Akihabara, Japan’s epicentre of consumer electronics and otaku (geek) entertainment venues has been attracting gadget fanatics for close to a century.

 

In the 1930s (when radios were Japan’s newest gizmos) techies visited to purchase components from market stalls, and over the subsequent decades, to buy home appliances and electronics at multi-level retail emporiums.

 

Today, the teeming suburb is also ground zero for anime and video game enthusiasts with a multitude of neon-lit entertainment venues. 

 

This Akihabara guide, bursting with close to 60 reviews, will lead you to hidden shops jam packed with manga comic books, megastores stocked with up-to-the-nanosecond electronics, as well as kooky theme cafes, and garish gaming arcades where you can unleash your inner geek. 

 

Please note that the station and exit numbers in this chapter refer to the ‘Jr Akihabara’ train station not the ‘Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line Akihabara’ subway station.