Akihabara started as a postwar black market for radio parts and grew, floor by floor, into the capital of Japanese pop culture. Along Chuo-dori and the lanes west of the station, eight-storey buildings stack arcades, figure shops, retro games, maid cafés and electronics outlets, each one shouting its name in neon and vinyl banners. The whole district is a single open-air department store for the obsessed.
Arrive mid-afternoon, when the shops are open and the big screens have begun to glow, and keep your route to the two or three blocks between the station and Suehirocho. Shops close early by Tokyo standards, so do the browsing first and the arcades later.
Tips
- Chuo-dori becomes a pedestrian zone on Sunday afternoons, the best moment to photograph the facades without traffic
- The tiny parts stalls under the tracks by the Electric Town exit are the original Akihabara and worth ten minutes even if you never solder
- Most multi-storey shops put the interesting stock on the upper floors, so take the lift to the top and work down