There are many locations throughout Tokyo that I frequent. Most of them are game centers, clubs, or bars, but one of my favorite places was Adores in Akihabara. A huge tower on the corner of the main street right near the station which gave supreme access to the arcade. Today, when browsing Twitter I came across an announcement that was shared by another Twitter user that shows a photo posted on the door of the Akihabara Adores location that states the business will be closing its doors for good on October 31st.
カラオケアドアーズ秋葉原店、閉店のお知らせ pic.twitter.com/XPEndR8q15
— ﾂﾙﾐﾛﾎﾞ (@kaztsu) October 25, 2020
The Karaoke Adores shop in Akihabara wasn’t super old either, I think that it was there for less than 10 years as a whole, which for a company the size of Adores is quite short if you consider how long the Shibuya Adores has been operational. The company didn’t say why exactly they’re closing the location, but if I were a betting man, I would bet on the fact that COVID-19 had something to do with it and the lack of inbound travel coming to Japan due to the travel bans the country has in effect. Needless to say, that the loss of this iconic building that graced the corner of a major Akihabara street is something that will certainly be felt amongst the community.
Sure there are a bunch of other arcades that I can go to in Akihabara that honestly might be better than Adores, but there is just something about the location in Akihabara that really made it feel special. It may not even be as visually iconic as the SEGA Arcade #2 (formerly GiGO) or Tsukumo Ekimae Building that recently shut down, but it still stings. Who knows what will be put in the building once Adores is completely moved out, this is something that I would be interested in. Is it going to stay an arcade or will we get something completely different? Only time will tell, and I hope that we don’t lose more arcades in Akiba.