I recently attended the “Janku Cup” in Osaka as part of the Tekken World Tour. Hosted by e-Sports Cafe ZERO, it was a night to remember!
Since competing at EVO Japan 2025, I’ve been itching for another shot at a Tekken 8 tournament. With no luck finding any in Kyoto, I headed to the next prefecture over to compete at the Janku Cup in Osaka!
Hitting up the local scene
Getting off at Fukai station, you’ll find the e-Sports Cafe ZERO facility as part of the Fukai Plaza shopping complex. Home to a plethora of fighting game tournaments for Tekken, Street Fighter, King of Fighters, and more, it’s a pillar of the fighting game community in Japan!
A well-organized event
For just 1,500 yen, you can participate in the Janku Cup tournament held several times a month.
This gives you a chance to win some TWT points for your Tekken career, and also compete for prizes such as T-shirts and merchandise.
The event was very well organized, and despite being predominantly Japanese (I was just one of two foreign attendees), the staff were extremely helpful in keeping me well-informed.
It was a chill yet exciting atmosphere, with everyone in good spirits rejoicing in their love and passion for Tekken 8!
Free play!
The computers and equipment were all top-class and the gaming chairs were comfortable and ideal for competition.
In addition to competing in your scheduled matches, you get plenty of free play time where you can practice on your own or smash out a few sparring matches with fellow attendees.
Registrations typically open at 6pm and tournament starts at 7.30pm, so if you get in early, you can warm up for over an hour before your first official match!
Hype matches!
Don’t worry about getting knocked out early, because the fun doesn’t end there!
In addition to free play, you can enjoy spectating the proceeding matches on the big screens and enjoy the hype commentary too!
If you do well enough, your match will also be streamed live on the event’s YouTube channel, so get your family and friends to tune in!
All in all, I really enjoyed my night at the Janku Cup, despite not proceeding very far. I’ll be sure to enter again for another shot at the title!
To learn more about life in Japan, check out my book: The Japanese Pursuit of Perfection. This book features my most profound observations of Japanese culture and society as a foreign resident. Available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover. Grab your copy today!