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Yakuza (Ryu ga Gotoku) Real Life Locations Tour in Kabukicho Tokyo - Youtube Series by a Gaffer (REDUX)

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YakuzaArk92

Member


Uploaded: March 17, 2018 EPISODE 1 PREMIERE

November 2017 - I travelled to back Kabukicho, Tokyo to film a follow-up documentary series to last years Yakuza Locations Tour 2016. Yakuza Locations Tour 2016 received critical acclaim from gamers. Yakuza Locations Tour 2017 is a documentary series comparing between real-life Kabukicho Tokyo to the fictionalized Kamurocho Tokyo featured in the main Yakuza series by Sega.

To celebrate my sixth year anniversary on YouTube, this is my tribute to the Yakuza (龍が如く) franchise and the Ryu ga Gotoku Studios team at Sega.

This series was a labor of love, made by a fan for the fans.

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Yakuza Locations Tour 2017 EPISODE 2

In this episode, I visited Nadai Fujisoba「名代 富士そば」: a popular Japanese restaurant chain serving an assortment of signature Japanese buckwheat noodles.In November 2017, SEGA announced a special collaboration and tie-in with Nadai Fujisoba. Customers can order a bowl of ‘Red’ Fujisoba「赤富士そば」for just ¥500. Available for a limited-time only!

This year, they’ve added more spice and chilli peppers to the recipe representing both Ryuji Goda (The Dragon of Kansai) and Kazuma Kiryu (The Dragon of Dojima) respectively. FEEL THE HEAT!

Players can visit Nadai Fujisoba in Yakuza Kiwami 2 and order all the signature dishes in the game to gain Agility, Strength, Technique and other attributes powering up Kiryu.

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Yakuza Locations Tour 2017 EPISODE 3

In this episode, I visited the Manboo Netroom (マンボーネットルーム) in Kabukicho, Tokyo. Manboo is a 24hr internet cafe containing a four-square meter box with a TV screen and computer. Tourists spend an hour or two just for the experience, but there are thousands who spend their lives in them.

A Manboo equivalent exists in Yakuza 6 - mantai Internet cafe.
One of the new Play Spots in Yakuza 6 is the Mantai LiveChat. Having little to no technical prowess, Kazuma Kiryu will enter an online chat room with the other online users who login for a good time. An AV Idol will appear on screen reading instant messages of her viewers. When Kiryu types a playful message in sequence, the more ‘comfortable’ she'll be!

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Yakuza Locations Tour 2017 EPISODE 4

After receiving so many requests over the years, I’ve finally documented my visit at the Shinjuku Golden Gai.

The Shinjuku Golden Gai which served as a basis for the design of the game's Champion District area, consists of narrow alleys and passageways with hundreds of shanty-style bars and restaurants.

Located right above Taihei Boulevard East in Kamurocho, a lot of significant story elements and sub-stories take place right here.

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Yakuza Locations Tour 2017 SERIES FINALE

In the series finale, I bid farewell to Tokyo. I visited the newly opened Sega Shinjuku Kabukicho. Kazuma Kiryu himself makes a brief appearance in this episode talking about the game center itself.

On December 1st, 2017, Sega Shinjuku Kabukicho held a special Yakuza Kiwami 2 pre-launch event for fans to purchase various Ryu ga Gotoku memorabilia. These items are exclusive to Club SEGA and not sold anywhere else.

I also visited the “mecca of all things electronics, gaming and anime” : Akihabara. I talked about some of the classic SEGA arcade titles that were playable in past games and new ones that are playable for the first time in Yakuza Kiwami 2 (Virtual On).

Towards the end of the episode, you will see a montage showcasing the evolution of CLUB SEGA in all the Yakuza games released so far.

That concludes the Yakuza Locations Tour series. Since November 2012, November 2016 and November 2017 I’ve provided over 50 Location Tour videos and shared my passion about the franchise on YouTube.

Thanks for watching. Sayonara.
 
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FF:Enhanced_Reality

FF:Enhanced_Reality

Member
I went to Japan in June. We stayed in Chiyoda and we walked everywhere whilst there. The hotel we stayed in were kind enough to provide us with a smart phone with unlimited international calls and unlimited internet Japan wide. We used the handset as a sat nav and ended up going to Shinjuku. As a massive Yakuza fan, I had to visit Kabikucho. We got to the car park in the top right hand corner of the map on Yakuza and I put the phone away. I knew where I was and it was such a weird feeling. Odd to see how things are actually placed but a great time all the same.
 
