what's the sene like nowadays in Tokyo?

S

smashmouth

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
there was a crazy pool scene in the 90s there with some rapid development of players, was that yet another Tokyo fad or is pool still alive and well?
 
Pool is still doing quite well in Tokyo, with the pro Grand Prix tour going strong and lots of weekly, monthly and regional tournaments. The number of halls has thinned out quite a bit from the 90's boom, but there are still at least a couple dozen good places to play in and around the city along with a healthy number of pros and open level players around. The APA league started a branch here a few years back and that's brought in a wave of new players as well.
No other AZers in Tokyo afaik, but I've had a whole bunch come visit over the years and we always have a good time and play until we drop!
 
clearly you're in the thick of it, tell us more, thanks in advance

what do they play?
they play for money?
what tables and cues are popular?
what are the best rooms in Tokyo?
any foreign players visit for action?
 
victorl said:
Pool is still doing quite well in Tokyo, with the pro Grand Prix tour going strong and lots of weekly, monthly and regional tournaments. The number of halls has thinned out quite a bit from the 90's boom, but there are still at least a couple dozen good places to play in and around the city along with a healthy number of pros and open level players around. The APA league started a branch here a few years back and that's brought in a wave of new players as well.
No other AZers in Tokyo afaik, but I've had a whole bunch come visit over the years and we always have a good time and play until we drop!
Click to expand...

Or until the trains stop running.

I was about to play with my good hand...and both eyes open. And without holding my breath. And I was gonna put both contacts in.

Something else too.
 
what do they play?
9 ball is still the game most people play, but a lot of pro and open tournaments have shifted to WPA 10-ball. 3-cushion is quite popular with the older crowd, and there is a small snooker community as well.

they play for money?
You can get money games if you go to the right places, but even then, it's mostly cheap sets (10-20 bucks), as most room owners will watch out for their regulars. There's a Japanese style 9-ball ring game (get paid per money ball made) that a lot of players play, and rates are usually cheap as well, but it can get expensive if you are playing with people who can string racks together. There are always a few Filipino players floating around who are always willing to gamble (although it usually ends up being more like donating than gambling).

what tables and cues are popular?
I'd say 90% of the tables here are Brunswick Gold Crowns, the rest are Brunswick Metros, Diamonds, Murrays and a few other brands that are more like Brunswick imitations. All the tables are 9 ft and you have to look really hard to find a barbox table.
For production cues, Japanese brands Mezz and Adam are very popular, along with Predator, Lucasi, etc. For custom cues, you see a lot of Ginas and Tads, and pretty much every other major cuemaker as well.

what are the best rooms in Tokyo?
Depends on what you like, but my personal favorite places to play are:
Stella (relaxed atmosphere, good players)
http://pool-darts-stella.com/pool.html
Kinshicho Lupin (kind of dingy, but top pros usually around)
http://www.pool-lupin.co.jp/
Shinjuku Bagus (very cool atmosphere, action tables shown on TV screens, expensive though)
http://www.bagus-99.com/shops/b_shinjuku/billiards/
Snooker Club (best and maybe only snooker pub in Japan)
http://www.snookerclub.net/

any foreign players visit for action?
Like I said earlier, Filipino players like to come and gamble and take down house tournaments. Ramil Gallego is here a lot and when there is a big tournament, you'll get players like Alex, Jeff DeLuna, Lee Van, Dennis and others come and get action on the side. There are almost zero foreign amateurs here though, so when I enter a tournament, my name is usually the only one written in English, so people mistake me for a pro (until they see me dogging my brains out).
 
