CHIBA, Japan — In its 12th year, the Tokyo Game Show has continued to grow in popularity, becoming a tourist destination for gamers from around the world.

For military gamers stationed in central Japan, getting to the show is a not much more than a relatively short trip outside the gate.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Blake Isaacson, stationed at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, got turned on to the event from hearing about it on the radio on his day off.

"I said, ‘Hey, let’s go.’ I’ve never been to a convention like this," he said. "I have no idea what kinds of games are out here. I’m just here for all the sights and all the visual stuff."

At the show, tens of thousands of eager gamers packed the halls of the Makuhari Messe convention center Saturday, eager to get the chance to play or even look at some of the latest in video gaming technology.

The show began Thursday, but Saturday was the first of two days that it was open to the general public.

Demos for such games as "Fable 2" for the Xbox 360, which had a short wait during the two previous business and media days, exploded in length on general admission day, going from about 15 minutes to nearly two hours.

However, none of the lines compared to the one for Capcom’s "Monster Hunter 3" for the Nintendo Wii. The line became so long that Capcom staff decided to limit it only 10 minutes after the doors opened Saturday morning.

"It is to avoid accidents," said one staff member a few hours later, adding that they might allow more people in line after it became shorter, but they were not certain.

People had different methods for navigating the show halls, trying to get to their desired game booths.

Paul Yhap managed to find an open area amongst the sea of people near the Koei booth after he and his friends were turned away from their top choice for gaming areas.

"The Square Enix booth is closed off right now. I think it’s for VIPs only or something," said Yhap, an airman stationed at Yokota Air Base.

He said his backup plan was playing "Street Fighter 4" for his preferred console, the PlayStation 3. He said he had just finished playing it and found "Street Fighter 4" to be "pretty awesome."

Crowds weren’t an issue for Senior Airman Xander Suhr, also from Yokota.

At 6 foot, 5 inches and 250 pounds, "I’m bigger than everyone else here, so I can just walk on through," he said.

Games like "Ninja Blade" and the latest in the "Tenchu" series caught Suhr’s eye. But the real reason he went to the show?

"The booth babes," he laughed.

Indeed, it seemed that at nearly every booth there was an attractive woman — also known as a "booth companion" — handing out flyers.

Staff Sgt. J.D. Benoit, assigned to Yokota’s 374th Mission Support Squadron, said he to came to the show for the people as well as the games.

However, he wasn’t looking for companions, but rather for celebrities.

"I really wanted to meet the folks from G4," he said, referring to the American cable television channel devoted to video games.

And while he met no one from G4, he did say he was very impressed with the cosplayers, fans who make and wear costumes of their favorite characters.

"I thought a lot of them were very well done," he said.

In the hallways between the two main showrooms, cosplayers lined the walls, posing for the throngs of photographers who had gathered around them.

"This is a way of expressing myself," said a 25-year-old Japanese woman, who declined to give her name but gave her cosplay name, Teteo.

Dressed as a monster tamer from "Final Fantasy XI," she came to the Tokyo Game Show with three other cosplayers whom she met at other cosplay events.

All were dressed up as characters from "Final Fantasy XI," including her friend, a 36-year-old man visiting from Osaka who went by the cosplay name of Yamazi.

"This is an opportunity to look at new games and see friends," he said.

Stars and Stripes reporters Tim Wightman and Hana Kusumoto contributed to this story.