Y

YakuzaArk92

Member
FF:Enhanced_Reality said:
I went to Japan in June. We stayed in Chiyoda and we walked everywhere whilst there. The hotel we stayed in were kind enough to provide us with a smart phone with unlimited international calls and unlimited internet Japan wide. We used the handset as a sat nav and ended up going to Shinjuku. As a massive Yakuza fan, I had to visit Kabikucho. We got to the car park in the top right hand corner of the map on Yakuza and I put the phone away. I knew where I was and it was such a weird feeling. Odd to see how things are actually placed but a great time all the same.
Click to expand...



Ah you must be referring to Shichifuku Parking Lot. I documented that in 2012 and in 2016. Indeed. For any fan who's been playing the games for the past 13 years, it's almost as if you're walking in the shoes of Kiryu as you walk around in Kabukicho.
 
Y

YakuzaArk92

Member
One of the things that made the Yakuza (Ryu ga Gotoku) games great were the product placements. Although product placements are considered blatant when it comes to movies, I always thought they were cool in games.

Without them, I would have never been able to discover places like:

Karaoke-kan (the karaoke place in the Yakuza games)


Shinjuku Batting Center (Batting cages in the Yakuza main games)


Nadai Fujisoba (featured in Yakuza 6)


Daikoko Drugstore (featured in Yakuza 5 and Yakuza 0)


PIZZA-LA (Kiryu has his own pizza delivery substory in Yakuza 0)


Gindaco Takoyaki (Yakuza 6)


APA Hotel (Yakuza 6)


Pronto Bar (featured in Yakuza 3 onwards)


Matsuya (featured in Yakuza 2-Yakuza 5)


Don Quijote (all games including Ishin!)


Much to my disappointment, when I visited Don Quijote in 2012 and 2016 (and later in 2017 although I didn't document my visit) the infamous jingle was never played. You may hear a short 'Don Quijote' stinger once in a while but nothing that resembles the games.
 
FF:Enhanced_Reality

FF:Enhanced_Reality

Member
YakuzaArk92 said:


Ah you must be referring to Shichifuku Parking Lot. I documented that in 2012 and in 2016. Indeed. For any fan who's been playing the games for the past 13 years, it's almost as if you're walking in the shoes of Kiryu as you walk around in Kabukicho.
Click to expand...


Yes! It definitely felt that way. It was incredibly surreal but at the same time, I felt like I was home. Interesting to see how the SEGA arcade is actually on the opposite side of Theatre Square and that the bowling alley is actually a VR Namco arcade. I spent nearly 5000 yen trying to win a Pokemon Eevee watch in the SEGA arcade.

I tried to get a photo of myself at the archway down the main street of Kabukicho but it never happened because of how busy it was. We explored the huge electronics shop on the opposite side of the road and the Taito arcade though. So many memories of Taito. :'(

I wanted to go into the Robot Cafe but time and money was short so we didn't get chance.

Seeing Godzilla behind the huge hotel where the Millenium Tower is was kind of funny. It gave me a giggle.

But Don Quijote is a fucked up shop haha. I bought my fiancee a Yukata from there, its really nice and only 4000 yen. Good quality too. But it was really weird seeing all the sex toys randomly mixed in among the many different items in store. It was very compact. We also went to a British pub there. Being English, it has to be done. The beer was so-so but the bar staff were really friendly. We were going to watch Japan vs Senegal the day after and the staff thought it was amazing that my friend and I had Japan football shirts with Shinji Kagawa and Keisuke Honda on lol.
 
Y

YakuzaArk92

Member
FF:Enhanced_Reality said:
Yes! It definitely felt that way. It was incredibly surreal but at the same time, I felt like I was home. Interesting to see how the SEGA arcade is actually on the opposite side of Theatre Square and that the bowling alley is actually a VR Namco arcade. I spent nearly 5000 yen trying to win a Pokemon Eevee watch in the SEGA arcade.

I tried to get a photo of myself at the archway down the main street of Kabukicho but it never happened because of how busy it was. We explored the huge electronics shop on the opposite side of the road and the Taito arcade though. So many memories of Taito. :'(

I wanted to go into the Robot Cafe but time and money was short so we didn't get chance.

Seeing Godzilla behind the huge hotel where the Millenium Tower is was kind of funny. It gave me a giggle.

But Don Quijote is a fucked up shop haha. I bought my fiancee a Yukata from there, its really nice and only 4000 yen. Good quality too. But it was really weird seeing all the sex toys randomly mixed in among the many different items in store. It was very compact. We also went to a British pub there. Being English, it has to be done. The beer was so-so but the bar staff were really friendly. We were going to watch Japan vs Senegal the day after and the staff thought it was amazing that my friend and I had Japan football shirts with Shinji Kagawa and Keisuke Honda on lol.
Click to expand...

