Akihabara (Akiba for short) is also known as Electric Town. It is and area known for being a bit strange. It is mainly known as an area where you can buy all kinds of electronic devices new and old, just about any consumer electronic device you can think off can be found in Akiba. They don’t only sell electronic devices they also sell all kinds of electronic components as well. There are hundreds of small electronics stores, some of them selling wares almost on the street.
Small shops along an alleyway
The other main thing Akiba is known for is being a mecca for Otaku, people who love Anime and Manga (Japanese animation and comic books). It is not uncommon to find people dressed as their favorite characters. Personally I love anime and manga and I enjoyed findind some of the anime series I am familiar with in these stores. It is this eccentricity that attracted me to the place and was one of the reasons I visited the area. Another thing found in the area are arcades, these arcades are targeted to many people with some of these arcades having area that are only for girls. In the arcade I entered many of the people there where young adults which was not exactly what I expected. The buildings in the area are extremely colourful and have large billboards depicting cartoon characters as well as adds for electronics companies.
The brightly coloured buildings of Akihabara
Along with the electronics shops area a variety of stores aimed towards Otaku which sell anime DVDs, manga and plastic figures depicting anime or manga characters for those truly obsessed with these things. One of the other strange things you can find in Akiba are maid cafés, which are obviously cafés but the unusual thing about them is that all the waitresses are dressed like maids and refer to customers as “master” and generally act cute, as you have probably guessed these are targeted at Otaku. Below is a picture of a girl dressed as a maid that was handing out flyers advertising a maid café.
Girl dressed as a maid
Personally i found this concept to be a bit eccentric however it is just a manifestation of the kind of playfullness that is you find when you immerse yourself in Japanese society. They seem to enjoy acting silly and seem to have no problems laughing at themselves which is something I admire about the Japanese and think people can learn from it. Some of the shops in the area are actually duty-free shops that offer a 10% discount to those who present a foreign passport, so if you are ever in Tokyo and want to buy some electronics at a discount Akiba is the place for you. Below is one of the most visible duty-free shops I saw in the area.
A duty-free shop in Akihabara
I was inspired by just trying to wrap my head around such a crazy looking area. It is just an explosion of bright colours, signs and billboards. It is a bunch of tiny shops stuck together in a seemingly random fashion. I guess I just enjoyed the playful use of color and the flurry of activity around me. It is definitely a place I recommend people to visit if only to see a place that is strange and unique. The next area I will write about is Shinjuku which is pretty much the nerve-center of Tokyo. The area features the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building as well as many other large skyscrapers with interesting designs.
