Japanese documentary about a Go Parlor in Kabuki-cho

[Go_Japan]

I am not sure if this belongs here or not, but I couldnt' find a better location in the forums.

This is a documentary on a go parlor where they set up cameras and observed a go parlor for 72 hours. It is really more about the people and kind of a sad life for all these old guys. Though it is set in a go parlor. the place is open 24/7 except for like a few hours on Sunday when they clean. Some of these old guys are homeless and sleep in this place. There is at least one that basically lives there. It is kind of strange. This parlor seems to be sort of exceptional in this sense because it is open 24/7 I think. Though I haven't been to so many go places to know for sure if this is more common than I realize. I also don't live anywhere near Tokyo.
ドキュメント72時間【囲碁の魔力に囚（とら）われて】7月8日

[gowan]

This is in some ways a typical small go kaisho. There were people of all ages, from a seven year old (Second grade in school) child, young adults (25 years old), old retired men, non-Japanese, in other words quite a spectrum of ages and types. The regular oldsters might not have much of a life at home so they spend a lot of time at the go club with people like themselves. Not so different from people at a "senior center" in the USA. A noteworthy person at the club is Takemiya Yoko 6p, son of the famous Takemiya 9p. Nice documentary.

P.S. There are quite fancy go kaisho in places like luxury hotels in Tokyo, where the clientele would be rather different.

[Bonobo]

Thanks a lot for that link, I think I could enjoy hanging around there (and quite probably more so than in some luxury hotel).

[jptavan]

I spent a night playing in this club in August 2000 (picture). This has not changed much.
map : https://goo.gl/maps/EneGN4tKVrT2
image : https://goo.gl/maps/FyoomtaMmX52

[EdLee]

Thanks for the link.

I'm OK with everything but the smokes.

Takemiya Yoko 6p, son of the famous Takemiya 9p.

Mr. Takemiya appears at [ 17:18 ~ 18:20 ].

The title of this series is ドキュメント72時間 --
do.kyu.men.to 72 jikan -- "documentary 72 hours"

This person resembles an AGA member...is he ?

image.jpg (112.38 KiB) Viewed 13616 times

[Go_Japan]

Thanks for the link.

I'm OK with everything but the smokes.

Me too. Japanese go clubs are notorious for the smoking.

[oren]

Thanks for the link.

I'm OK with everything but the smokes.

Me too. Japanese go clubs are notorious for the smoking.

It's gotten better. It's not hard to find non smoking ones now. Around Tokyo, I think more are non smoking.

[Go_Japan]

Thanks for the link.

I'm OK with everything but the smokes.

Me too. Japanese go clubs are notorious for the smoking.

It's gotten better. It's not hard to find non smoking ones now. Around Tokyo, I think more are non smoking.

I'm actually going to be in Tokyo in August. I'm going to sneak away in the evenings from my family and play some go. Any recommendations? We'll be near ikebukuro.

[Matti]

It seems the place I revisited last March with my friend. My first visit was probably 1982.

[oren]

In Ikebukuro, I liked sekishin. Very friendly environment. There is an upscale go parlor in sunshine city that I visited but it was off hours. Much more expensive but they also host big events there.

[Go_Japan]

In Ikebukuro, I liked sekishin. Very friendly environment. There is an upscale go parlor in sunshine city that I visited but it was off hours. Much more expensive but they also host big events there.

Thank you. I actually found Sekishin through searching. Glad to hear it is friendly. I may go there.
http://www.sekishin.biz/

I also found this one nearby http://www.syougo.jp/club/club_107.html called Igokaikan. I didn't see one in Sunshine city on the web, but I might be looking in the wrong place. Thanks for the info.

[oren]

Here is the one in Sunshine City.

http://www.sunshinecity.co.jp/shop/s11.html

I haven't seen the other one you found, but it looks nice.

[Go_Japan]

Here is the one in Sunshine City.

http://www.sunshinecity.co.jp/shop/s11.html

I haven't seen the other one you found, but it looks nice.

Cool. Thanks. It actually looks like a nice place. I might try to go there too. I like the non-smoking aspects.

Edit: Turns out I am staying at the hotel in Sunshine City! Who knew!? So, maybe I will spend some time there afterall.

[Subotai]

Why do you think this Go parlor culture exists in Japan but not China?

[EdLee]

Why do you think this Go parlor culture exists in Japan but not China?

Potential clues:

• Before mobile devices and Wifi were ubiquitous, "web cafés" were quite popular in all three countries: China, Japan, and Korea. Interesting to plot their numbers over the past decades.
• History of Japan since ~600 CE.
• History of China since ~600 CE.
• WWII.
• Cultural Revolution.