Tokyo, Dec 26, 2025 (AFP) - Hooked on the claw: how crane games conquered Japan's arcades

NAMPA / AFP

2025-12-26

As school and work wrap up, crowds fill Tokyo's many bustling arcade halls -- not to battle it out in fighting games, but to snag plush toys from claw machines. In one of these gaming meccas in the Japanese capital's Ikebukuro district, aisles of crane games stretch as far as the eye can see. The crown jewels of the arcade industry, they occupy the building's first two floors, relegating video games to the basement and upper levels. "Crane games......

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