That's pretty gutsy you drove in Japan. Going from driving on the right side of the road here, I just felt too uncomfortable doing it. Only used a bicycle to get around. Did you end up buying those MVS games? NG games were so cheap in the early 2000's.
Driving on the left side of the road can be a little daunting at first, right hand turns and such. But over time it does become muscle memory. I've owned a couple cars there over the years, nothing fancy, just k-cars. Something to make the $4 something a gallon back then last a little longer.
I still have TONS of crap from back then....
Outside of the novelty shops, there were no, "retro" games. The stores sold old games to get rid of them. You couldn't count all the Neo Geo CD pads, joysticks, and common games you could find in junk bins in Hard Offs alone for $105 yen. I still got lots of them with those price tags still on them.
And I remember Akihabara before the maids. And before it became a retro game tourist trap. I remember when Traders 1, 2, 3, Super Potato, Mak Japan and the other myriads of specialty shops sold games at rather low prices because customers sold them to the shops cheap because they wanted to get rid of them. You wouldn't get more than 5000 yen selling an AES to these places.
And I remember the foreign tourists who sold games for a living in their home countries. People speaking every different language with entire lists of games to buy, completely clearing out some smaller stores.
I remember when some of the arcades there had 10 yen corners for the some of the most competitive games. Like Super Street 2 Turbo and KoF'98. I'd usually get my ass handed to me cause the people who congregated there were complete masters. Just give them one tiny opening and then game over. But I had a some 30min odd win streaks in SamSho 1 several times.
...I saw a dude 1 credit Gradius III. Now that was some shit.
I talked to him afterwards. It seemed he developed nervous twitches getting that good.
Yahoo Auctions Japan.
I remember Yahoo Auctions before it turned into Ebay. Got lots of great stuff there too.
It was a great place to find those really large arcade posters.
When the chain arcades cycled out their games you could find a lot of that promotional stuff there.
The game center re-sell shops back then were just junk yards for Arcade OPs and distributors.
A chance to unload old games and old stock.
I remember CPS 1 & 2 games for 3000 yen. MVS 4 slot motherboards for 4000 yen. Sigma Super Guns with sticks for 6000 yen. Strangely, the only place I ever found an English Last Blade 2 MVS mini marquee was there....
I still have so much of this stuff in storage still Japanese recycle shop wrapped with that early 2000's price tag still affixed.
I should probably break out some pictures...
And the thing is, I haven't thought of any of this stuff in YEARS. If It wasn't for SSVS Perfect being rediscovered I would have never have even thought of any of this.