Japan pictures galore! (part 1)

Things would have been better if I could upload these pictures while I was in Japan but at last, I get to do them here! I hope that, in giving everyone a taste of what it's like to go on a 'gaming expedition' in the land where Street Fighter was born and where the top players play, we may be inspired to broaden our horizons overseas and spread the name of Singapore's fighting game scene. Personally, I want to see our very own events become as big as theirs someday!

(Remember that you can click all the pictures to see them in their full resolutions!)


The aftermath of Godsgarden, 7am, featuring some players you may know. The guy in front is Haunts from Iplaywinner.com. Guy on the right with yellow hair is DbKoopa, Korea's best Third Strike player. To his left are SBO partners, Ichi in white, and none other than Mizoteru in, what else, olive green. Guy in the back to my left is Magus1234. Rchan looks wasted lol!


The Godsgarden technical set-up.


This is just about 1/4th of the amount of PS3s and sticks they had available for us to use.


The hosts for the early part of the night, Itabashi Zangeif (right) and I Forgot His Name. >_<


The scene on the street right outside the Godsgarden venue. Apparently there was some festival being held. Lots of hot chicks in Kimonos.=p (not in picture. BTW is that OBAMA hanging from the ceiling?!)


Godsgarden was held at a bar converted to host the event. You can see the fully-functional bar counter at the back, complete with an old-school jukebox.


The best player in the world himself, Mago, right after he kicked me and Rchan's butts. He's a really nice guy, one of the few Japanese who were really comfortable around foreigners.


It was really nice running into DbKoopa at Godsgarden. Because I meet so many people though Street Fighter, its possible to run into a guy I met in Korea in Japan. He plays a mean Rufus too.


Me and Rchan with Kindevu (top Rufus). Some say he and Anthony "Ah_Bao" have the same 'pattern'. Your thoughts?


Tokido (top 2 Akuma in the world and ever-present name in the fighting game scene). Incredibly friendly towards foreigners and also the default English translator for the 'top player's circle' lol.


Uryo, best Viper in the world. What the heck is written on his t-shirt anyways?


Akimo, best Honda in the world. He does Hundred-Hand-Slap combos with so much ease, you can't tell by looking at his hands.

And now, more pics with top players I managed to snag elsewhere during my trip.


Voooh!-Tetsu!!!aahhhhhh!! (Japanese tournament announcers have to say his name like that everytime lol), El Fuerte hero to the world.


Right after a soon-to-be legendary(epic video coming soon!) all you can eat and drink Yakiniku session with members of SRK Japan. To my right is Reno and to my left is SBO Blazblue player, HeartNana.


And THE star of SBO 2009 (almost everyone who was at SBO agrees that his matches were THE most epic of all), Vega Grandmaster Makoto. His team won the last-chance qualifiers, which featured Grandmasters such as Ac Revenger and Poongko. After that, he single-handedly OWNED Ojisan Boy and Tokido. With Vega. Needless to say, he makes you question the validity of all those tier lists...

Alright, so enough player-pics for now. Here's some other random-interesting stuff I managed to catch in Japan.


The famous Hey! arcade in Akihabara. Known as the mecca for shoot-em-up (Schmup) games, the array of games there were certainly a sight to behold. From Radiant Silvergun to Dodonpachi, you'll be sure to find almost every "airplane shooter" game ever made at Hey!


Case in point: a random man during a random lunch-break comes into Hey! and finishes Ikaruga with one credit. Controlling TWO planes.


They say the Japanese love their Nintendo DS's. Here's proof.


The sun sets on Akihabara,and that's when all the buildings light up and you realize that you're REALLY in Japan!

Ok, that's all for now. Stay tuned for more pictures of the Shiozawa Cup, SBO and more top players! Remember, next Saturday, 12th Sept: our very own the Beginner's and Team tournaments so let's get hype!

(As always, you can discuss this post on Round1.sg, at this thread.)