Princesses & Pokemon

Akihabara is known as Toyko’s ‘Electric City’ and it’s not hard to see why. The home of ‘otuku’ culture (people who are obsessed with manga & anime) it’s full of colourful arcades, vintage video game stores as well as the infamous ‘Maid Cafes’ where staff dressed as waiters or maids serve you tea and desserts - it’s bizarre, but a thing.

Like Times Square on acid, Akihabara was a great base for our trip. It was always alive in the evenings on our way home and we popped into comic book stores, played old school arcade games and found countless cute toys from our favourite films and cartoons. If you’re a nerd like us, you’ll definitely get a lot out of visiting this crazy, beautiful place.

Akiba Fukurou

Our favourite find in the area was, without a doubt, the Owl Cafe: Akiba Fukurou. There is a strict number of people allowed to go into the space at any given time, so booking ahead is a must. When we went into the place, we were given a ‘menu’ of over twenty different owls which explained their personality traits and a bit about their history. They were called cute and often hilarious names like Sweetie Pie and Professor X (he had HUGE eyebrows and looked haughty the whole time.) You have to speak quietly so as to not overwhelm the owls, who are chilling all over the room on their perches. The ones who aren’t resting can come and visit you and you get the chance to hold them and spend time with the curiously calming creatures. It was a highlight of our trip - just don’t go expecting any food or drink, it isn’t a real cafe in that sense. But definitely worth a visit.

Otuku Culture

Fans of otuku culture may also be keen to visit the largest store in the world dedicated to the art of manga and anime: Mandarake. The store is about 5 minutes walk from the station and is one of the most important stores in Akihabara, offering comic books, video games and cosplay items.

Another place of interest include Yodobashi Camera, which is considered to be one of the best electronic stores in Japan and as it’s Japan, well, that’s saying something! The latest gagets, consoles and luxury goods are found there, as it’s easy to find as the store is located in front of Akihabara Station.