Nakoko is such a fun hidden gem in downtown San Mateo! They have around 20 claw machines for both kids and adults, filled with some of the cutest plushies I've ever seen. The only downside? Every plushie is so adorable and chibi-looking that it makes me want to win all of them. One of my favorite things is their trading system. You can save your winnings and trade them in for one of the larger plushies on display, which somehow makes playing even more addictive. If I ever won the lottery--not saying I did, but there would be signs--one of those signs would definitely be me spending way too much time at Nakoko trying to clear out their plushie collection. Cute prizes, fun atmosphere, and a clever reward system that keeps you coming back. I'll definitely be back for more claw machine adventures! read more

Nakoko - Farmer's market - Arcades Near Me - San Mateo, California

Such a fun and unique place in downtown San Mateo. The claw machines are actually enjoyable to play, and the prize selection is really cute with lots of plushies. I liked the trade-up system as well. The staff were super friendly and welcoming, and the whole place had a fun atmosphere. They explained how the trade system works and what future themes and prizes they are going to offer. You can tell they care about their customers and want them to come back. This place is definitely worth checking out and I'll definitely be back. read more

One of the most unique experiences in the Bay Area in all the great ways. It's addicting as well. Small,,clean,friendly, inviting place. Street parking. $10 for 10 tokens. 1 token. 1 shot at a wide variety of stuffed toys. A lot of laughs Great way to kill a little time. read more

We went hog wild with claw machines this rainy break, so of course this meant we visited Nakoko along with the other much hyped Clawesome arcade nearby. We ended up getting a haul of stuffies from each, spending roughly 25 at each arcade (5 at Clawesome, 7 at nakoko). Pros: Great trade in system to get bigger/ nicer toys. You don't even have to trade in during your visit - you can even bank your credits by turning in animals you don't want. No app needed to operate the machines, just buy good old analog tokens and enjoy that satisfying vintage clanking when they come out of the dispenser . Straightforward to operate. Staff were really nice Lots of Sanrio or cute characters as you'd expect. Cons: Toys feel thin in fabric, not that well made. But they are very cute with a decent selection of boy favorite characters such as Batman, etc Machines are more finicky but they cost less than Clawesome per try, so pick your poison. Expect to be here a while. Machines have the typical packed-together pile of animals which can be harder to lift from than clawsomes few animals on the floor per machine Parking sucks generally for this whole area. A little hard to find being tucked away near the train. read more

Nakoko - Arcades Near Me - San Mateo, California

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A trade up shop that's great for getting your feet wet for learning how to play claw games. Trust me, I stink at them and to be able to get 5 out of 30 is nothing short of a miracle in my mind. Staff was nice and did try to arrange the plushies in a way that was maybe a little easier especially for all the little kids present. The nice thing is that you can trade in the plushies and save your progress here to earn the big prizes (30 points). If you step out of the store though, all sales final so think before you do. There are token deals right now just because it's the soft opening but otherwise it's about 1 token per dollar. read more

Nakoko - Arcades Near Me - San Mateo, California

Quick take: So much fun! We had family visiting from out of town during the soft opening. It was a great idea to bring the teenagers here. During the soft opening all of the claw machines were set to easy mode. We all ended up winning plushies. We were able to combine some of the plushies and trade up for a bigger plushie from behind the counter. Definitely recommend this spot! read more

Rules are straightforward: - $1 per try - Each prize won from machines is worth 1 point - You can keep your prize(s) or exchange them for bigger prizes (displayed around the store with their point values) - If you leave/take a prize(s) out of the store, you can't bring them back to exchange for points/bigger prizes - You can store and accumulate points over time - Unused tokens can also be saved for future visits We had a really fun time! Service was really friendly, helpful, and kind. We ended up winning a number of prizes from the machines and traded up for a bigger prize! The machines are all new, so there weren't any issues with broken/damaged/out of service machines. read more

Brand new claw machine store in DT San Mateo that opened 10 days ago. We met one of the owners (Kelvin) who was very friendly and welcoming. He explained their vision was to get people to win and keep coming back, not to make the claw machines impossible to beat. There's a promo running through the end of the month where you get 30 tokens for $25. They also switch out the plushies pretty frequently, so keep checking back! You can trade in your winnings for bigger items too. They also have multiple levels that aren't open yet, but hopefully will have more things to look forward to in the future. read more

