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Your First Day in Akihabara: Shops and Locations
From Electric Town to figures, retro games, arcades and Kanda Myojin. My guide to walking Akihabara.
- Hobby shops
- Retro games & arcades
- Walkable
- A quiet break
Akihabara packs anime and game shops into a single compact district. Figures and model kits, second-hand goods, retro games and arcades each have shops that focus on them 🐯
On a first visit it can be hard to know where to begin, so I picked a first-day walk as my theme. We'll start at the station-front landmarks, move through the different kinds of shops, and end with a quiet break at Kanda Myojin, passing several STEINS;GATE locations along the way.
Start at the Electric Town Exit
The Electric Town Exit of Akihabara Station is the easiest place to begin. Right outside are a building full of hobby shops and a store that doubles as a well-known meeting point.
Akihabara Station Electric Town Exit
Anime & Manga · Akihabara
The gateway to Akihabara and a recurring backdrop in STEINS;GATE. The view of the Radio Kaikan from the plaza outside the Electric Town Exit is one of the series' signature real-world compositions.
Free entryAkihabara Radio Kaikan
Anime & Manga · Akihabara
A hobby-shop tower right outside the Electric Town Exit, drawn as the building that houses the Future Gadget Lab in STEINS;GATE. Tenants include K-BOOKS, AmiAmi, Lashinbang and Kaiyodo.
Free entry
AKIHABARA Gamers Main Store
Shopping & streets · Akihabara
A seven-floor anime and game store close to the Electric Town Exit, stocking goods, manga, light novels and CDs. Its storefront is a well-known meeting point.
Free entry
Figures and model kits
Akihabara is home to flagship stores run by figure and model makers themselves. Beyond browsing the latest products, I love taking a look at their exhibition and event floors too ✨
Kotobukiya Akihabara Store
Shopping & streets · Akihabara
The flagship store of figure and model kit maker Kotobukiya. It carries its own products plus goods from a wide range of titles, with upper floors used for exhibitions and events.
Free entry
Volks Akihabara Hobby Tengoku 2
Shopping & streets · Akihabara
Volks' own-building flagship and a large model and hobby store, carrying Gunpla, tools and modelling materials as well as Super Dollfie ball-jointed dolls.
Free entry
Retro games, second-hand finds, capsule toys and arcades
Around Chuo-dori you'll find shops for old games and second-hand goods, a store lined with capsule-toy machines, and arcades packed with crane games. From nostalgic finds to the latest prizes, wander around like you're on a treasure hunt 🎮
Super Potato Akihabara
Shopping & streets · Akihabara
A leading retro game shop in Akihabara. Famicom and Mega Drive software and consoles fill the third and fourth floors, and the fifth has a playable corner of vintage arcade cabinets.
Free entry
Mandarake Complex
Shopping & streets · Akihabara
Mandarake's Akihabara branch, dealing in second-hand doujinshi, figures, vintage toys and animation cels, with eight floors each devoted to a different genre.
Free entry
Akihabara Gachapon Kaikan
Shopping & streets · Akihabara
A capsule-toy shop lined with roughly 500 machines, from mainstream character series to oddities. It's a popular photo stop for overseas visitors.
Free entry
Taito Station Akihabara
Anime & Manga · Akihabara
Taito's own arcade on Chuo-dori, with a strong line-up of crane games stocked with anime prize goods and of rhythm games.
Free entry
A break at Kanda Myojin, and somewhere to eat
After the bustle of Electric Town, let's walk a little further to Kanda Myojin, the guardian shrine of Akihabara and a location for more than one series. Beside its gate is a long-established amazake shop, a natural place to rest your feet.
If you want a proper meal, there's also a temple-cuisine canteen under the tracks near the station.
Kanda Myojin Shrine
Anime & Manga · Akihabara
The guardian shrine of the Akihabara area and a well-known Love Live! location. It's also the setting for STEINS;GATE scenes including Ruka Urushibara in shrine-maiden dress.
Free entry
Amanoya
Food · Akihabara
Founded in 1846 beside the gate of Kanda Myojin, this old shop makes amazake and koji. Its alcohol-free amazake, made from rice and koji alone, is served in a retro tearoom attached to the store.
¥1–1,000
Komaki Shokudo Kamakura Fushikian
Food · Akihabara
A Buddhist temple-cuisine canteen under the tracks near Akihabara Station. Every dish is vegan, and there are English and Chinese menus.
¥2,000–3,000
Do this route
A first day in Akihabara
This is how I'd go around them! Add them all to a trip and change anything you like later 🧳
More spots for these titles
Once you have a feel for the layout, add this route to your trip and drop in any other shops that catch your eye. Have a fun day in Akihabara 🧳