Yeah I actually stayed at the Hotel Gracery during my stay. I even did a review of Godzilla Destroy All Monsters Melee right in front of the giant Godzilla bust.

What was cool was that during the Yakuza 6 and Kiwami 2 promotional period, Don Quijote sold Kiryu and Majima inspired colognes. You can smell like the Dragon of Dojima or the Mad Dog of Shimano. Manly.
 
FF:Enhanced_Reality

FF:Enhanced_Reality

Member
YakuzaArk92 said:
Yeah I actually stayed at the Hotel Gracery during my stay. I even did a review of Godzilla Destroy All Monsters Melee right in front of the giant Godzilla bust.

What was cool was that during the Yakuza 6 and Kiwami 2 promotional period, Don Quijote sold Kiryu and Majima inspired colognes. You can smell like the Dragon of Dojima or the Mad Dog of Shimano. Manly.
Click to expand...

Holy shit, no way? I am so angry I missed out on those. I was looking for some Yakuza related goodies whilst in Shinjuku but the only thing I found was a poster of Kiwami 2 in the SEGA arcade at Theatre Square on display that was signed by Toshihiro Nagoshi. They had John Wick 2 the VR game in there but it opened at 3 and I really didn't have time.

I couldn't find any figures of Kiryu, though I know they exist. Actually I was a little surprised that the SEGA arcades in Kabukicho had very little in the way of Yakuza related goodies. Perhaps I just didn't know where to look.

I can't wait to go back though.
 
Y

YakuzaArk92

Member
FF:Enhanced_Reality said:
Holy shit, no way? I am so angry I missed out on those. I was looking for some Yakuza related goodies whilst in Shinjuku but the only thing I found was a poster of Kiwami 2 in the SEGA arcade at Theatre Square on display that was signed by Toshihiro Nagoshi. They had John Wick 2 the VR game in there but it opened at 3 and I really didn't have time.

I couldn't find any figures of Kiryu, though I know they exist. Actually I was a little surprised that the SEGA arcades in Kabukicho had very little in the way of Yakuza related goodies. Perhaps I just didn't know where to look.

I can't wait to go back though.
Click to expand...

Damn I missed out on the meet n' greet with Nagoshi. I do have the Kiwami 2, Ryu ga Gotoku Online and Hokuto ga Gotoku poster. Grabbed a few of those RGG flyers at the game shops as well. In my Series Finale episode, I filmed the Yakuza Kiwami 2 pre-release event. I was shocked because that was my last day in Tokyo and I saw all the Tokyo Game Show signed goodies by Nagoshi and the voice over artists. They had a few items for sale: paper fans, plates, Tojo Clan lapel pins, folders, chopsticks etc.

Ah, the Kiryu Figma figure. It's pretty awesome. I went to Akihabara but couldn't find the Majima Figma figure.
 
TheWanderingOgre

TheWanderingOgre

Member
Off topic, but let me just say that Yakuza 0 runs on low end pcs, and pretty nicely at that! Think the info may help some Yakuza fans with weak laptops such as mine.

So glad to be back to Kamurocho!
 
Y

YakuzaArk92

Member
TheWanderingOgre said:
Off topic, but let me just say that Yakuza 0 runs on low end pcs, and pretty nicely at that! Think the info may help some Yakuza fans with weak laptops such as mine.

So glad to be back to Kamurocho!
Click to expand...

While I'm glad that people get a chance to play these games on PC, the games were always PlayStation exclusives. I dunno but if I play it on PC, it would almost feel like a betrayal. That's just me. As far as I know, its not even released in Japan. Japan and the rest of Asia are currently waiting for Ryu ga Gotoku 3 remastered and Ryu ga Gotoku Online.
 
TheWanderingOgre

TheWanderingOgre

Member
In what 'betrayls' are concerned, its just like the game tells you every time you boot it up: "Real Yakuza play with a gamepad".
And that gamepad, is a dualshock.
 
Y

YakuzaArk92

Member
What's great about Kabukicho's Don Quijote is the fact that they always advertise upcoming Ryu ga Gotoku games (they didn't advertise Kiwami 2 unfortunately since there was a nationwide concert tour happening for B'z at the time). Kazuma Kiryu and Majima's cologne put other fragrances to shame.

In fact, during the promotional period for Yakuza 4/Dead Souls and Yakuza 5, Matsuya sold Kiryu and Haruka inspired curry sauce - presumably the exact same curry sauce Kiryu makes for the kids at the Morning Glory orphanage.
 