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Nakoko is currently in the soft opening phase. I visited on July 4th 30 minutes prior to closing at 6:00 pm. There's roughly 20 claw machine games available. Each game is one token and one try. There's a limited time promotion where you can get 30 tokens for $25. The concept is really unique, where the arcade games that are eligible, allows you to trade what you win for a bigger prize through a point system. You can also keep the points in your "library" and redeem it later. For any unused tokens, you can either keep them for later use or get a voucher card to load the credit. The tokens are provided in a small blue or orange basket. A clear drawstring plastic bag was provided to hold the prizes (holds up to 10 prizes). There's also a mezzanine upstairs where private parties can be hosted via a reservation. I played for about an hour and was able to win 11 prizes to trade towards a large Cinnamaroll stuffed animal! Ambiance The claw machines were lit with bright blue lights. There's an open area to walk around the main floor, view the games and prizes. Location It's located one block away from the primary downtown area. There's street parking and a parking lot across from it. Customer Service I was able to speak with the co-owner, Anna, who was so helpful and sweet! She mentioned her passion for claw arcade games and another Nakoko location in the SF Sunset District. Looking forward to returning soon! read more

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If you need the dopamine hit from claw machines, definitely come here. I feel like they make the machines a little bit easier (especially for the prizes that are not as popular) so you can trade them in for bigger prizes. I like how they will allow you to keep the bank so you can save up for prizes that you want. I first went when they opened and they had a deal for $25 for 30 tokens and I was given a voucher for the same deal and just used it again! It definitely gets me in a great mood because I love claw machines and I feel like I can always leave with at least one thing I like! read more

ADDICTING! Once you visit Nakoko, you'll never want to leave until you've snagged at least one squishie, and once you get one you'll be addicted. I visited Nakoko with my family and we all had so much fun. Claw machines are definitely in and Nakoko is a great place to participate in the trend. With regard to how much money you'll spend, that all depends on your skill level. We were told that best thing to do is stick with the same machine until you get one. This certainly worked for us. I highly recommend checking out Nakoko as it's great for family fun or date night. read more

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Promo to spin the wheel if you spend $25 for 20. You can win an addition 3-5 tokens. Each game was only 1 token and the worker made sure to refill the machines. I personally didn't win many plushies, however a lot of people have buckets (store provided) filled with them. You can also trade your small plushies for larger ones. Overall, great experience and I felt like it was "fair". read more

Nakoko - Arcades Near Me - San Mateo, California

We have enjoyed every visit we had at Nakoko. Our two girls enjoy it so much that our youngest had her birthday party there. The machines are doable and the staff is very friendly. Here is her review (10 year girl) : I liked how we got some many different kind of prizes and they were all easy to win. Nakoko is my favorite claw machine! read more

Nakoko - Winnings from Nakoko! - Arcades Near Me - San Mateo, California

Such an amazing and fun experience! They have a Pokemon theme going on (which my son is obsessed with) and he was ecstatic. He told me, "This is the best day ever!" I believe I spoke to one of the owners and he was so kind and really helped my son have such a wonderful time. Highly recommend for anyone that's into claw/arcade games! read more

Nakoko - Arcades Near Me - San Mateo, California

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We had a lot of fun here! The owner was very nice, explained the trade up system, and they have a fun Lunar New Year promotion going on. What a great way to get out of the house. read more

Nakoko - Arcades Near Me - San Mateo, California

So excited to have a fun, winnable claw machine place near me! This is like the claw machine arcades I've seen in Vegas or in Asia, where they're not super hard to win or super expensive. I love the trade in program and think it's generally priced fairly, especially with the current $25 for 30 token promotion. We won 12 plushies with the 30 tokens and traded them in for a sakura rilakkuma, which is essentially about $25 for a large plushie + 20-30 minutes of entertainment. For me, the joy of claw machines is playing + winning, but I don't really want to keep most of the prizes. It would be great if there was a subscription or program to just play the claw machines but not keep the prizes.... For the right price I would keep coming back for just that, and maybe add an area to hang out with friends. Overall really happy to have this place in San Mateo to break up the monotony of food places. Plus service is friendly and attentive! read more

As soon as we walked by, the games caught our eye and we had to stop. We were greeted right away by the friendly owner, who offered us each a free play as part of their grand opening promotion. He was super welcoming and took the time to chat with us, even explaining how to win the bigger prizes. You can tell this place truly wants you to win! Our daughter was thrilled to win a stuffed animal, and what I really love is that you can save your points and prizes to trade up for even bigger ones. She was able to trade in six stuffed animals for a Hello Kitty prize she had her eye on! They even have Labubus, which was such a fun surprise. We had a great experience and can't wait to come back! read more

Came here after eating with some friends and it was SO fun!! What's cool about this spot is that you can trade the small plushies for a bigger one! I'm not very good at the claw machines but I find the whole experience fun with for friends and family. Sometimes they have deals on tokens as well. read more

Nakoko is so fun! Won lots of prizes. I like that we also have options to trade. Cute selection of prizes!! Friendly service and great atmosphere. read more

