This is the place to go to find electronics (not to mention manga and anime.) It is packed with a wide range of retail establishments, ranging from seedy little shops to giant megamarts.
The Yodobashi Akiba store has about as much floor space as a typical American Electronics superstore–on each of 9 floors. (To be fair, one floor is devoted to an expensive gourmet food court, and one to a golf shop.)
It’s pretty much mandatory to have some sort of strap hanging off your cell phone. Fortunately there are thousands to choose from.
The hot video game of the moment seems to be “Everybody’s Golf.”
The toy department includes some surprisingly realistic toy guns. Just the thing for Halloween!
(At this point a security guard informed me that no picture taking is allowed in the store, so I had to cut this short.)
Softmap is another giant multi-story electronics store, but with a less upscale feel. It seems more like a pile-them-high discounter.
Many store specialize in anime and manga.
My unscientific impression, based solely on the amount of merchandise on sale, is that the most popular current anime series are Clannad, Da Capo II, Shakugan no Shana, Minami-ke, and Hayate no Gotoku in about that order. Of course Lucky Star and Haruhi Suzumia remain heavy favorites.
A poster girl hands out flyers for a meido cafe.
Here’s one of her flyers.
The Capsule Inn Akihabara is an inexpensive place to stay, if you don’t mind sleeping in a box.
