Akihabara Tokyo Guide

Akihabara Tokyo...Originally nicknamed due to the many consumer electronics retails centered there, "Akihabara Electric Town" has evolved into a mecca for computer electronics, and more recently, anime, manga, video games, and other forms of "otaku" culture.

Akihabara Electronics

Akihabara remains a favorite destination for procuring all types of esoteric computer and electronic components.

Many Akihabara electronics retailers offer duty-free shopping, where foreign visitors can stock up on the latest gadgets. Click here for a list of duty-free shops in Akihabara.

Akihabara Otaku Culture

Over the past few years, Akihabara has increasingly catered to Japan's otaku culture with a generous selection of shops offering anime:

Manga:

Character figures:

Video games, including many extreme "UFO catchers" offering prizes ranging from stuffed animals to ice cream bars!:

What do Japanese otaku love to eat after a hard day of shopping in Akihabara? Why curry of course!

Akihabara Maid Cafes

A favorite Akihabara destination for Japan's otaku population are maid cafes. As an extension of cosplay culture, maid cafes feature cute waitresses dressed up in French maid costumes who address their male otaku clientele as master (goshujin-sama), take Polaroid snapshots and play silly games with them, and engage and other various forms of shameless flirtation.

Maids can often be seen prowling the streets of Akihabara in search of new clientele.

Electronics. Anime. Manga. Maid cafes. Otaku. Where in else in the world can you find a mix of pop culture like this but Akihabara Tokyo?