Akihabara Electric Town, affectionately known as Akiba, is known around the world as a mecca for anime and video games, with a high concentration of shops specializing in anime, manga, and video game goods.
Near the Japan Railroad Akihabara station is the 9-story Akihabara Radio Kaikan. This building is home to many shops selling electronic goods. It's a great place for tech enthusiasts; almost everything related to electric gadgets, such as computers and their parts, can be found here. There are also figure shops and anime related shops here. There's also Mandarake, a shop famous for its wide selection of anime related goods. You'll also find a collection of manga, video games and anime collectibles. If you're busy, this is a great place to start.
If you're a gaming enthusiast, head over to Super Potato, a retro gaming shop just outside of Manzakura, where you'll find a large selection of old-school consoles on the third through fifth floors and a retro arcade on the fifth floor.
On the north side of Akihabara is the club Mogra. On weekend nights, the club hosts an anime song club night, where guests get an all-night dance party going. Weekend admission is $20-$30; no one under the age of 18 is allowed in.
Japanese pop culture is popular all over the world with the term “otaku”, a term which roughly means nerd or geek. Many foreign tourists come to Japan to experience the real otaku culture, and otaku is a symbol of cool Japan.
Originally, otaku was a negative derogatory term for children who were absorbed in games and anime on the internet without leaving their homes. However, in recent years, some people have taken a positive view of them. There are those who respect their way of life and call for no discrimination.
Rather, tourists from abroad come to meet the otaku because they admire them. Akihabara has a large concentration of such "otaku shops" that sell anime, figures, and games.
When did Akihabara become a center for otaku culture?
Akihabara developed soon after World War II. It originated in the area where electrical appliance wholesalers and street vendors selling parts gathered. During the period of high economic growth, televisions, refrigerators, and washing machines, which were called the "three sacred treasures," spread to ordinary households, and Akihabara was filled with people who could buy them cheaply.
In the 1980s, it is said that the electric town of Akihabara alone was responsible for 10% of the nation's demand for home appliances.
At the time, Akihabara was a "family town" where families would visit on weekends and holidays to pick out televisions and refrigerators, and then go home for dinner after shopping.
Later, the rise of large suburban consumer electronics stores took a toll on Akihabara, and around 1990, many stores began to focus on selling computers and their parts. Rumors of this began to spread and PC enthusiasts began to visit Akihabara. At the time, PC enthusiasts were also fans of anime, figures and games. They must have shared the same tastes as each other. In this way, PC enthusiasts who were "geeks" gathered in Akihabara, and the latent demand gradually grew.
In the late 1990s, a number of "otaku shops" opened their doors in Akihabara on a trial basis. Otaku shops are hobby shops that cater to introverted people with a penchant for computers, internet communications, anime, and games. The "otaku culture" blossomed in Akihabara by grabbing a long-simmering need.
In the 2000s, as Internet shopping became more popular, PC shops began to disappear from Akihabara. Instead, the "maid cafes" that greeted customers wearing maid costumes became more prominent. Shops where shop assistants dressed in anime like costumes and serving customers were also a dream come true for otaku.
These days, high-rise office buildings are lining the streets of Akihabara, and the demographics are changing, but Akihabara, the sacred land of the otaku, is still alive and well.
Over the course of its long history, Akihabara has undergone a number of transformations. The changes in this town are likely to continue.
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