Top 10 FANTASTIC Things To Do In Akihabara To Have Fun

Akihabara is a district located in Tokyo. It has long been known as the Electronic Town or Otaku capital of Japan (Otaku is Japanese Manga and Anime). Visiting this lively and noisy part of the city is one of must-have experience while you are in Tokyo. Believe me, you will never get bored in Akihabara, now let’s take a look at a list of top 10 things to do in Akihabara.

Top 10 Fun Things To Do In Akihabara

1. Pop Into Anime Shops

Akihabara gains its popularity from a remarkable number of anime stores. They can provide you everything from body-size pillows to key chains. There’s no way you can’t find your favorite mange character there because as long as you have watched it, they will definitely have it. So here are some famous anime shops that worth your visit.

Radio Kaikan: Known as the biggest anime shop with up to 10 floors and right next to the station, it has all these cool animation figures as well as trading cards. If you don’t have much time and still want to get that anime experience, this is the place to go. Inside the store, you won’t find any comic books, but what you’ll find is a huge amount of anime goods varying from figures, T-shirt, cards, Japanese board games to even kitchen tools.

The biggest anime store in Tokyo with up to 10 floors.

Gamers: Used to be a video game shop, but now they’ve diversified into anime comics and character goods. The store mainly sells comics book but they also provide audio books if you’re into that. One tip for you is that this is one of a few places which provides pre-order specials and also limited edition items.

Mandarake: This place has all sorts of comics for men, women and children. You can buy new as well as used comics, and if you are looking for some rare items you may find it here. I’m sure you will find your favorite anime character in Mandarake or just watch people playing cards.

2. Visit A Themed Coffee In Akihabara

The second thing to do in Akihabara is paying a visit to a themed café, a specialty of Akihabara.

Maid Café: It is supposed to originate from Akihabara and has become one of the Japanese culture icons. Although it has spread to other regions, to enjoy the most out of it, you should come to an Akihabara Maid Café. These type of coffee shops have their waiters or waitresses dress like butlers and maids, and of course, you will be treated as a master. The food here is also attractive at a reasonable price.

Crue Maid Cafe – one of the most famous maid cafe in Tokyo.

Gundam café and Gundam themed food: For anyone who doesn’t know, Gundam is a Japanese animation about a giant robot, you can find its picture on the Internet. From outside, the coffee shop looks like a real giant Gundam with grey walls and the big logo of Gundam on the front door. Tasting Gundam themed food is definitely an unforgettable experience from Gundam cakes to Gundam lattes. The waiters here also wear Gundam modified uniform.

Gundam themed food that will surprise you

AKB 48 Café and shop: Well if you aren’t down with a Japanese giant robot, you may be down with some teenage girls singing and dancing. AKB 48 is a very famous girl group in Japan partly due to its large number of members (48 to be exact). This coffee shop is right next to Gundam café despite no relevance. Not only serves sweet treats but it also sells all stuff related to the girls such as souvenirs or clothes.

AKB48 Cafe and Shop

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3. Walking Around Electronic Town

As we mention above, Akihabara is also known as Electronic Town in Tokyo. It is famous for cheap electronic goods. In Akihabara, things to do can be various, but visiting an electronic store is definitely on top of the list. So in case you are looking for something electrical, here are some stores you can visit:

Yodobashi: The biggest electronic store in Akihabara, besides selling electronic goods, it also provides other services like restaurant, coffee shop, a golf shop,… I believe you gonna love this place.

Yodobashi – the first place to visit when you need to buy electronic goods

Edion and Laox: These two stores are right next to each other. Although they are much smaller than Yodobashi, they can be the second option if you can’t find what you are looking for in Yodobashi.

Open electronic market: This market is absolutely a heaven for electronic lovers. Here you can find anything you want from computer parts, chips, some “odds and ends” to computers and cameras. For anyone who doesn’t want to spend a lot of money, you can always buy used stuff with a much cheaper price here.

Open electronic market in Akihabara

4. Enjoy Quiet Time At Kanda Myojin Shrine

Visiting Kanda Myojin Shrine should be the next thing to do in Akihabara. If you think that this crazy part of the city is just famous for neon lights, heated air or crowd mingling on streets then you are wrong. There is another side of Akihabara you can find in Kanda Myojin Shrine, something so peaceful, quiet and gorgeous. The shrine is such a special place for IT professionals. Every year, they hold a blessing ceremony for IT professionals from all over the country, who are looking for promotion and avoiding bad luck. Tourists come here can buy a charm for 1000 yen including 3 parts: a card, a strip and a sticker. These will help you protect your technical devices like computers or mobile phones from evil.