Nakoko - Arcades Near Me - San Mateo, California

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The place was as expected. You win small plushies to trade for the bigger ones. The claw is based on a statistical win. So its strong once every X amount of grabs. If youre lucky, the plush drops and rolls down the hole for a win. I walked away with 5 small plushies for my son. He loved them. The staff was very nice with helping me. I paid 25 dollars, played chance with the capsule machine and got 5 free tokens. read more

Super fun. Won a stuffed animal for my wife. Definitely getting points for that. Plenty of claw machines to choose from read more

Nakoko - Wife and I with stuffed animal I won - Arcades Near Me - San Mateo, California

It's so nice to see a fun non-food place opening in San Mateo! It's the perfect spot to spend some time while you're waiting for your dinner reservation. I love that you can trade up for better plushies but even the ones in the machines are already very cute. The workers are also very nice and constantly restocking the machines. The one minor downside is that they're not open very late so it can't be a post-dinner activity, otherwise they would have a lot more of my money! read more

Great place for family fun! They have cute prizes and you can actually WIN! Owner was super nice. We will be back! read more

Great add on to San Mateo, I highly recommend this place to family and friends. Friendly and very informative staff. Will definitely be back! read more

We used to go hours away for a claw machine arcade. Randomly stumbled across this place and the kids were thrilled. The people who work here are so kind and give helpful tips. Everyone wants everyone to leave happy. Gotta love it. read more

So much fun! Great high quality prizes and very fair claw machines. They want you to win. Very clean and great variety. We were there for their soft opening and had so much fun. Highly recommended read more

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Super fun place to go..Not rigged like other claw machine place. Place is clean and good lighthing. They have program where you can exchangr what you get for points and redeem thepoints for one that you like or bigger plushies. Parking on street, but there is also parking garage 1 block away. Owner is super nice - fun place to spend time with your kids. This place also renting their place for kids birthday party. read more

My kids and I love this place! The stuffies are great quality and the monthly themes are so fun. The owner was also so kind to my children and went above and beyond to make sure they had a fun experience. read more

Had a great time here. Did the $25 offer for 30 tokens. Won on the first try and got very confident, was struggling on one of the machine and the guy working there came over and gave some pointers, we were able to win some more after that. Also learn they do different themes each month, and they're doing a partnership with tiger tea in April. read more

We had a great time. Super cute plushies. Claw machines were fair and we walked away with a good haul.

So many claw machines. The stuffies are so soft and cuddly. There are event spaces upstairs. Bathroom is clean and claws are strong. read more

I've gone to quite a few different claw machine arcades in the South Bay and decided to check out Nakoko while we were up in San Mateo for lunch. I feel like Nakoko has the best payout out of all the ones I've gone to. They don't make it near impossible to win. We were able to chat with the owner and he said he wanted to open a place where everyone has a chance to win. The trade up is also pretty good. You can trade in your plush for points to redeem for larger plushies. I even saw some you can trade up for as low as 6 points! I would definitely recommend Nakoko. Only downside is that it's a little far from me, but anytime I'm in the area I come back! read more

I visited The Claw Arcade Shop today and had such a fun experience! All the plushies are super cute and great quality. I didn't have much luck winning , I only managed to get one, but the owner was incredibly kind and even let me exchange it for the one I loved most. Such great customer service! I'll definitely be coming back!! read more

This place is very clean and fun! I highly recommend and people should give it a try! The owners are very friendly :)

Spent 25 dollars and got 3 extra tokens which was nice. But after 28 tries on 5 different machines, we walked away with nothing. Not one win. So disappointed in how they have the machines set up. The cranes drop the plushies so easily, the only way you can win is if you get lucky and the plush rolls to the chute after the claw drops it. We aren't new to these games either. I can usually get at least one win every $15-20 at the round one arcade over at stones town. We tried this place because it was local, but so disappointing. They talk it up that you can trade up, but the machines seem so set up against the players, it isn't even fun. I won't be returning. read more

Spent $25 and was able to get 10 plushies! Great place to visit near restaurants. Owner was helpful and gave a few extra tokens

Claw machines are rigged. They will pick up the toy but the claw immediately opens up at the top even after several tries at the same machine. Only able to win 1 prize for $25. I'm not new to claw machines and am very successful at round1. Super disappointed, never coming back. Reading the past reviews I am assuming they made the claws more difficult since then. I know it's easy to adjust the settings on those machines. read more

I won't be going back .The claws in the claw machines are very weak. The literally pick up the stuffed animals, and then drops it. Somehow we managed to get 2 stuffed animals out of $20. But the chances are small. I will say that my daughter went with her father at the grand opening. They were not able win any stuffed animals , but the guy working , gave her one anyway . For that . I will give it 2 stars read more