Today I spent over 8 hours in Akihabara, the otaku paradise of the world. If you’re interested in games, toys, anime or books and merchandise on these topics then this is the place for you.
Even in a full nonstop day I only saw a small portion. It’s like a massive dungeon of incredible stores, and for all you see you know there’s a lot you miss as well.
Some shops are so cramped I could barely walk the aisles. Some were so tiny I could barely even enter! And every shelf in every store it bursting with an inconceivable amount of stuff for sale.
Every type of hobby seems to be represented. Aside from the obvious (game and anime) I saw shops specializing in trains, guns, male dolls, wrestling and even in one case yo-yo‘s!
I spent most of my time in game shops. These are like museums to me and I feel I could browse them every day. The glass cases full of the truly rare stuff fascinate me.
I also invested more than I’d care to admit in UFO machines… and won nothing! Not even a chicken banana!
Another of my shoes broke today, and quite possibly my body with it. It was all I could do to shovel in my gourmet dinner…
…before returning to the hotel to write the last postcards and pack for my return flight tomorrow.
I had so much fun in Akihabara though I truly wish I could just go back and do it all again tomorrow. That’s not possible, but I know I’ll be back again one day.