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Shopping area in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
Photo: Purupurucat, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Akihabara (秋葉原), or Akiba in slang, is Tokyo's "Electric Town" on the eastern side of the central Chiyoda ward. The area houses thousands of shops selling every technological gadget you can imagine, from computers to gaming consoles and vacuums to DVDs, at reasonable prices. This area is also known as the "Gamer's Mecca" and has become strongly identified with anime/manga subculture, with the legions of otaku geeks traipsing down on weekends known as Akiba-kei.
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AKB48 is a home-grown, all-girl idol group — their name comes from Akihabara — which started in 2005 and quickly became the best-selling female group in Japan. They perform 6 days a week. If you are into J-pop music and cute girls all rolled into one (and are lucky enough to win the ticket lottery), don't miss this.
Akihabara's own temple. You can buy a multi-piece charm for ¥1,000 which will protect your electronic devices from evil. It's mostly noteworthy for the festival it organizes around May. On this occasion, a massive shrine is traditionally carried through the streets of Akihabara, providing an interesting contrast with all the high-tech to say the least.
Another arcade, "Hey" on Chuo Dori is also run by Taito.
Formerly run by Sega, four locations in Akihabara. As of July 31, 2025, the first store of gigo was closed.
Chain fast food restaurant selling gyudon beef bowls. Meals start from around ¥400-500
てんや
Cheap fast-food tempura.
世界一周旅ダイニング居酒屋秋葉原駅店
A tiny place, convenient for anyone staying there. Serves Japanese and foreign food. The owner, Yuki, is a former backpacker and will happily give advice on choosing the right sho-chu from a selection of 60 kinds. Try the raw octopus (tako) in tomato sauce or the kimchi risotto.
丸五
It is a donkatsu shop in Akihabara. It sells high-quality donkatsu even if there is a small amount of money.
あっとほぉーむｃａｆｅ
This maid cafe has card games, drinks, food, and young women dressed up as maids to serve you. If you order an omelet, they'll draw a picture of a cute animal on the top in ketchup. In addition to this shop, there are 3 branch stores elsewhere in Akihabara.
The original and not quite as over-the-top (or expensive) as some of the competition. A long line can form on weekends.
ねこJaLaLa
A 'cat cafe': you play with the shop's (very clean) cats while drinking tea. You'll be asked to remove your shoes and wash your hands on entry. You'll also be gently pressured to order one of their drinks. It's a different experience.
Nice capsule hotel that's more spacious than your usual affair. Unlike other capsule hotels, the capsules are not vertically stacked, and the first class cabins have enough room to stand in and lay out your luggage. The staff speaks English well enough to check you in and respond to any special requests. Breakfast costs ¥300 and includes two rice balls (onigiri) and miso soup, and there are also vending machines in the lobby for drinks and hot meals.
Small rooms but excellent value and extremely convenient to transportation.
Small rooms that are priced in a mid-range of hotel rates. Despite the small rooms, the hotel is very comfortable and rooms are well appointed.
LaOX Duty Free specializes in export products and has multilingual staff on hand.
ONODEN specializes in overseas electronics. Multilingual staff.
ラジオセンター
Radio Center is an unbelievable two-floor warren of tiny shops, each specializing in (for example) LEDs, voltage meters, ceramic capacitors or miniature cameras. Heaven for the do-it-yourself electronics aficionado, and these days a flashback to the Akiba of yesteryear.
Electronics giant Yodobashi's massive 9-story flagship store selling anything that beeps or clicks, from PCs to games to cameras. Many languages spoken, tax-free and credit cards no problem, and their famous Gold Point Card system gets you credit worth 10% of your purchase, usable for two years starting the next day. Or you can have your purchase tax-free.
メロンブックス
In the basement of Taito HEY, it is mostly a mind-boggingly huge selection of fanart (Manga heaven, in a way).
アニメイト
Seven floors - plus one basement level - of pure otaku goodness. From DVDs and manga to character goods and games, the variety of merchandise on offer is mind-bogglingly vast and will make anime/manga fans wish they were made of money.
コミックとらのあな
Looking for dōjinshi? This is the place to head for. Look next to the Taito Station.
About 8 or 9 floors of all books. The thing that sets this book-off apart from others though is that the top two floors are dedicated exclusively to manga. There is a small section for dōjinshi as well but selection is limited.
An 8-floor second-hand shop dealing manga, dōjinshi, video games, toys, and collector's items. To buy toys from these show cases you need to find a slip of paper and write down the code of the toy you want, then take the paper to the counter and the attendant will retrieve the toy for you. It's easy and effective, although the stores can becomes quite busy at times. Check their online floor guide.
ケイブックス
Only two floors. First floor is half adult manga/hentai while the second floor is half dojinshi. There is plenty of space though to browse around and they have tons of doujinshi there. Some cheap figures and a whole row of shelves dedicated to body pillow cases. If you want regular manga they have that on both floors as well.
秋葉原ラジオ会館
This is Akihabara's cartoon, anima shop, with several separate stores on each floor. You can buy various figures and anime related goods.
ドン・キホーテ
Japanese discount store chain offering an incredibly wide range of items at low prices, from snack food to clothing to gag gifts. The Akihabara outlet also has well-stocked costume and adult toy departments to cater to the local crowd. About half way up as well there is an arcade. If you want to play rhythm-based games like DDR or Jubeat it has the cheapest machines in town.
ガチャポン会館 Gachapon kaikan
An entire store full of gachapon: capsule toy vending machines. Put in a few coins, turn the crank, and out pops a capsule containing a random trinket. The small toys and figurines, some of which attach to your keys or phone case, are of fairly high quality, and many are collector's items.
Akihabara is centered on Akihabara Station, which is on the JR Yamanote, Keihin-Tohoku, and Chuo-Sobu Local Lines. Take the "Akihabara Electric Town" exit to be dropped into the middle of the action.
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