Kanda Myojin Shrine, a holy city for IT professionals

5. Food In Akihabara

Apart from Kanda Myojin Shrine, food in Akihabara is also a surprising factor to many tourists here. Akihabara not only has anime and electrical stuff but it also stands out because of diversity and variety in cuisines. If you are wondering what to do next in Akihabara, here are some highly recommended restaurants that worth trying while staying here.

Gyu Katsu Ich Ni San: The most famous dish served here is beef katsu and rice with seasoned yam. Beef katsu is served raw but briefly fried outside, you have to cook it by yourself on a hot stone. The dipping sauce is also great. The staff is so friendly, helpful and they always make sure that you prepare your food properly. Although you may have to wait in line for quite a long time during peak hours but believe me, it really worth waiting.

The most famous dish in the restaurant

Shimonya Yakitori: Yakitori is Japanese grilled meat on skewers. There are actually several yakitori places in Akihabara but this is one of the most top-rated ones, so you don’t have to worry about quality. One plus point is that they have English menu including alcohol drinks. The meat is mainly chicken and pork offals, when tasting grilled meat you can feel the juice just flowing down like the waterfalls of Niagara. They sold out almost all item by 7.30 pm, bear that in mind if you don’t want to be late.

6. Cosplay shopping

As the otaku capital of Japan, it is easy to catch sight of people in cosplay costume wandering on Akihabara streets. If you find it hard to make your own costume for a cosplay festival, I suggest you coming to COSPA and grab anything you want. COSPA is on the fifth floor of Akihabara culture zone. Here they provide all merchandises related to character life in manga, anime from costumes to accessories, tools. When you are done dressing yourself, you can go to Studio Crown for a picture in a professional studio.

Cosplay shopping in COSPA

7. Play Games At Arcades

And the next thing to do in Akihabara is play arcades games. Japan and particularly Akihabara is famous for arcades cultures, or known as game centers. Most of the games here are played by coins. The games are varied from gambling, sports (basketball), action, to prizes. Experience all of these will bring you back to your childhood.

Various arcades games in Akihabara

8. Weird Vending Machines

You must know that Japanese vending machines are absolutely unique and one of a kind in the world. There is a street with a lot of weird vending machines. They have everything from figures, soup cans, balls, even food or mysterious box with a story written inside (I know it’s weird, right?). Some of these vending machines are quite expensive compared to what you can get but for a unique experience in Japan, it somehow worths your money.

9. Play Gachapon At Akihabara Achabon Kaikan

If you don’t know, Gachapon is a special vending machine, but instead of dropping drink or food, it drops the small but super cute ball and you can find your prize inside. There are so many different sizes for each Gachapon and it mainly contains anime mini figures, toys or sweets. Sometimes it can be any weird things that you don’t want to receive. So if you think you are a lucky person then try your luck with Gachapon and you’ll find out.

Try your luck with Gachapon

10. Buy Souvenirs

One thing that you can’t miss when travel abroad is to buy some gifts for people back home. In Akihabara, you have so many choices about what to bring home with you. Now let’s take a look at the last thing to do in Akihabara: visiting souvenir shops.

Wakuwaku Toro shop: If you are on the look for some cool souvenir T-shirt, this is the place to come. All the T-shirt here is free size, it can fit both men and women. These shirts are printed in Japanese typical anime character like Conan, Doraemon, Sakura,… It can be an amazing gift for teenagers and children back home.

Rare Mon Shop: This is such a very special place. You can tell from it name that stuff in here is unique and you can’t find it anywhere else. What do you think about a hat holding your phone to watch while in a bathtub, or a gamen that can cook food for you,…So many interesting and practical things that I’m sure your friends and family will go crazy about it.

This is something you can find in Rare Mon Shop

Chabara: This is a store which provides authentic Japanese food, sauces, and even alcohols. Coming inside you will be pleasantly amazed by all the unique Japanese food goods. Here you can find some must-have spices in all Japanese household as well as sweets. One thing you may miss when coming back home is Japanese sake, so why not grab one and bring it with you? You can try all sake flavor before deciding which one to take.

Chabara where you can find authentic Japanese food

Akihabara is a great place to visit in Tokyo, this part of the city will never let you down with the colorful life, the lively atmosphere, and the heated air. I hope that our list of top 10 things to do in Akihabara can help you experience all sides of it and enjoy the most of you.