On my recent trip to Japan, I wanted to visit the real life locations mimicked in the Yakuza game series. My trip to Japan was delayed by a couple of years due to the pandemic, and during that time I coped by playing through the Kiryu SEGA of the Yakuza (now Like a Dragon) game series.
Kabukicho aka Kamurocho
The majority of the Yakuza series is set in Kamurocho based on the safest red light district in the world Kabukicho. The series used this location and the same map in almost every main line yakuza game. While not the exact same Kabukicho and Kamurocho share some similar shops and locations, for example the corner Don Quijote. A major part of the Yakuza series is Host and Hostess clubs which are spread throughout Kabukicho. Sadly foreigners who only speak a little Japanese are not allowed, so if you want the true Yakuza experience you’re going to need to brush up on your Japanese. The streets are just as crowded and boss coffee vending machines litter every corner. It really felt like we stepped right into the game world. The Godzilla robot cafe was even closed which is sad but more immersive since that cafe doesn’t exist in the game (I say to cope).
One of the things we knew we had to do in Kamurocho was visit the Millennium Tower. The location of most of the major boss fights in the series. It’s the largest tower in Kamurocho, so we had to find the largest tower in Kabukicho. We found the Tokyo Kabukicho Tower, which to our luck had a hotel in it. It’s not what the Millennium Tower was based on since it was completed in 2023 but it is the 19th tallest building in Japan so it was close enough. It was also smack dab in the middle of Kabukicho just like the Millennium Tower is in the game. Sadly Sega pulled out of the arcade business in that area but there were still gatcha parlors in their place which satisfied the need.
One thing the game got wrong about Kabukicho was that it seemed to be a hub for foreigners. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised being a foreigner myself but there weren’t very many foreigners in the Yakuza series. Most of the time they were used as side quest goofs or villains, but most of the people shoulder checking me were not from around there. It also seemed very english friendly compared to the place I was previously at Tokyo Disney (surprisingly). I suppose it is very popular for its night-life so I shouldn’t be surprised.
Dotonbori vs Sotenbori
While not in as many games in the series as Kamurocho, Sotenbori is an explorable city in 6 Yakuza titles. Funny thing about Sotenbori is that it’s actually a flipped version of Dontonbori, for example the Don Quixote in the north side of the river is on the south side in the game. A few restaurants in Sotenbori are real life locations in Dotonbori. We were most interested in Kani Douraku, aka the restaurant with the giant crab in front. It had two locations in Dotonbori, both with a giant mechanical crab out front. One was more of a quick service whereas the other was a sit down restaurant. We chose the latter and had a great view of the waterway.
Another food we had to get in Dotonbori was takoyaki. There were so many takoyaki stands around and the people were extremely pushy to try and get you to eat there. Sadly our hotel in Universal City Walk had a whole takoyaki park with 5 different stands under one roof so we had had our fill before heading to Dontobori. If you yourself are planning a trip I would recommend coming on an empty stomach, I would also recommend not coming until 6:30pm that’s when everything opens.
TOEI Kyoto Studio Park
I might be cheating a little with this one but we went to the TOEI Studio Park in Kyoto, a theme park that’s an active set where they film period dramas (mainly samurai movies). The backlot locations reminded me of two Yakuza spin off games Kenzan and Ishin. Both games take place in Kyoto and are both period dramas. It’s a fun and interesting place to visit but you can only go and see the shows if you know Japanese fluently so there wasn’t too much us foreigners could do but walk around and eat food. There are characters dressed up as Samurai, Ninja and Geisha walking around which gives the park that extra flair. Overall it’s a fun little detour if you find yourself in Kyoto looking for old Edo period vibes.
The Yakuza video games mean a lot to me, it was the series I played with my husband since we couldn’t go on our honeymoon for 5 years. Finally seeing these locations that we spent so much time in virtually was very meaningful to us. I’ve been a little disappointed in the recent entries in the Yakuza/ Like a Dragon series. Mainly having to pay extra for new game plus being unbelievably egregious. After marathoning the Kiryu saga I think it might be time to hang back and see where the series goes. Sega has made a lot of strange choices with the Like a Dragon series after its recent blow up in popularity. I’m apprehensive for the future, however I am looking forward to the new Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. Maybe someday on another trip to Japan we can hit all the locations we missed like Onomichi from Yakuza 6 or the Makishi district in Naha from Yakuza 3.
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