> Even with all of the online resources now,
nothing beats learning from playing over the board, so it’s been heart-warming to see the gradual yet real strides chess in Japan is making so people can ... find more chess clubs near them and nurture their love for the game.
I live in Yokohama. I wasn’t aware of any chess clubs near me, but a web search turns up one in Yokohama [1] and one in neighboring Kawasaki [2]; there are more than twenty others nationwide [3].
This contrasts, though, with the much larger number of go clubs. There seem to be over thirty in Yokohama alone, including at least three within walking distance of my home. Some go clubs are small, like one on the fourth floor of a building a few blocks away [4], while others are quite large [5].
I learned how to play go in the U.S. in the late 1970s. For a few years after I moved to Japan in 1983, I sometimes played in go clubs around Tokyo. They were an interesting scene: smoke-filled rooms full of middle-aged and older men, many of whom seemed to spend all day every day there, playing game after game. There wasn’t much talking or socializing; often two people would play an entire game without exchanging more than a word or two.
The first go club I ventured into, before I could speak much Japanese, was in Kabukicho on the edge of the redlight district. It was livelier than the ones I went to later, perhaps because, unlike most other go clubs, it served alcohol and was open all night. It seems to have moved to a new location deeper into Kabukicho, surrounded by bars and love hotels [6].
I never got very strong at go—maybe 4 or 5 kyu—and I haven’t played a regular game in many years. But recently, at my daughter’s request, I have started teaching my grandson how to play. It will be interesting to see if he likes it. If he does, I might show him chess, too.
[1] http://ycc.wp.xdomain.jp
[2] https://yasux.com
[3] https://japanchess.org/clublist/
[4] https://www.google.co.jp/maps/@35.4749685,139.6245706,3a,75y...
[5] https://www.yokohamaigosalon.com/%E3%83%9B%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A0
[6] https://www.google.com/maps/@35.6962023,139.7020693,3a,75y,9...