reason to visit. Specifically, most tourists heading to Hiroshima do so for the sake of atomic bomb tourism, taking in the Atomic…
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DDNet contributor, Alex Kidman, recently took a trip to Japan and, out of incredible jealousy, we asked him to drop us a couple of stories of highlights from his trip. Here’s his first! Wander the streets of Akihabara, and you’re beset on all sides by anime, video games and, increasingly,…
Read MoreNews by Lindsay M., News Editor Welcome to Digitally Downloaded’s regular catch-up news feature. With each issue we will bring you the best news that you may have missed. Grab the biggest mug you’ve got, fill it with your favourite brew, and catch up with us (and our favourite news…
Read MoreNews by Matt S. Japan’s CERO – the organisation that provides age ratings to video games – has announced that it will be closing for a minimum of one month in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While this is absolutely the right thing to do (STAY. AT. HOME. FOLKS), it…
Read MoreNews by Matt S. Just a few weeks ago I went to Warehouse Kawasaki in Kawasaki city – a city sandwiched between Tokyo itself, and Yokohama. It’s something that I’ve wanted to do for many years, based on what I had heard of it, but never previously had the opportunity…
Read MoreBook review by Matt S. “The hurt ones were quiet; no one wept, much less screamed in pain; no one complained; none of the many who died did so noisily; not even the children cried; very few people even spoke. And when Father Kleinsorge gave water to some whose faces…
Read MoreArticle by Matt S. You can learn a lot about a culture from the games that it plays. I’m not just talking about video games here (though, obviously, I’m a big advocate for Japanese video games as well), but rather the traditional board and card games that predate video games.…
Read MoreOpinion by Matt S. There’s been a lot said and written about Astral Chain’s use of police as the heroes. From major publications (Polygon and Vice) through to blogs, and then on to social media, the question of why PlatinumGames would lionise the police seems to be a core concern…
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