Black-balled, is that a challenge?
Make your way back here and you'll find that the hustler shall become the hustlee (is that even a word?).
 
victorl said:
what do they play?
9 ball is still the game most people play, but a lot of pro and open tournaments have shifted to WPA 10-ball. 3-cushion is quite popular with the older crowd, and there is a small snooker community as well.

they play for money?
You can get money games if you go to the right places, but even then, it's mostly cheap sets (10-20 bucks), as most room owners will watch out for their regulars. There's a Japanese style 9-ball ring game (get paid per money ball made) that a lot of players play, and rates are usually cheap as well, but it can get expensive if you are playing with people who can string racks together. There are always a few Filipino players floating around who are always willing to gamble (although it usually ends up being more like donating than gambling).

what tables and cues are popular?
I'd say 90% of the tables here are Brunswick Gold Crowns, the rest are Brunswick Metros, Diamonds, Murrays and a few other brands that are more like Brunswick imitations. All the tables are 9 ft and you have to look really hard to find a barbox table.
For production cues, Japanese brands Mezz and Adam are very popular, along with Predator, Lucasi, etc. For custom cues, you see a lot of Ginas and Tads, and pretty much every other major cuemaker as well.

what are the best rooms in Tokyo?
Depends on what you like, but my personal favorite places to play are:
Stella (relaxed atmosphere, good players)
http://pool-darts-stella.com/pool.html
Kinshicho Lupin (kind of dingy, but top pros usually around)
http://www.pool-lupin.co.jp/
Shinjuku Bagus (very cool atmosphere, action tables shown on TV screens, expensive though)
http://www.bagus-99.com/shops/b_shinjuku/billiards/
Snooker Club (best and maybe only snooker pub in Japan)
http://www.snookerclub.net/

any foreign players visit for action?
Like I said earlier, Filipino players like to come and gamble and take down house tournaments. Ramil Gallego is here a lot and when there is a big tournament, you'll get players like Alex, Jeff DeLuna, Lee Van, Dennis and others come and get action on the side. There are almost zero foreign amateurs here though, so when I enter a tournament, my name is usually the only one written in English, so people mistake me for a pro (until they see me dogging my brains out).
Click to expand...

that's totally awesome info, thanks alot
 
victorl said:
what do they play?
9 ball is still the game most people play, but a lot of pro and open tournaments have shifted to WPA 10-ball. 3-cushion is quite popular with the older crowd, and there is a small snooker community as well.

they play for money?
You can get money games if you go to the right places, but even then, it's mostly cheap sets (10-20 bucks), as most room owners will watch out for their regulars. There's a Japanese style 9-ball ring game (get paid per money ball made) that a lot of players play, and rates are usually cheap as well, but it can get expensive if you are playing with people who can string racks together. There are always a few Filipino players floating around who are always willing to gamble (although it usually ends up being more like donating than gambling).

what tables and cues are popular?
I'd say 90% of the tables here are Brunswick Gold Crowns, the rest are Brunswick Metros, Diamonds, Murrays and a few other brands that are more like Brunswick imitations. All the tables are 9 ft and you have to look really hard to find a barbox table.
For production cues, Japanese brands Mezz and Adam are very popular, along with Predator, Lucasi, etc. For custom cues, you see a lot of Ginas and Tads, and pretty much every other major cuemaker as well.

what are the best rooms in Tokyo?
Depends on what you like, but my personal favorite places to play are:
Stella (relaxed atmosphere, good players)
http://pool-darts-stella.com/pool.html
Kinshicho Lupin (kind of dingy, but top pros usually around)
http://www.pool-lupin.co.jp/
Shinjuku Bagus (very cool atmosphere, action tables shown on TV screens, expensive though)
http://www.bagus-99.com/shops/b_shinjuku/billiards/
Snooker Club (best and maybe only snooker pub in Japan)
http://www.snookerclub.net/

any foreign players visit for action?
Like I said earlier, Filipino players like to come and gamble and take down house tournaments. Ramil Gallego is here a lot and when there is a big tournament, you'll get players like Alex, Jeff DeLuna, Lee Van, Dennis and others come and get action on the side. There are almost zero foreign amateurs here though, so when I enter a tournament, my name is usually the only one written in English, so people mistake me for a pro (until they see me dogging my brains out).
Click to expand...

Has kairun gained as much popularity in Tokyo as it has in my area? Lately nobody plays gokyu anymore, just kairun.
 
Don't see much kairun.. I see players playing sometimes and a few good players have gotten into it as far as I know, but I think generally it's still more of a novelty than anything else. Fun game, though, and I love watching players who are good at it.
 
What the hell is 'kairun'?
I demand an explanation....or I'll ship B-B back to take youse guys off.
 