Y

YakuzaArk92

Member
Most of the pedestrians were very respectful and waited for me to finish talking so that they wouldn't interrupt the video by walking past.
 
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Y

YakuzaArk92

Member
If you'd like to watch the entire Yakuza Locations Tour 2016 (comparing Yakuza 6 The Song of Life) series click here:



If you'd like to watch the original Yakuza Locations Tour series (comparing Yakuza 5) that started it all check it out here :
 
FF:Enhanced_Reality

FF:Enhanced_Reality

Member
I'd still hope that Yakuza remains exclusive to PlayStation platforms on console. I can imagine it being very strong on PS4/PC. I'm finishing up Yakuza 0 as we speak and wondering just how different Kabikucho was then to how it is now. If you've got any information or pictures, that would be amazing. I just can't wait to go back. <3
 
Y

YakuzaArk92

Member
FF:Enhanced_Reality said:
I'd still hope that Yakuza remains exclusive to PlayStation platforms on console. I can imagine it being very strong on PS4/PC. I'm finishing up Yakuza 0 as we speak and wondering just how different Kabikucho was then to how it is now. If you've got any information or pictures, that would be amazing. I just can't wait to go back. <3
Click to expand...

Having watched a lot of the Ryu ga Gotoku 0 videos with Kazuhiro Nakaya (voice of Nishiki), I remember one of the producers mentioning they were looking at old photographs and on one occasion Nagoshi said he himself experienced people who were living in the lavish 'Bubble' era where the economy was booming. They obviously used Kamurocho as the main blueprint (from previous titles) to create the the city in Zero but with its own 80's 'coat of paint'.

From a technical perspective, Kamurocho has significantly changed. If you watch my Yakuza 2 & Yakuza Kiwami 2 Comparison videos, you'll see what I mean. Yakuza Kiwami 2 is powered by the Dragon Engine 2.0 (a much more refined and polished engine) while Yakuza 2 runs on its own proprietary engine. Here's the thread.

 
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NahaNago

Member
my goal is just to beat the series that 0 game that I started with had so many cut scenes in just the first few hours the thing could have been a movie. Kinda weird since I like cut scenes but it just starts with too many.
 
Y

YakuzaArk92

Member
NahaNago said:
my goal is just to beat the series that 0 game that I started with had so many cut scenes in just the first few hours the thing could have been a movie. Kinda weird since I like cut scenes but it just starts with too many.
Click to expand...

It's gonna take a while for you to complete the entire series - especially if you're a completionist when it comes to substories, coin locker keys, acquiring all abilities, playing all minigames etc.
Good luck.
 
N

NahaNago

Member
YakuzaArk92 said:
It's gonna take a while for you to complete the entire series - especially if you're a completionist when it comes to substories, coin locker keys, acquiring all abilities, playing all minigames etc.
Good luck.
Click to expand...

Definitely not a completionist, just want to casually enjoy the game and it's world and characters.
 
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McCheese

McCheese

Member
Cheers for the thread, was unaware of this whole series but it's something that's right up my street.

Going to binge them later!
 
Y

YakuzaArk92

Member
For those wondering, no I didn't get a chance to visit any hostess clubs: they're incredibly expensive and I had no interest.
 
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Y

YakuzaArk92

Member
Just like in the Yakuza games, expect to bump into many barkers handing out pocket tissues. You may even find a small pamphlet with hostess girls and their rates on them.
 
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Y

YakuzaArk92

Member
I didn't see any Ryu ga Gotoku pachinko slot machines in 2012, 2016 or 2017. I know a few were manufactured like Kenzan and OF THE END.
 
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Y

YakuzaArk92

Member
You may have noticed that each episode uses various soundtracks from all Ryu ga Gotoku games including Ryu ga Gotoku Kurohyo (PSP).
 
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Y

YakuzaArk92

Member
My goal is to eventually do a Kenzan/Ishin Locations Tour as well as the cities featured in Yakuza 5 (Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka) and Yakuza 6 (Hiroshima). All in due time...
 
Y

YakuzaArk92

Member
I'm not too sure if there are promotional ads for Judge Eyes in Don Quijote. The game was JUST announced. We'll have to wait and see.
 
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Y

YakuzaArk92

Member
What's odd is the fact that the Godzilla Hotel (Shijuku Gracery) which opened in 2014-2015 and it's the real-life Millennium Tower. In 2012, the area was under construction and it was once part of TOHO CINEMAS/Theater.

2016:




2012:
 
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