Akihabara

Akihabara is the biggest Electric Town in the world and its located in Tokyo.  This area has second name called “Akiba” basically shortened word of Akihabara.
Akihabara is also known as the central of Otaku(Geek) Culture.

Akihabara was a shopping area for wireless radio several years ago. However  recently it has been changing to a major shopping area for electronic, computer, game, Manga and Animation.  Nowadays, Otaku is developing sub-culture and it affecting Akihabara. The sub-cultures are cosplay, maid cafe, and so on.  Akihabara is one of the must visit place in Tokyo and  can experience this sub-culture at Akihabara.

Shopping

Electronics

The Street called “Chuo-Dori (中央通り)” is main shopping street of Akihabara, and not only main street but also smaller streets which connecting main street has more electronics stores.  On Sunday afternoon, this street will bePedestrians’ Paradise (歩行者天国) you can walk freely to the main street and many small shops on the side walk.

Keep your eye on for used (中古 chūko) electronics stores, which offer pre-owned Electronics are at bottom prices.

  • LaOX Duty Free, 1-15-3 Soto-Kanda (on Chuo-dori, close to JR Akihabara station), ☎ +81 03-5207-5027, [3]. M-Th 10AM-8PM, F-Sa 10AM-9PM, Su/Holiday 10AM-8PM. LaOX Duty Free specializes in export products and has multilingual staff on hand.
  • ONODEN Tax-Free Department, 1-2-7 Soto-Kanda (on Chuo-dori, close to JR Akihabara station, Electric Town exit),☎ +81 03-3253-4742, [4]. 10AM-8PM daily. ONODEN specializes in overseas electronics. Multilingual staff.
  • Radio Center (ラジオセンター), 1-14-2 Soto-Kanda (take JR Akihabara Electric Town exit, then turn right), [5]. Radio Center is an unbelievable two-floor warren of tiny shops, each specializing in (for example) LEDs, voltage meters, ceramic capacitors or miniature cameras. Heaven for the do-it-yourself electronics aficionado, and these days a flashback to the Akiba of yesteryear.
  • Yodobashi Akiba, (at JR Akihabara Showa-dori Exit), ☎ +81 3-5209-1010, [6]. 9:30AM-10PM daily. Electronics giant Yodobashi’s new ginormous 9-story flagship store selling anything that beeps or clicks, from PCs to games to cameras. Many languages spoken, tax-free and credit cards no problem, and their famous Gold Point Card system gets you credit worth 10% of your purchase, usable for two years starting the next day. Unfortunately you need to choose between points or tax-free.

Anime and Manga

Akihabara is also famous for Anime & Manga, and some anime goods stores can be found at Main Street. If you are looking for those anime & Manga goods, just head for the street from JR Akihabara St. and walk towards to North.

  • Animate (アニメイト), (On Chūō-dōri, located right next to Comic Toranoana), ☎ +81 03-5209-3330, [7]. 10AM-9PM.Seven floors – plus one basement level – of pure otaku goodness. From DVDs and manga to character goods and games, the variety of merchandise on offer is mind-bogglingly vast and will make anime/manga fans wish they were made of money.
  • Comic Toranoana (コミックとらのあな), (On Chūō-dōri, located right next to Animate), ☎ +81 03-5294-0123, [8]. 10AM-10PM. Looking for dōjinshi? This is the place to head for.

Other goods

Akihabara also has a great number of hobbyist stores. eg) anime, manga, toys to military goods and railway fandom.

  • Don Quijote, 4-3-3 Sotokanda (Chuo-dori), [9]. Japanese discount store chain offering an incredibly wide range of items at low prices, from snack food to clothing to gag gifts. The Akihabara outlet also has well-stocked costume and adult toy departments to cater to the local crowd. Located also at the top floor of Don Quijote is the theatre of AKB48. AKB48 is a home-grown, all-girl idol group started in 2005 and is now quite popular in Japan. They perform 2 shows on weekdays and 3 shows on weekends. If you are into J-pop music and cute girls all rolled into one, then you should not miss this. Tickets ¥3000 for males and ¥2000 for females.
  • Weiss Blau Residenz Bukiya (ヴァイスブラウレジデンツ直営店　武器屋), Takara Bldg 402, Soto-Kanda 1-5-7, ☎ +81 3-3254-6435, [10]. Th-Tu 11AM-7PM. The shop of choice for the historical military buff, with everything from Spartan helmets to Celtic longswords, Napoleon-era uniforms and tons and tons of Japanese weaponry across the ages. They’re all replicas, but prices vary widely depending on how close to the real thing you want it.

Restaurants

There is a variety of restaurant in Akihabara.

  • Tenya (てんや), (located a few blocks down Chuo-dori towards Metro Suehirocho), ☎ +81 03-5807-8422. Cheap fast-food tempura. Basic ”tendon” bowl costs less than ¥500, a steal by any standard.
  • Traveler’s Dining Pushup, Akihabara 1-5 1F, ☎ +81 03-5294-5525, [11]. M-Sa noon-2PM, 5PM-midnight. A tiny place located in an alley right behind the Akihabara Capsule Inn, it’s convenient for anyone staying there. Both Japanese and foreign food is served. The owner, Yuki, is a former backpacker and will happily give advice on choosing the right sho-chu from a selection of 60 different kinds. Try the raw octopus (tako) in tomato sauce or the kimchi risotto!
  • Sushi Zanmai (すしざんまい), Yodobashi Akiba 1F/8F, ☎ +81 03-5298-4798, [12]. Excellent sushi at fairly reasonable prices. The first floor outlet is a traditional chef and counter operation, the eighth floor is a more foreigner-friendly “conveyor belt”-style. Plates ¥98-628, most in the ¥150-300 range.

How to GEt TO AKIHABARA AREA

By Public Transfer

  • By Train
    • Get off at Akihabara Station from Major JR Line
    • Get off at Akihabara Station from Tsukuba Express Line
  • By Subway(Tokyo Metro)
      • Get off at Akihabara Station from Hibiya Line.

    Map