(Post cover photo via Atlas Obscura; also thanks to everyone who send the news about Anata No Warehouse in)
It has been a little while since our last Location Watch post, either due to a slowdown in said news, or it’s me missing out on such headlines. Today’s is going to be slightly different than the norm, as I will address a closure first, then get into an unexpected trend of openings, all located in Japan.
For the bad news first, we have the impending closure of one of the most iconic arcade locations on the planet – the Anata no Warehouse – Kawasaki Warehouse in Kawasaki, Japan. While I had thought that we had covered it on the site before, apparently not. It is something I’ve long been aware of though, with the facility designed to look just like it came straight out of the infamous Kowloon Walled City that used to be in Hong Kong. Kotaku has a collection of Japanese tweets where it is reported that the Kawasaki Warehouse will be closing on Nov. 17th, bringing an end to an era of a venue that is an attraction in and of itself. Hopefully that won’t be the end of the story, but it’s impossible to say without talking to the owner of the place and finding out what their plans are for the future. UPDATE: Per reports, it appears that this is closing due to a dispute with the landlord, who wants to turn the building into something else. Wouldn’t be the first and it won’t be the last time such a problem arises for an amusement facility. RIP ANW

Where one door closes…
All hope isn’t lost however, particularly in Japan, as a lot of locations are opening their doors in the country. It isn’t clear why ANW is closing,

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