The three-storey gaming warehouse in Kawasaki modelled on Hong Kong’s lawless ‘city within a city’ that was demolished in 1994 after becoming synonymous with drug addiction and prostitution.
Kowloon Walled City – Hong Kong’s infamous ghetto – was at one time the most densely populated place on earth. A place where prostitutes installed themselves on one side of the street while priests preached and handed out powdered milk to the poor on the other. It was a very complex place, difficult to generalise about, a place that seemed frightening but where most people continued to lead normal lives.
It’s somewhat bizarre, then, that Kowloon Walled City should now have its most striking memorial inside a video game arcade in Kawasaki, Japan, where you can play classic retro hits such as Metal Slug, Dungeons & Dragons and Space Harrier. I took a trip out to Kawasaki Warehouse a while back to see what it was all about.
Check out my article for DAZED here.
