Our friend Jay is currently hanging (working) in Tokyo. Because the Xbox 360 Lounge that Microsoft has setup in Tokyo this month is on his way to work he stopped by and checked it out for us.
Jay took several photos of the lounge, including shots of the Xbox 360 gaming stations, custom Xbox 360 faceplates that are on display there. See the photos in our gallery.

Jay went to the Xbox 360 Lounge at lunch time (yes they serve lunch there). He speaks Japanese so he also could chat with some people there about the Xbox 360. The Japanese guests at the lounge Jay talked to where not too taken with the Xbox 360. They miss the fun factor in the current game line-up and miss still the 'Japanese beauty' in the UI. The sentiment seems to be that the Xbox 360 is nothing special.
The Lounge was not crowed. Jay felt that, if they would not serve food and drinks it might be quite empty. Just imagine having a Xbox 360 lounge like this in New York or San Francisco. The place would be packed with people wanting to try the next generation Microsoft Console.
Looks like the Japanese market will still be a tough nut to crack for Microsoft, it is after all Sony territory. Jay was actually impressed by the Xbox 360, especially the image quality.
See also Jay's Blog where he shares his experiences in Tokyo.


The photo above shows a bling bling Xbox 360 faceplate on display at the Xbox 360 lounge. See the currently available Xbox 360 faceplates in the US.