I've been to Tokyo Game Show two years running, but it's such a pain to stand in line to play demos and stuff...
Should I go this year?
It doesn't cost much, right? I'd probably go if I were as close as you, at least once. I've never been before, but I got sick of trade shows years ago. E3 was fun when it was in Atlanta, since I go see whatever shit I liked and then go right home, but when it moved back to L.A. it started to suck. I went to two L.A. shows and then took an opportunity I had to go to Japan for the first time in 2001 instead. My good buddy Leguna said "You'd rather go to JAPAN THAN E3?! THAT'S CRAZY!!" 
Entrance fee is 1,000 yen, plus train fare which is about 1,000 yen to go there and go back again. The trade show ambiance is not for me. It's so noisy and all the hustle and bustle annoys me, plus I'm not a huge fan of going somewhere just to play demos, heh.
I'll probably go just so I can say I did. Every year, my friends back home ask me to take pictures of the booth babes and every year, I tell them to fuck off. That's one of the reasons I'm reluctant to go through it again this year.
