AKIHABARA
Dive into Akihabara: the electric city is the bubbling heart of the otaku culture of manga, video games and anime.
Akihabara, the "electric" city, is Tokyo's temple of otaku culture. After the Second World War, demobilized engineers settled in this district and helped rebuild the country by designing radios, essential in the post-war period, and other appliances such as electric rice cookers. Gradually, the area began to specialize in household appliances, and then benefited from the computer boom of the 1970s. As a result, the number of computer parts dealers multiplied. At the same time, record shops and game stores appeared... This was the beginning of the establishment of manga and pop culture, confirmed by the installation of the AKB48 girls' band theater in the area in 2005.
Today, Akihabara is the heart of the anime, manga and video game world. Maids cafés, staffed by maids in increasingly original costumes, abound on every street corner, as do ramen and curry stalls tucked in between karaoke and electronics stores.
A must-see in Akihabara:
Radio Kaikan. This historic building has existed since the 1950s, originally selling household appliances. Completely rebuilt in 2014, it now houses anime stores, figurines, games and even a bar.
Animestores. Several are mentioned in our guide, such as Animate, Mandarake or, for fans of retro games and manga, Super Potato.
The electronics stores under the train lines are a reminder of the area's history.
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