Thanks for the update!

victorl said:
what do they play?
9 ball is still the game most people play, but a lot of pro and open tournaments have shifted to WPA 10-ball. 3-cushion is quite popular with the older crowd, and there is a small snooker community as well.

they play for money?
You can get money games if you go to the right places, but even then, it's mostly cheap sets (10-20 bucks), as most room owners will watch out for their regulars. There's a Japanese style 9-ball ring game (get paid per money ball made) that a lot of players play, and rates are usually cheap as well, but it can get expensive if you are playing with people who can string racks together. There are always a few Filipino players floating around who are always willing to gamble (although it usually ends up being more like donating than gambling).

what tables and cues are popular?
I'd say 90% of the tables here are Brunswick Gold Crowns, the rest are Brunswick Metros, Diamonds, Murrays and a few other brands that are more like Brunswick imitations. All the tables are 9 ft and you have to look really hard to find a barbox table.
For production cues, Japanese brands Mezz and Adam are very popular, along with Predator, Lucasi, etc. For custom cues, you see a lot of Ginas and Tads, and pretty much every other major cuemaker as well.

what are the best rooms in Tokyo?
Depends on what you like, but my personal favorite places to play are:
Stella (relaxed atmosphere, good players)
http://pool-darts-stella.com/pool.html
Kinshicho Lupin (kind of dingy, but top pros usually around)
http://www.pool-lupin.co.jp/
Shinjuku Bagus (very cool atmosphere, action tables shown on TV screens, expensive though)
http://www.bagus-99.com/shops/b_shinjuku/billiards/
Snooker Club (best and maybe only snooker pub in Japan)
http://www.snookerclub.net/

any foreign players visit for action?
Like I said earlier, Filipino players like to come and gamble and take down house tournaments. Ramil Gallego is here a lot and when there is a big tournament, you'll get players like Alex, Jeff DeLuna, Lee Van, Dennis and others come and get action on the side. There are almost zero foreign amateurs here though, so when I enter a tournament, my name is usually the only one written in English, so people mistake me for a pro (until they see me dogging my brains out).
Click to expand...

That's really Cool!! Thanks!
 
pt109 said:
Thank you, Victor and Masayoshi. :bow-down:
I've seen it played....but now I got a name for it.
Click to expand...

Its actually a game from Taiwan (and possibly Vietnam or Korea before that) and Kairun is the Japanicized pronounciation of it. Its actual name is probably something somewhat different although I couldn't tell you what that name is myself.
 
Not sure if it's true, but I was told that the name is a Chinese pronunciation of "carom", which further changed to "kairun" when it was introduced to Japan.
 
Hey, I know in Taiwan they call this game "Er San Wu" in mandarin which translate to numbers "2 3 5". Dont know how the name originated though :D
 
Is Don Don still around? Esquillio? Also I remember Efren has a nephew that pretty much lives in Japan, Bando Reyes I think. Bando is the only Philippino player I've ever met that chocked anytime we played for more than 10,000 yen sets. I used to play at a place called Duck in Saitama where Daisuke Hanawa, me, Shinchi Suzuki and Don Don would play Goku all nighters. Every once in a while a young Jr. High school kid would come in and play with us and we always gave him the 3,7 spot so he could keep up. We called him "Oi Kun." Naoyuki Oi, as he has grown into a much better player I doubt I would give him a spot anymore! Hanawa turned pro around '06 I believe, and who knows where Suzuki is. He had a "sneeze" stroke like Mizerak but at one time was the deadliest amateur in the Kanto area.
At that time, the area was full of great players, and it was a treat to see how well the kids I knew then have turned out (Oi, and Hijikata).
 
Cool stuff Dave!
Yes, Don Don and Esquilio still come around, but I only see them at the occasional tournament. I'm not sure where they hang out but I just don't see them around as much as I used to.
You mean Hanawa Keisuke, right? He's plays real sporty and is one of the top pros on the Japan tour right now and Oi is pretty much the dominant player in the Kansai area. Not sure sure about Suzuki and Reyes though.
I would have loved to have been around back then and actually have a chance to beat some of these guys, cuz I sure can't do it now!
 
Victor- what was the name of the place you took me to, please?

You shoul probably put up a link to it...:o
 
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